Hello all.

I am having some issues locating an oil leak on my R56.

Had my alternator ruined by an oil leak from the vanos selenoid but had it fixed a month ago.

A week after the repair, I found small oil puddles on the floor of the apartment garage and, later that day, also in my office garage. Thought it was a faulty selenoid but the area is clear of oil.

Leaving from home that same morning, I had white smoke, after about 20 minutes of normal driving, emanating from under the bonnet, with the distinctive smell of burned oil. This is a daily occurence now.

I am attaching some night pictures (cell phone flash without jacking the car up) in case anyone can pinpoint or give some advice on what to look for for a new fix.

 

Looks like the oil pan gasket or the turbo oil lines or a combo of both.

I would clean up all that oil underneath and see where it leaks again as the oil might have been left over from the repair. Also check your oil level, you have a major oil leak, don t want you to run low.


Oil Pan gasket:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...an-gasket.html





Turbo Oil lines : Linked above also.

 

Thank you!

I check my oil level daily, and top-up when needed. It's a little unnerving to see the puddles every morning and afternoon after work.

I'll clean all the gunk and oil up and check for new drips.

Do you think I should relay on the new sealant method or go the way of the gasket if the leak comes from the pan?

Hoping to solve this soon to start modding.

 

We have an Oil Leak Diagnosis DIY that may be useful to you. It goes over how to pinpoint the source of an engine oil leak. Problem areas, components and tips on narrowing down the culprits. With any leak, it helps to clean the problem areas covered in oil and monitor it for fresh oil. The source will usually be indicated by clean light colored oil, or sometimes where the leak stops. Take a look at it and clean the areas up, that way you aren't guessing and throwing money at things that may not need to be replaced. Take a look at it on our site under "tech info" and Gen 2 R56 models.

 

Great,

Welcome.

The sealent is the update from MINI side , some people prefer the old gasket as its easier to remove if doing work on the bottom end.


After you clean up , let me know what you find. Done both myself before.

 

These cars aren't prone to pan gaskets as much as they are to oil migration from other leaks.

Chances are you need something in the area of a Turbo oil feed line, or oil filter housing seal, severely leaking vacuum pump.

We manufacture our own oil feed line that fixes the oil line leak for good unlike the factory MINI part which will leak again, and again.

DT TOL Super Kit

The vacuum pump if leaking is easily fixed as a DIY, but I doubt that much oil is from a leaking vacuum pump.

Does the turbo have oil on top of it? If you look down behind the turbo with a flash light do you see oil buildup, or leaks?

The linked kit comes with everything you need to fix the leaks from the turbo oil line/filter housing area. If you decide to clean up any mess to see where the leak is developing from please steer clear of power washers. I'm replacing a DME on a car due to someone powerwashing the bay.