On 19 July I bought a 2003 Cooper with 42,000 miles. Per the Carfax, last service done at 30,000 miles. I changed the oil last Saturday. No problems draining, but a few issues with the filter.

The old filter seemed to be fused to the plastic mesh piece; it broke when I pulled the filter out of the housing. Seemed to be irrelevant, since it could not fit onto the new filter. From reviewing posts on this subject, I probably made these errors:

1. I trashed the plastic piece, but reused the spring.
2. I did not "set" the filter in the engine filter housing first.
3. I did not "set" it in the housing cover.
4. I may have put the filter in upside down.

After all of this, I assembled and tightened the filter without incident. However, as of yesterday, I'm getting the oil pressure light, but only when I come to a stop. It goes out immediately when I press the gas.

I don't know the importance of #1, but again, it could not possibly fit in the new filter. I also just watched a MINI Cooper oil change how to video by a BMP mechanic who doesn't use the plastic piece or the spring with the new filter.

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So can I resolve this oil light by taking the filter out, discard the spring, ensure its not upside down, set it on the engine section until I hear the pop, do the same on the filter cover side, then reinstall? In short, can I change the filter without changing the oil? And should this resolve the oil light problem?

Thanks in advance.

 

Sounds like the filter in in upside down.....the hard plastic seal thinggy should be down towards the engine (if I remember correctly). Upside-down results in your symptoms from what I have read....

A few places say to throw out the plastic thingy....I've seen vids (the S does not/did not have that)...as to the sping do what they tell you...
But if filter is upside-down....and you are getting an oil light , fix it!!
Oil light is bad......not enough pressure, and unless you have the gauge package...it is likely low too...so revving it does increase the pressure enough to turn off the light....but is it enough to prevent damage?!

 

Thanks for the info. I plan to flip the filter and take out the spring today. I'll let you know if it fixes the problem.

 

In short, can I change the filter without changing the oil?

Sure - think about it ... all the oil (most anyway) is supposed to down in the pan waiting to be drained. Do the same 'crack the filter and let it drain down' trick and you should loose very little.

 

You need to go to the dealer & buy that plastic piece that was trashed. That is why you are seeing an oil pressure light at idle. I would recommend that you do not drive the car in its present condition. When that oil light is on you are damaging your engine.

You need the plastic piece & spring in the filter...

 

to avoid confusion

the spring and plastic piece are found in the justa and not the S .. .

 

Is a dealership the only place I can get this thing? I just called one and was quoted $46. Apparently the plastic piece is sold along with the spring and metal cover as a unit.

 

I do believe that is a dealer part. Call Classic MINI in Ohio they give a nice NAM discount. I buy all my oem parts from them.

Toll Free: (877) 687-2707

 

I went ahead and spent $79 for this "housing cover assembly", a filter that the plastic thing would fit into, and FEDEX fees. I'll throw it in tomorrow, and that will be the end of it.

 

Lol, I'm glad I went to the dealer for my last change. It was only 65$ at mini Ontario. Literally less then HALF what I usually pay at Manhattan Mini.

 

I'm at a loss as to why this plastic core is sold as part of an assembly instead of a single unit. I can't believe there's not an aftermarket version of this core, or the spring!

 

Not to hijack, but anyone know why, when the engine is virtually the same, and calls for the same filter, the justa has the spring and plastic bit?


Note to OP - there is also a small plastic piece on the bottom of the filter housing that sometime breaks and, IIRC will cause a low oil pressure situation.

 

It does seem odd that the plastic piece & spring are not available without buying the whole housing.

It also makes no sense to me that the S & justa are different in that area.

 

That plastic piece in the bottom is the filter bypass valve. I broke mine over a year ago; replaced it with a lab grade rubber cork that I replace every time I change the oil.

In order to get the replacement part you have to get the entire oil filter bracket assembly. That's $319! I bought a used bracket for $50. I have since removed the valve very carefully and it is now at a machine shop being inspected to see if a new valve can be fabricated out of something more durable, say aluminum.

 

An oil change is supposed to be one of the simplest maintenance things you can do. I also have a Porsche Cayman S, and a BMW 325i...both with canister type oil filters, and I've done multiple changes on both. Yet, with this MINI, a simple oil filter change can be screwed up by: (1)damage, inadvert trashing, or incorrect placement of the spring or plastic piece; (2)using a filter that doesn't require the spring or plastic piece; (3) plastic piece at bottom of filter housing breaks.

Does anyone know if the housing covers are interchangeable? If so, I would (obviously) use an S housing cover, to eliminate this stress over springs and plastic pieces.

 

You can't interchange the caps from Cooper to S. The S is completely different, cause it's oil filter housing includes the oil cooler and is designed differently.
Also FYI the later 05-06 Cooper non S doesn't have the plastic piece in it.