Just wanted to let you guys know that if you have the common "death rattle" due to the timing chain tensioner; check your oil level first! My car burns through oil and I had to put 3 quarts in it. The rattle is now gone and everything is perfect. If you are thinking that you need a new tensioner or timing chain check your oil before anything else. Just saved myself a lot of time and money.

 

How long had it been rattling? If you had to add 3 quarts into it the excess wear on engine components can be permanent.

 

3 quarts!

 

Three quarts low... I think you're on borrowed time. You may want to do a full oil change and send it to Blackstone to see if anything is floating around if you plan on keeping the car.

Mine was 3L low and spun a bearing. A $9K+ mistake.

 

Hopefully, you dodged a bullet. Get in the habit of checking it weekly, like you're driving a '76 Pinto. Some go through more oil than others, and the risks of running low are pretty high.

 

What's sad is he thinks he fixed the problem on his own and has found the cause of the "death rattle", so by adding 3 quarts to his engine and he thinks nothing of it. Truth is he has no clue what his inaction has done to his engine. His engine won't last long. Three quarts low is like saying I only had 1.5 quarts total in my engine! Everything is not perfect, the damage is done.

 

Doesn't the MINI have a low oil level indicator that lights up when the oil goes below minimum? I always keep it maxed (check it every weekend) so have never been that low...

 

The light you're referring to is an oil pressure light, you can have oil pressure and only have half the amount of oil in the engine. The oil pressure is a helpful tool when you know there's plenty of oil in your engine (4.5 quarts), it's by no means an idiot light. I don't get why some wait for the light before doing anything.

 

It seems once that light comes on in a MINI it means be prepared to open you wallet! The deep side! lol. I honestly never run mine even close to that low. I just keep it full all the time. But I think im one of the lucky ones and mine never really moves.

 

I only heard the engine rattle for a day and it did go away after the car warmed up. Before that there were no signs whatsoever of any sort of abnormalities. I do not have any clue what has actually been done to my engine but just from driving it, everything seems to function flawlessly. I'm checking the oil weekly now and hope not to have any problems from this.

 

That's how it starts, with a rattle. I will guarantee you that this won't be the last time you encounter that rattle, just don't tell Mini you had to add 3 quarts! An engine can seem fine and it only takes a millisecond for things to go wrong, don't think you dodged a bullet running 3 quarts low. Even 1.5 quarts low isn't considered good, you can't run an engine 3 quarts low and not expect for there to be no consequence.

"You incurred some accelerated wear and tear".

 

Max, check thy oil!

Once a week, it is easy to do. Hope your engine is fine, but I'd guess you have shorted its life a bit.

 

When I read 3 qts low, I was beginning to wonder if there was any left lol! Im surprised these cars take that much...... My Camaro takes 4.5 and it's double the engine... And then some lol