My MINI has a slow oil leak. A mechanic looked at it and said he had no idea where it was coming from because oil was everywhere from splashing. It seems to leak most if I park on an incline with the front of the car facing down. Does that indicate a likely suspect?

 

Could be from many places such as the oil pan, crank seal, crank position sensor, drain plug, or valve cover.
I suggest you clean the engine well and look for new oil seeping. More likely the oil pan, crank seal, or crank sensor.

 

Are those the three most likely places the mini leaks from ? My sons 03' cooper s has sprung a leak and like Neufusion, there is so much all over the pan and i do not have a rack, so seeing anything it next to impossible.

 

get gunk and a hose, clean the underside, then wait. New oil driping is easy to see once you clean the old stuff off.

 

You need to determine approximately where the oil is coming from because the other areas that can leak oil are the oil filter canister (if not installed correctly) and the oil cooler heat exchanger (near the oil filter canister).

Probably just the oil pan gasket but as you can see there are many other likely places for oil leaks.

 

Ya the mechanic that looked at it cleaned it up a little and even had a remote camera. He said I'd have to take the front off and steam clean the engine to be able to see anything.

 

One bit of wisdom...if it leaks when the car is parked...and not running, especially on a downhill, I would think the pan is the leading contender!!
When not running....the pan is pretty full....on a hill it will be uneven in the pan, possibly be over the edge/gasket.
Other parts do not store oil...and would only leak under preassure.
I would hose off the excess oil, park it on your hill, and do your dectitive work...the oil pan gasket leak is so common, especially on pullied cars that the motor has been jacked up a bit....it would not surprise me if it was leaking!!

 

This may be a bit simplistic, but being a pragmatist, have you thought about not parking the car with the nose pointing downhill???

 

I'd bet a set of ramps, a can of gunk, and a hose would go a good way towards identifying the issue. Just take off the splash shield first.

 

Get some brake clean and clean off the pan and engine.

More than likely you have an oil pan gasket leaking, or crankshaft position sensor oring leaking. Those are the two most common leaks we find.

 

I, too, have had a hard-to-find leak for the past few weeks. I went nuts trying to locate the leak. Mechanic couldn't spot it either, and put some dye in the oil yesterday. Tomorrow I take it back and I'll let you know what I find.

 

My problem is getting my son to come over and give me time to really look at it. He has two jobs and little to no free time, than usually i have to give him my Eclipse. WayMotorWorks, the pan gasket should not be to hard, only i just changed his oil but the cam position sensor oring, is this a major undertaking ? do i need any special tools ? This is what i have found trying to work on my Eclipse, sons Cooper S and daughter VW Beetle. It would be nice if cars were as easy to work on like my 77' 280Z

 

The oil pan gasket on the mini is a pain... There is some shortcuts, but it is not an hours job....an full morning, at the least for most folk, often longer.

 

Thanks

 

The oil pan on the Mini was designed by a sadistic engineer. On the front, the AC is bolted to it. On the back, the engine bracket is connected to it. The radiator assembly has to be moved forward (service position) for you to do anything.

Here's the kicker. Once repaired, it can leak again due to the excess vibration exerted by the AC compressor and engine bracket. There are many here who have had their oil pan leaks repaired by Mini several times w/o success. Many Minis start leaking oil within the first 20-30k miles.

Mine's seeping and I won't touch it until I decide to service the Supercharger. I just wipe it clean whenever I work on the car.... oil changes, tire rotation, etc.

 

I just had the ac compressor replaced, this could have caused my oil pan to start leaking