Hello guys!

R53 Owner here. 2005 with 51,000 on the clock. Manual Transmission.

Every now and then when I drive my car and park it, I notice a drop or two of oil from up under it. Sometimes just one drop. Sometimes none.

Any idea what it could be? Is it common? The drops tend to be a smidgen smaller than a dime. And closer to the front bumper in the relative middle if the car was still parked there.

Thanks in advance.

 

There is really only one way to find out and that is to clean the motor if very greasy and then see where it comes from. The crank sensor is at the front and a very common leak point. Not to bad to change once you get there and not expensive.

The oil pan is used as a hard point for the motor (there is an engine mount on it) not like the old days. This makes the oil pan gasket prone to weeping (OK) leaking (not so OK).

Really until you trace it back, there isn't anything we can help with. Some one has to find where it is. Remember, the oil can flow on the engine and drip off a spot far from the actual leak, so a spot on the ground is of limited value.

 

It's just marking t's spot

Just keep an eye on your oil level & consumption.

Can you post a photo?

Like the last post, clea the bottom of the motor and keep an eye on it to see if you can spot a trail of oil. Sometimes there is some residue from spillage oil during the oil change.

 

Have you recently had your oil changed?
I changed mine last week and after I drove it I happened to notice a
very small amount of oil on my drive. After crawling under to check it out I noticed it was coming from my oil drain plug. I installed a new magnetic plug and new crush washer and apparently didn't tighten it down enough. So, tightened a little more and it's now gone.
Just a thought.

 

Good advice from all the above but I think HRM's spot on (pun intended). I just got through replacing the crank position sensor o-rings on two of ours. If you get your car on a lift or on jackstands and clean off all the oil you can get to, then drive it for a day or so and re-check, I'll bet you'll see oil coming down from the front of the engine on the driver's side. If so, the o-ring is leaking. It'll require going into "service mode" to get to it which isn't too difficult (see a "sticky" on how to).
Keep in mind that, if left to leak, the oil will eventually blow back and get to your power steering cooling fan (not good).

 

Check your oil level regulary.....and monitor how much you loose/burn.
When the mess becomes too much or the leak is faster, get it fixed...some makes/model are known for leaks/weeps....mini is kinda one of them. Many cars have gotten multiple oilpan gaskets, and folks are happy to only get drops like you....

 

The other place oil can come from after a change is where the filter is. I find it almost impossible to contain all old oil from spilling when changing that thing. I always get some spillage no matter how much I try to surround it with old towels/t-shirts.

 

fishey72
The next time you change your filter try this tip. After you drain the oil pan just loosen the filter canister a small amount (sometimes you can hear air entering) to break the seal. Allow a few more minutes and the oil will drain from the canister and you can remove it without spilling a drop!
Steve

 

I will when I get home.

 

I just bought the car fairly recently and I haven't changed the oil yet.

 

Crank sensor o-ring.

I've worked on a lot of the local MINI club's cars, we have garage days at my shop almost monthly, and I have a standing bet with those who's car leaks oil, that it if turns out to be the pan leaking after we change the crank sensor I'll buy them a coke.

I haven't bought one yet!

I'll bet 99% of the pan gaskets that have been replaced are not actually leaking.

We just did a pan gasket on a 170K R53, the material was still pliable.....I didn't buy a coke for him either!

 

MINIdave...........Is the crank sensor leak prevalent on 1st and 2nd gen's?

 

If it does not turn out to be the suggestions listed above you can buy a dye that can be placed in the oil in order to determine specifically where the car is leaking. NAPA sells this product and I am sure other auto parts stores do also.

 

Can you leave the dye in the oil or does it dissipate after awhile?

Maybe it'd help be able to read the damn dip stick.

 

Lay it on a paper towel, or get a bionic eye. I chose the former.

 

Any estimate on the amount of time to do the o-ring?
I think I have the leak and have not done anything in service mode yet.
Thanks

 

In the interest of full disclosure, I have not used the product, but here is a link to a site that explains the process:

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-fi...violet-323676/

 

I was just kiddin' about leaving it in the oil. I have no problem reading the dip stick. When it's really fresh I do use a paper towel and lay the stick on it. That does work.
I've heard the dye thing does work pretty well but never tried it myself.

 

1st gen cars for sure.

 

That depends on your skills....

There's two ways to do it, the first way involves putting the car in service mode - as in removing or moving back the whole front assy of the car in order to gain access - that's the only way I've done it so far, as the cars I've worked on were usually getting other work too, so I needed the front end off anyway.

The other way involves removing the lower motor mount and using a ratchet strap - rotating (pulling) the engine over a ways so you can get your hand up in there to remove the sensor.

It's only held in with one bolt, but getting to it is the real problem.

 

Of course it is hard for us to tell from here without looking under your car. That said I had a similar leak that I also thought was oil. And my crank sensor seal, oil pan and damper seal were done when I did the bushings and installed an ATI damper so I KNEW I was not leaking oil.

In my case it was oil dripping from the lines that come from the power steering reservoir. When I went to buy the lines the dealer said they replace a LOT of them as the seals go bad.

So, if you are like me you are using oil because unfortunately our R53s simply do that. For me it's a quart every 1000 miles. But the drips, those were PS fluid. Crawl under there and look. If your PS lines are leaking it is really clear as the drip is on the bottom of the line.

Good luck with whatever it turns out to be.

Rich

 

What's a ballpark that I should expect to pay to have this done?