Alright so I bought a used 2007 r56. I had it pre-purchase inspected by MINI, but for months its been nothing but headache after headache.

The other day I got the codes P0012 and P1497. No visible leak or bad hoses. We (my brother and I) replaced the VANOS solenoid and cleaned the non-return valve before changing the oil. There was no metal or debris in the oil or filter.

Took the car to a local garage and they say that there's a valve leak, one cylinder isn't even registering so I need a valve job and a new timing chain kit. Now, they didn't even take off the valve cover so I'm not sure why they're saying all this. I'm just so confused as to how these 2 codes can equal such big jobs and how they know this without even visually inspecting anything. Is there something more simple I should try before throwing out money for these big jobs. Thanks.

 

I would take it to a MINI mechanic, or a shop that knows MINI's. Sounds like this shop is assuming a lot of things. You need a leakdown test on the low cylinder in order to determine where the compression is being lost. Until a leakdown test is performed, it's all just a guess or an assumption.

 

is the car turbo or base?

what were the other issues that the car had so far?

 

The car is a turbo. N14 engine. This is my first ever car purchase from a small dealership. I bought the car 6 mos. ago.

Previous owner had air intake hose, cylinder head gasket, exhaust manifold gasket, front crankshaft seal, valve cover gaskets, coolant temp sensor replaced and engine/powertrain computer checked 2 mos. before I bought it. I thought hey, free parts.

I had the O2 sensor replaced when I bought it. MINI inspected car gave clean bill of health before I finalized the purchase with the small dealership. Took it to MINI 2 mos after they inspected it to have the sunroof completely replaced and they said the coolant was the wrong color, the crankshaft seal needed replaced, water pump was failing...my brother did all the work on that including a new serpentine belt and pulleys. I've done 2 oil changes and replaced all the filters and spark plugs in my time with it.

Spark plugs were replaced 3K ago and are already burnt/oily looking like the picture in my Haynes manual except 1 which looks overheated. Excuse my limited knowledge, I'm really trying to learn about Minis and eventually want to do a lot of work myself.

 

does the engine leak oil or coolant?

how many miles on it?

does the engine make any noise? Do you know if the timing chain was done?

 

There was almost 114k when I bought it 6 mos ago. Now there's 118,300K. There's always been a weird noise with the engine, but every Mini I've listened to sounds similar. The 'weird' noise is always before it warms up, but never had any starting issues. There was a lot of noise on the passenger side before the water pump, belt and pulleys were replaced. The coolant leak was fixed with water pump and the only oil leak was minor with the front crank seal.

I know about the timing chain issues, but before I take all that apart to inspect, which I need help for fear of cracking anything, I figured if it were that there'd be visible signs like debris in the VANOS, oil and filter. Maybe the timing chain is stretched and the guides and tensioner have held up? No record for timing chain being done.

Thank you for your help.

 

I know that this might not be totally related, but removing the valve cover might reveal a lot of things like the coloring of the TC guide rails and their condition. Also, if the rails broke at some point in time, the oil filter would have been changed few times and traces of smalls chips will not be present. However, removing the oil pan will tell you more of that story specially the oil pump filter.

P1497 points to a vacuum leak. you can spray brake cleaner or quick start around the intake manifold specially around the throttle body. if the engine start to rev higher for a bit, there is your leak.

as for the spark plugs, can you post pictures? also while the plugs are out, look into the holes and observe what is in there and the smell.

lastly, post a short vid of the engine running.

 

UPDATE FIXED, SOLVED! (can't figure out how to edit title)

First, thank you for the replies. For anyone experiencing similar issues I wanted to post my solution.

I took the car to the best independent Mini shop in San Diego as I couldn't find a leak anywhere using the method suggested above and was unable to solve the over-retarded timing issue.

Turns out, all cylinders were firing. I had a burnt exhaust valve, my valve cover gaskets were siliconed before I bought the car and plugged the PVC valve so my valve cover was replaced and my cam sprocket needed replaced (yes, I didn't even think of the source of engine timing!) While doing all the work the mechanic took some photos. My timing chain was in excellent condition surprisingly.

Upon leaving the garage, the codes came back. I took the car back and within a few hours they replaced the oil pressure sensor at no charge. All these things solved the P0012 code.

As for P1497, we couldn't find any reason other than the turbo may be failing. I had zero boost and no leaks or bad hoses, etc. Well, after driving a few miles the code suddenly disappeared and I have my boost back! The mechanic explained that these cars are supposed to be smart and it may have been trying to 'protect' itself and may take a bit to register that things are fixed. Yay!