I bought poly mounts for my 05 mcs from JCW in the UK. We have one dealership in Washingon state who claims to be mod friendly, they will only install oem under warranty. Guess I'll learn how to do it myself. I'll report later on the difficulty and ride quality. My neighbor has a lift, I'm willing to wait!

 

Wow, got the same thing going on here.

 

I'm a member of the leaking motor mount club. Took my MCS into service today for a problem with the air bag and they looked under the hood and quickly identified a leaking motor mount.

 

yeah im at about 8500 miles and have noticed the leak for a couple 1000 miles now but imma just wait for my first oil change at the dealer and have em do both at the same time!

 

Hmmm, has anyone had a driver side engine mount replaced? Of all my local MINI friends that have had engine mounts replaced, none that I can remember has ever mentioned having the driver side replaced.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the passenger side engine mount is the only one that is hydraulic on my 06. Looking at http://www.realoem.com , the driver side engine mount and the tranny mount both appear to be solid mount affairs with integral rubber buffers.

( http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...98&hg=22&fg=05 )
( http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...67&hg=22&fg=10 )

Mmmm, realoem is great!

Hmmm, all of the rubber mounts including the passenger side have a required "core return".

But only the passenger side engine mount has the separate replacable hydraulic "pressure cooker".

Can anyone here confirm that?

Best,

-- Don

 

Has anyone seen this on a 2003 MCS. The car is at 53K at the moment. I am well aware of the problem and have been checking the mount once in a month; there was nothing. Over the last couple of days I felt that car was "shaking" more than it used to when first starting it. Moreover, an intermittent "chirp" sound just appeared. I looked under the bonnet today and saw oil at the engine mount. I thought that particular part was "changed" for the 04 and up models. Mine is a 4/03 built... It makes me wonder if the dealer installed the "new" engine mount while replacing the clutch (for some reason). Is there a way to tell whether I have the old one or a new one?

How much would this cost me since I am out of warranty?

Thanks!

 

I went ahead and took some pictures (sorry for the quality, I dont have my camera with me and had to use the phone). There is a hole on the left side (the second picture). Is that normal???? Are the engine mounts on pre-04 cars hydrolic as well?

Thanks!

 

I spoke to MA at the dealer where the work was done, and he confirmed what I thought was the case: 03 MCS has the rubber engine mounts and they are not oil filled. As for the hole on the side, he said that it may well be a breather hole..

Soooooo, where is that oil coming from then? The engine oil level is normal by the way. Supercharger has oil also, right?

Interesing.......

 

Hmmm, that sure looks like the pressure cooker to me. Like you, I would wonder if someone replaced the original rubber mount with a hydraulic one.

While under the hood, check your passenger side front suspension strut riser (part of the body), there are 1 or 2 rubber plugs there. Is hydraulic fluid leaking from around the plugs to underneath the engine mount where you see it now?

Also, start your engine and watch the pressure cooker. Is more hydraulic fluid leaking from the hole as you watch? That hole doesn't look normal.

Best,

-- Don

P.S. Below is what the -04 mount is supposed to look like, and next to it, the 05+ mount, from http://www.realoem.com

 

Thanks for the reply Don.

I wiped out the area clean before leaving for home, drove about 32 miles (mostly freeway), arrived home, turn the car off and opened the bonnet... The same area had oil again!!!

Since these are rubber and not filled with oil (confirmed with the dealer), I am puzzled as to where this is coming from....

In an effort to "identify" this, here is the description: it looks "light pinkish" in color and definitely different from the motor oil in color and smell. It smells "fruity" or "something sweet" if that makes any sense.

I touched everywhere around that area to find some residue to be able to trace this, but could not find anything. I will check the "passenger side front suspension strut riser" as you suggested and let the engine run while whatching the area....

Could this be suspension related? Any other source?

Weird, he???

 

Hmmm, and yes, it is strange...

The strut riser plugs can also be a source of leakage of something liquid from something, but what that is I don't know. I do know that when the MINI mechanic replaced my passenger side engine mount he cleaned around the mount as well as around those plugs in the strut riser. I think there is some connection. Unfortunately realoem doesn't make any real point about that, so it could be the plugs are to reach adjustments and the leakage is road dirt and water.

Interesting also about the fruity smell. Last couple of days I've smelled something fruity too around the driver side front of the car, almost like plums. I thought it was my deoderant. Hmmm...

I think there are a lot of unknowns here. But if you are seeing more leakage around your engine mount and no where else, that has to be the source of it. One simple way to be sure is clean everything up again, then put a large band-aid (or duct tape with some paper towel folded up in the middle) around the mount over the hole, but above the mounting location so it won't get any leakage from somewhere else. Then drive for another 30 minutes, and when done take the band-aid off and see if the absorbant material has gotten more hydraulic fluid on it. If it has, that has to be the source of the leak.

If it is the source, then talk to your dealer, for some reason you have a hydraulic (or otherwise liquid filled) engine mount.

Let us know what you find, this is interesting...

In the mean time, has anyone here disassembled the front suspension inside the front passenger side riser? If so, what are the plugs in the riser for, and what liquid could leak out of them?

Also, are any of the other 2 engine mounts also hydraulic on the 05+ cars?

Best,

-- Don

 

I tried to make a warranty claim on mine but the dealer told me that because the mount wasn't leaking when they checked it, they would not replace it.

what about the #$%^&^%$#@! baked on crap in my engine bay? HELLO!?

Not surprising. BMW Australia isn't known for being helpful.

 

Hmmm, try this at home...

Clean carefully around the offending mount. Then put a duct-tape and clean paper towel "band-aid" around the mount as described above, around the seam for the 2 halves of the mount "pressure cooker" if you don't have a specific hole to target. Drive around for a few minutes with spirit. Then take the band-aid off and see if it is leaking.

If it isn't leaking try another location on the engine mount with the "band-aid".

If you can demonstrate leakage, do the same test with your MINI/BMW service manager. If they still don't acknowledge the leak as you demonstrate it for them, I'd go up the chain of command until someone does. Tell them this is a known problem in the USA and dealers replace the mounts, no questions asked.

The big question after they acknowledge the leak is whether they have the part on hand. If none of the dealers in Australia are doing warranty work on engine mounts, it may be there is some problem with supply and they just don't want to admit it.

The truth is you can drive with a leaking mount for a while, until your engine starts vibrating badly there. I drove with mine leaking for about 4k miles before warranty replacement and never experienced vibration, others here have gone longer. Leave it long after the vibration starts and you may get some damage. That's not the way it should be, but your dealer may be waiting for vibration.

Good luck with this!

Best,

-- Don

 

Crevier just replaced the passenger motor mount on my 2003 MCS with 40,000 mi. I noticed the drive train slack seemed reduced a lot. I am happy about it. Also, new coolant catch tank (2nd replacement).

The motor mount was not in stock!! - had to wait 2 days to be completed
It's all good though.

 

Hmmm, sorry about your wait...

In theory your 2003 should have had a solid non-hydraulic mount, was that the case?

Best,

-- Don

 

I have an 05 MCSc and had the motor mount leak. The service advisor assured me that there was absolutely no oil in the mount and that the leak must be from something else. So he brought over the mechanic, who looked at the small pool of viscous, sticky fluid underneath the mount and said "The motor mount is leaking - better put in a new one."

So, obviously, these fellows are are still learning about these cars even though they've been around for a while. Try to get as many opinions as you can.

 

There was a trail of oil residue leading downward from the support. It looked like it had been there for some time due to the accumulation of dirt on the residue. It obviously leaked fluid. "Theory" does not apply. If your information comes from what a service adviser told you, I would be skeptical. Service advisers do not necessarily know what they are talking about. They put a happy face on what they are told to tell you, and "coordinate" between departments. From what I have experienced, service advisers, despite good intentions, often know little about the actual components of the vehicle.

 

No, I can't blame that "theory" on a service advisor -- it had been widely reported in many threads here that previous to 05, MINI models had solid engine mounts. That report, however, could have come from anywhere...

Wherever that "theory" came from, it sounds like it is wrong. You and Volki both have demonstrated it wrong.

So it sounds like leaking motor mounts go back from day one, with differences in the design, but still hydraulic. Is your hydraulic mount leak with a passenger side upper engine mount, too?

Best,

-- Don

 

Stopped by the dealer to take a look at few 03 MCS for the design of the engine mount. Yes, they are the same design and there are holes in them (actually two). The one I looked at some dried oil at the bottom, so the owner does not know it yet...
By the way the SA did not even know what an engine mount was

Then I went to a MINI mechanic, and called another one... They both said that regardless of the year/design, they are all oil-filled. The part is around $80 and the labor would be around $35-45 depending on the shop. The dealer quote for the job: $235

Now I am contemplating whether to get a 15% pulley while this is going to be done and save that $45 labor charge

 

I took my 05 in today and they replaced the right side mount as per SIB #22 01 06

 

I had the same problem and my SA identified it right away as a leaky motor mount. He mentioned that these were common problems with early production '05's. Try to wipe that oil off immediately otherwise it might do permanent damage to the paint on that frame like it did to mine. I have a pepper white S.

 

Does the dealer replacemnt mount cure the problem... or do you need to replace them again in 15K miles?

 

My '05 isn't leaking, but I noticed a strange sound coming from the passenger side when Iwas driving. I opened the hood and noticed that if I shake the motor by hand, the motor mount makes a knocking noise. If I hit the mount with a rubber mallet, it makes the same noise. Funny thing is we called Mini 2 weeks ago and they flatbedded the truck to the dealership to check it out. They said that the oil filter housing was crushed!! I can't imagine how that would happen. They figured the noise was coming from that and they replaced it (I changed the oil not too long ago and the housing was totally fine). The car was in the dealership for over a week. Since they were unable to diagnose the problem correctly, that is what got me to take a look myself. Took me 2 minutes to figure it out....who do they have working there anyway??!?!

 

06' mcs 22k miles

Mine has started leaking slowly. I suspect about 1-1.5k miles ago. It doesn't look as black under it as some of them but there is a small amount of dark residue.

Im taking it in to the dealer next week to have it fixed. So add me to the list.

 

22,500 miles Oct 05. I will be swapping the mount this weekend since the engine will be up anyway due to a pulley install. I wonder has the 'factory' changed anything on the new mounts that we are installing or are we putting the same junk in that came out?

Speaking of service advisors, I like to ask them what they drive and if they have ever owned a Mini. Here in Michigan, the Adviors like to drive Saab's and Hummer H3's thus I do not let them touch my Mini because I know that they don't have the experiece I feel they should. I wouldn't claim to know what an apple tastes like unless I actualy have taken a bite of one....

Does anyone know what happened to Adam who used to work as a Service advisor at Patrick Mini near Chicago IL? He was the man and had a sweeeeeet mini.