When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Stock Problems/IssuesDiscussions related to warranty related issues and repairs, or other problems with the OEM parts and software for MINI Clubman (R55), Cooper and Cooper S(R56), and Cabrio (R57).
I picked up 09 mini cooper s with only 65k miles and while I test drove and take it home it couldn't hear any kind of noise from engine area.
Now it makes those kind of noise and burning oil smells from exhaust bad. I did oil change today and noticed that previous owner didn't take good care of mini because oil was really black and looked really bad. I even replaced all spark plugs and ignition coils because code showed P0300 P0301 P0302 P0303 but once I erased the code, it came back on next day.
Please watch my video and let me know if it needs timing chain or it's blown head. (I didn't see any milky oil or something like that)
I pulled out new spark plugs I replaced recently and noticed that they were all wet with oil.
That sounds to me like the top plastic guide has already broken. Do not run the engine again until you have had the rocker cover off and inspected the plastic guides. At65K miles it is due a timing chain. Oil on the spark plug threads is usually from a small leak at the rocker cover central seals. I cannot see oil on the electrodes, if there was oil on the electrodes it may indicate leaking valve guides or piston bypass.
Me, I would be replacing the chain/guides/sprockets, etc. Sorry to give a sad diagnosis...
That sounds to me like the top plastic guide has already broken. Do not run the engine again until you have had the rocker cover off and inspected the plastic guides. At65K miles it is due a timing chain. Oil on the spark plug threads is usually from a small leak at the rocker cover central seals. I cannot see oil on the electrodes, if there was oil on the electrodes it may indicate leaking valve guides or piston bypass.
Me, I would be replacing the chain/guides/sprockets, etc. Sorry to give a sad diagnosis...
thank you so much for the information. If timing chain guide (plastic) is already broken then those broken pieces are on oil pan? Do i have to remove oil pan and put it back?
thank you so much for the information. If timing chain guide (plastic) is already broken then those broken pieces are on oil pan? Do i have to remove oil pan and put it back?
If anything is broken and you can't find EVERY piece of the broken guide I would pull the pan. I had to on my '07. Good thing because I found the rest of the guide in the bottom then put it all together like a jigsaw puzzle to verify I wasn't missing anything, which I wasn't.
If anything is broken and you can't find EVERY piece of the broken guide I would pull the pan. I had to on my '07. Good thing because I found the rest of the guide in the bottom then put it all together like a jigsaw puzzle to verify I wasn't missing anything, which I wasn't.
So if I cannot find broken pieces then it will cause engine blow?
It depends. The bigger pieces might block the oil pickup screen. REAL small pieces might get past the screen and into the oil pump which might cause all sorts of hurt. My pieces were big enough to stay in the bottom of the pan. I have seen a video online where the pickup screen saved the oil pump from eating plastic. If the chain is too loose (broken guides, bad tensioner, stretched chain) it could jump time and cause issues triggering check engine lights. If it hasn't been done already, plan on chains, guides, and tensioner. And front main seal, oil pan gasket. And probably the oil cooler seals, turbo oil and coolant lines. At 65k, once those things are done, you will have a lot happier Mini ownership experience and are probably set for another 60k.
Your video appears to show steam, not smoke from the exhaust pipe. Water vapor is a normal byproduct of the combustion process and appears as steam when the engine is cold and the ambient temperature is lower. The noise could be a timing chain or could be a vacuum pump. Does is come from the driver or passenger side of the engine?
Your video appears to show steam, not smoke from the exhaust pipe. Water vapor is a normal byproduct of the combustion process and appears as steam when the engine is cold and the ambient temperature is lower. The noise could be a timing chain or could be a vacuum pump. Does is come from the driver or passenger side of the engine?
it was almost passenger side... i guess it must a timing chain problem. Do you know how much usually the shop charges for replacement?
Your video appears to show steam, not smoke from the exhaust pipe. Water vapor is a normal byproduct of the combustion process and appears as steam when the engine is cold and the ambient temperature is lower. The noise could be a timing chain or could be a vacuum pump. Does is come from the driver or passenger side of the engine?
There may be oil burning somewhere but what you video shows appears to be water vapor. The timing chain by itself won't cause you to burn oil. Turbo seals, valve cover (PCV system), piston rings, valve guides, valve guide seals are normal Mini suspects and I am sure there are other causes for the engine to burn oil. More likely you also have leaking oil which will drip onto the exhaust system or other hot parts of the engine and make the burning oil smell. My '07 had it all... burning oil (real blue smoke that lingered in the air, not dissipated) and oil leaks. To solve all the issues I changed the valve cover, timing chain system (chain, tensioner, guides, main seal), valve stem seals (the cause of the blue smoke), the oil pan gasket, the vacuum pump, the oil filter housing seals, the turbo cooling and oil lines. I also replaced the turbo because of a misdiagnosis by a shop which would not have solved the burning oil issue (it was the valve guide seals).
You might start simple and do a compression and leak down test to determine if the engine has other issues. At 65k it is doubtful but never hurts to check before tearing into it.
As far as how much would it cost for a shop to do, like a lot of other things in life, if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it. As an example, the shop that quoted the misdiagnosed turbo replacement wanted about $4000. Better off doing it yourself. All the parts I changed together probably don't add up to $500. It is not too difficult but will take time, patience, tools, a shop manual, links to https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/select and https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/ , an account with Way Motor Works and ECS, and a subscription to NAM.
Last edited by mildensteve; Mar 15, 2020 at 02:56 PM.
There may be oil burning somewhere but what you video shows appears to be water vapor. The timing chain by itself won't cause you to burn oil. Turbo seals, valve cover (PCV system), piston rings, valve guides, valve guide seals are normal Mini suspects and I am sure there are other causes for the engine to burn oil. More likely you also have leaking oil which will drip onto the exhaust system or other hot parts of the engine and make the burning oil smell. My '07 had it all... burning oil (real blue smoke that lingered in the air, not dissipated) and oil leaks. To solve all the issues I changed the valve cover, timing chain system (chain, tensioner, guides, main seal), valve stem seals (the cause of the blue smoke), the oil pan gasket, the vacuum pump, the oil filter housing seals, the turbo cooling and oil lines. I also replaced the turbo because of a misdiagnosis by a shop which would not have solved the burning oil issue (it was the valve guide seals).
You might start simple and do a compression and leak down test to determine if the engine has other issues. At 65k it is doubtful but never hurts to check before tearing into it.
As far as how much would it cost for a shop to do, like a lot of other things in life, if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it. As an example, the shop that quoted the misdiagnosed turbo replacement wanted about $4000. Better off doing it yourself. All the parts I changed together probably don't add up to $500. It is not too difficult but will take time, patience, tools, a shop manual, links to https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/select and https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/ , an account with Way Motor Works and ECS, and a subscription to NAM.
I found one mini cooper specialist and he quoted me $1300 cash for coming to place and replacing oem timing chain and valve cover and gaskets. I guess that's pretty reasonable price?
Sounds reasonable if he is a Mini specialist but I normally do my own wrenching so my perspective may be off.
What about the oil pan gasket, oil filter housing, and turbo oil lines? If they haven't already been done they WILL leak eventually.
I inspected any oil leaks on the floor but i don't see any oil leaks except valve cover. I think the steam from exhaust is not water vapor since it smells burning oil and I think it's pretty sure something other than water vapor because visually it's smoke.
This is inside of valve cover. i took a picture through oil cap. it looks really bad and there are a lot of sludge oil everywhere. does it mean something? blown head or it could be cleaned?
This is inside of valve cover. i took a picture through oil cap. it looks really bad and there are a lot of sludge oil everywhere. does it mean something? blown head or it could be cleaned?
Looks like poor maintenance to me. A series of 1000 mile oil changes using some quality oil can help with the sludge. However, you might find that the seals will start leaking...
Hope everyone is safe now. Yesterday I called tow truck and took mini to the shop and they replaced timing chain and valve cover gasket & oil pan gasket & spark plugs & ignition coils. when they removed the valve cover, they found out timing chain guide was broken and showed me all pieces on oil pan.
They also cleaned up all sludge oils and when I checked it it was all cleaned up and looks very clear. There was no CEL while I drove home (approximately 30 miles). Car runs fine but noticed that starting up engine seems like not powerful. When I got home and checked idling and it seems like rpm is not stable randomly.. any guess?
