I will sorely miss it this spring/summer. Heck, I can't even bring myself to stop reading NAM...I HOPE IT GETS BETTER FOR ALL OF YOU!!!

Gizzer777, I know how you feel, Even after selling my Element I can't stop reading the EOC forum. I've beent to 2 eoc national meets and several local ones amd made lots of friends there. I will still go on the EOC camping trips with the MINI, I was speaking to a few over there and we decided that we would get a few big grown men and try to lift and insert my MCS into the back of an E for the hell of it just to to see if it will fit, while at the camping trip to Tentback Mtn. lol

 

Just slid under my car to drain the oil and guess what?

There is oil across the bottom of the oil pan, front to back.
So I pulled plastic out of the way and the oil pan is leaking from the front far right bolt.
Put a torque wrench to it set at 23lbs and it moved, I gave it a gentle ¾ turn and it’s not starting to tighten yet. So is it striped out or just loose and if so why.:impatient I ‘m out of warranty now and this really sucks.
The one beside it moved about a half turn then clicked.

 

I had my gasket replaced at 30k under warrenty, now at 70k it is leaking again. The service department blamed me for overfilling the motor oil causing too much pressure in the engine blah, blah, blah.....


How difficult is it to remove the pan and replace the gasket???? I am thinking of replacing the gasket myself along with some permatex.

 

One thing I liked about older cars (like the old Austin Healey I used to have) was that pan gaskets rarely leaked, but if they did, in 30 minutes you could slap in a new gasket with some permatex, re-fill the oil, and be done. For a MINI, I'd consider DIY to be a royal *****. I initially considered DIY, then found out by reading the Bentley manual that the a/c compressor is mounted to the front of the oil pan - which means you need to pull the front part of the car apart so you can free up the compressor so you can take it off the oil pan so you can pull the pan and replace the gasket. Then you get to put it all back together again. And the gasket isn't just a piece of treated cork - it's several millimeters thick and seems to be a composite of some rubber and some other materials.


As followup to my Feb 12 post - I wound up taking my car to Markel MINI in Omaha - new dealer, just opened - for replacement of the serpentine belt before I did a 3,000 mile vacation. I asked them to give me an opinion on the leaking oil, telling them only that I had an oil film under the car and that in the past I'd had the pan gasket replaced. The tech told me that my current leak (which is really only enough of a seep to lay down a film, not a serious-enough leak to wash dirt off where the film accumulates) is from the back of the valve cover gasket. He wiped it down thoroughly and told me to check it after I got back from vacation - and that they'd replace it under warranty if it was continuing to leak. I've been too busy to check it in the week since I got back, but hope to do so this coming weekend.

 

One thing I liked about older cars (like the old Austin Healey I used to have) was that pan gaskets rarely leaked, but if they did, in 30 minutes you could slap in a new gasket with some permatex, re-fill the oil, and be done. For a MINI, I'd consider DIY to be a royal b*t*h. I initially considered DIY, then found out by reading the Bentley manual that the a/c compressor is mounted to the front of the oil pan - which means you need to pull the front part of the car apart so you can free up the compressor so you can take it off the oil pan so you can pull the pan and replace the gasket. Then you get to put it all back together again. And the gasket isn't just a piece of treated cork - it's several millimeters thick and seems to be a composite of some rubber and some other materials.


As followup to my Feb 12 post - I wound up taking my car to Markel MINI in Omaha - new dealer, just opened - for replacement of the serpentine belt before I did a 3,000 mile vacation. I asked them to give me an opinion on the leaking oil, telling them only that I had an oil film under the car and that in the past I'd had the pan gasket replaced. The tech told me that my current leak (which is really only enough of a seep to lay down a film, not a serious-enough leak to wash dirt off where the film accumulates) is from the back of the valve cover gasket. He wiped it down thoroughly and told me to check it after I got back from vacation - and that they'd replace it under warranty if it was continuing to leak. I've been too busy to check it in the week since I got back, but hope to do so this coming weekend.

 

Kennedy, the front end can stay on to replace the oil pan gasket; it does help to move it forward in service mode using the modular extensions but I’ve done it without them. The bumper cover, lower air dam, and the splash plate will have to be removed. The 15mm bolts attached to the gear/clutch case will require leverage to undo. Have something to either set the AC compressor on or wire it to something above; don’t leave it hanging. This is a DIY type of task.

 

k-huevo -
Given that I have no way to get my car higher in the air than jackstands and that my mechanical abilities ended when cars got so complicated you need to be a "British car mechanic" with a degree in electronics to work on them, my DIY is limited to oil changes and installation of a Euro parcel shelf.

Centuries ago I did all my own work on a Spridget - tuning and balancing the SU carbs, setting valve clearances, changing oil/filter, lubing the zerk fittings, replacing the points in an SU fuel pump, setting timing, flushing/changing the coolant - the whole gamut of maintenance and repairs needed to keep the thing running. However, in many ways I don't consider modern cars to be nearly as amenable to DIY as those antiques, and my ulcers, blood pressure, and available free time simply won't tolerate the incredible amount of aggravation I know I'd incur were I to try DIY on something that ought to be as simple as a pan gasket replacement (lift car, drain oil, pull pan, scrape off gasket, replace gasket w/ permatex, tighten pan bolts, add oil, go for drive).

 

I’m glad you mentioned some of your concerns EddyM, others may have similar conceptions. It is true packaging requirements have made for compact quarters, but in my opinion the MINI R53/R50 variants are very well thought out regarding service access. Things have to be removed to get to things but once you gain a little understanding of what needs to be pealed off, servicing becomes far less intimidating. The Bentley Service Manual is an excellent resource but sometimes their procedures have more steps than necessary. Some changes from the old days are good ones, the oil pan gasket peals off in one piece so no need to scrape anything and no sealant is necessary, but just like the old days the oil pan gasket can be installed on jack stands, even ramps if you’re not too thick.

 

k-huevo,

I checked it out while under there, ramps should be high enough. I'll be doing a DIY. They (the dealer) did it once before under warranty and didn't get it right or the gasket is at fault. I was able to slowly tighten the bolts to 23lb. I was just a little unnerved that they were that loose.
Is it that the gasket shrinks after 25,000-35,000 miles of heat cycles? Mine has never had an over heating incident.
I could use blue locktite on the bolts if they are backing out but they should be under tension (23lb torque) and that shouldn’t be happening unless it is due to gasket shinkage.
Maybe it was a botched job of not following the bolt torque sequence.
Do you have any ideas on why this oil pan gasket is failing?
Do you use any type of sealant on the gasket/pan/block?

 

sorry to say this but the gasket used for the oil pan is on the low end. i would rather use hondabond or a "cork type" gasket.

if you need to replace the gasket you can pm me and i can walk you thru it, is too much to list.

 

I just took in my '05 MCC (August '05 build, 25K miles) into service this morning. Yesterday I noticed a half-dollar size spot of oil on the garage floor. It seemed to come from the back of the engine, on the driver side. I'll let you all know what the prognosis is once I hear back.

 

Any follow up? I've had a leak for several years, and my local dealership tried a couple of things, to no avail. I think this might be this issue. I have it up on stands now. Anyone have a photo of the various supspect bolts? I'd like to snug them up tomorrow morning, if loose... Thanks.

 

put some blue thread lock on um and retorque all . go inside to outside in criss cross .

 

I recently had my pan gasket replaced under warranty. 33K miles.

 

Me too. My oil pan gasket had a small seepage and it was just replaced under warranty at 37,000 miles.

 

Of the 13 bolts, I tightened-up about half of the reachable ones, and I'm fairly certain that my leak is from the gasket area also. That said, my SC runner, quite a bit higher up, has plenty of grime on it also. This could be due an over oil job on the my intake filter a long time ago though...

 

Does anybody know how many hours replacing the oil pan gasket is supposed to take, for the dealer to do it?

Thanks.

 

I took my MCSC with 29k miles in to Irvine Mini because it looked like my motor mount was leaking - looks just like the classic photos found on this wonderful site. Was informed by the SA that the problem is not with the motor mount, rather the oil pan gasket is leaking. This sounds whack to me, as the oil is right next to and below the motor mount. Isn't the oil pan gasket much lower on the engine? Plus they ran out of wiper blades. Grrrrr.

 

Book rate for this task is around 2 hrs I think.

I have "seepage" as well. No spots on floor .

Also had to tighten few pan bolts, but realy did not help much.

I check oil often, and add a little every 3K miles or so.

* * Also found that same seepage was initially responsible for the fuse blowing on my power steering pump's cooling fan.

See, once the fan housing, blades and bearings get wet with the oils, debris sticks to it like glue eventually building up heat, and in some cases even causing the MINI engine bay fires......

 

Why hasn't anyone re-torqued the oil pan bolts? I would torque them and then see if the leak stops/continues before confirming a bad oil pan gasket. This can save the time of bringing your car into the dealer, or having to pay for an unnecessary repair.

 

Somewhere between 35k and its current 45+k, I've had both the oil pan and head gasket replaced (the level in the coolant tank kept sinking below the 'low' mark.

I just hope I'm living in place with a garage by the time my warranty is up and my car needs parts because I don't wanna have to pay anyone to do stuff I can do myself.

 

Mine was replaced under warranty at around 34K miles. It was leaving about a nickel-sized spot on the floor every night.
'05 MCSC

 

You guys are lucky, I just got my Mini back yesterday, the dealer need to get the problem fix for 2 days, remember mine is just over 25,000km . First, I keep hearing some water sloshing sound under the dash area everytime when I start moving my car from park for a period of time (like over nite or after work). But once the car in motion for like after 10 seconds then the water sound disappear. After that the car will become overheat after 25 minutes of drive, the temp hits the red end blinking on me. Then it will come down a little bit & then back up to the top end again. And everday I spot the ground under the engine area got little fluid & oil stains. So, I booked an appointment & here are what they found & fixed.

Coolant leaks, thermostat is leaking.
Thermostat housing is leaking.
Oil leaks, oil pan gasket is leaking.

So, they replaced them all & gave me a beautiful car wash & even dressed my winter tires
But the minute I drove my Mini out from the dealer, I heard the water sloshing rite away but I just don't have time to get in & book another appointment. So, all other problem seems fixed but the water sound still there, anyone knows what would be cause this?

 

Thanks for mentioning that. I wasn't sure if the car was leaking or got dirty from oil changes so I complained about a leak anyway. Turns out that the oil pan was indeed leaking a bit so they fixed it. Good thing I read about this. I would hate to have replaced that on my own dime when the warranty expires.

I just wish I hadn't changed the oil 4 weeks ago with expensive Redline oil. Waste of an oil change and $60.

 

How-to with pictures PLEASE!!!! I need to replace mine.