Same thing happened to me - a little smoke on first start, but within a couple minutes it went away. Nice job!

 

Yea, its just a little burn off.

 

Yeah I had smoke as well when I was letting it idle flushing the coolant. Congrats on getting through it! I enjoyed doing this myself. Still no leaks so I must have sealed everything up ok. While bleeding the coolant though I noticed quite a bit drip down onto my garage floor. Quite more than I expected actually but after I closed the bleeder it hasn't leaked anymore.

 

I had a leaky turbo oil line replaced by my Mini dealer. This was -- major work -- not a DIY job for a shade tree mechanic.

 

i replaced mine with a Detroit tuned one and it has loosened up and is leaking where it connects to the engine now, i don't really care so i haven't taken it all apart AGAIN, just another thing has broken on this car.

 

Did you torque the banjo bolts to the necessary spec and use new copper crush washers on both sides of the fitting? This is the first I have heard of a detroit tuned oil line becoming loose and leaking after install, especially at the connection to the engine.

 

If you haven't resolved the problem feel free to give us a call, I have high doubts that the line itself has failed/come loose, unless it was improperly torqued.

As was already asked; did you install 2 crush washers per banjo bolt, and did you also tighten the AN fittings enough?

Did you buy just the line, or the Super Kit? Many people have bought just the line thinking that their leak is going to be fixed, but it is actually the oil filter housing gasket that has failed, which leaks from the same area of the engine.

 

i have not, i bought the line and the return line. yes, i did put the crush washers on and torqued it. i started commuting to work so my car is parked in the garage so i am going to take it apart again and double check everything. i may not have tightened the an fittings enough. not saying there is anything wrong with the line itself.

 

We had a handful of lines a few years back that had problems, but the failures were contained to just one run of lines, and of which only about 8 lines of 500 failed.

If you didn't get the super kit that includes the oil filter housing gasket I'd venture to guess that that is your leak and not the line, like I said earlier; many people mistake the filter housing gasket leak for the TOL.

Either way please keep us informed on what you find.

 

Well i just bought my 2010 cooper s a week ago this coming tuesday she has a leak at the area of the engine banjoo fitting for the turbo feed and oil filter housing area i just cleaned it with brake clean and keeping an eye on it but im thinking in august taking a few days off from work and tackling this and getting the Detroit big kit for oil feed and return the other stuff for the down tube and the housing gaskets and getting the car rdy for winter with coolant and such

 

Did you get the car from a MINI dealership? If so, it might not hurt to take it back to them and explain the situation to see if they can help you out. Even if you didn't get it at the dealer it still may be worth a visit just to see what they say since you just got it. The downside is that they will just replace it with the defective part.

Do you have another car to drive for a couple days? I was able to get the project done in the evenings and not have to take time off from work. Also, if you do still intend on doing the repair yourself I highly recommend:

-DT super kit (comes with the oil filter housing gaskets and everything you need)
-10 MM ratcheting open wrench
-varying extensions to ratchet (including a super long one that would seem way unnecessary)
-right angle ratchet connector

 

I know this is an old thread, but just started this project today on an ‘09 MCS. Total pain being that most hidden bolts on the heat shield were rusted and stuck. Had to cut the heat shield where the two pieces meet because it simply wouldn’t come apart. 1/2 way through the job and gave up for the day frustrated lol

One thing I noticed w the down pipe off is that the wastgate valve sorta just lays pretty loose in the turbine. Is this normal w no vacuum on it? Going to check that it properly closes w 15lbs of vacuum before closing back up.

Thanks for any insight.

.

 

The diverter door in the turbo gets loose and sloppy over time. I've read that this is not rebuildable. Others can comment on how you can confirm if they are good or not.

For me, the worst part of this job was removing the heat shields. Those 3 bolts that hold the top and bottom half together are a challenge. I've never taken the time to put the car in service mode, which I've heard helps.

Mike

 

What do you mean by service mode?

 

Move the rad out and the core supports a little. I did it without moving those, it took some time and it was tight getting the DP off for the first time. I could not reach that one back bolt at first near the turbo brace on the engine block.
Watch not to cut your hands upon removal of the heat shields, wear gloves, they are sharp at the edges. Mine got beat up.

 

Thank you. I was looking into moving the radiator out for better room installing everything. Looks pretty involved. Guessing I would need to drain coolant too. :(

Good thing car isn’t a daily driver, this is gonna take a while.

 

yep, knock out an oil change and coolant flush while you are at it, Also great to remove any coolant residue if you do that oil filter housing gaskets also, so you dont mix the two.

 

For service mode, you unbolt the bumper and wheel arches, and loosen the subframe bolts that support the bumper. The bumper/radiator support will move forward 2-3 inches.

Most of the access is better from underneath the car. I think that about all that I did was remove the upper heat shield and the downpipe flange bolts from the top.

While you are in there, it is probably worth replacing the seals on the heat exchanger and oil filter housing, those have a history of leaking as well.

Mike

 

Ok, I have the oil heat exchanger seals , but no oil housing? seals. :(

If that sounds correct.

Just dumped the coolant in case I have to pull all that tomorrow.

 

The heat exchanger is bolted to the oil filter housing, you should be all set.

Mike

 

After more searching I see I didn’t have the housing to block seals, just ordered. Only had the housing to exchanger.

 

For anyone doing this in the future, definitely easier removing the front end for access. Wish I knew this before I started. Did a lot of reading and research and never found that stressed.