I put my '05 MCS up on the Rhino ramps last week to change my oil and slid under the car. I noticed a patch of oil about 3 to 4" in diameter around the interface between the engine and the transmission. I know it wasn't from me be/c I hadn't done anything to the car yet (usually don't spill oil anyway thanks to posts from this forum on how to remove the filter without spilling--mil gracias my friends) and the dealer had done the last oil change. It wasn't red so I figured it wasn't transmission fluid. The patch of oil was only in this area i.e. it looked as though it didn't drip down from above.

Anyhow, I brought it in to the dealer today and they confirmed it was a leak and that it was the main oil seal. They replaced the seal, the clutch and the flywheel while they were at it. I guess oil had gotten on these parts.

Anyone have a similar experience? Is it standard to replace the clutch and flywheel once contaminated with crankcase oil? I'm not complaining, of course, be/c it's all under warranty but I was just wondering....

Thanks.

~Paul

 

I think that is my problem as well. I have a picture here:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=64973

Look familiar? The leak is so slight it is not dripping on the garage floor (yet) . Guess it's time for a trip to to dealer.

 

Yup, that's what it looked like. And yes, it barely dripped.

I'm glad I went, I have ~44,000 mi already---long commute to work.

Good Luck. Let us know how you made out.

 

Well, on the first visit, the dealer couldn't figure out if the leak was motor oil or transmission oil. So they put a UV dye in the motor oil, and I drove around for another 2 weeks. Today I found out from the dealer that the leak is not motor oil, so it must be from the transmission. The dealer is installing a new tranny (technically, a re-manufactured tranny). I was a bit surprised at the need to change the whole transmission, but I suppose they'll just re-manufacture mine and give it to the next person with a gear box leak!

BTW, since mine is an "05 MCS built in 12/04, I didn't have the possibility of the LSD option. But on warrenty work BMW will not allow me to pay for the upgrade - the replaced part has to be identical to the old.

 

they will note the problem with this tranny and refurbish it as a rebuild.

 

You could clean the flywheel and re-use it, but an oil-soaked friction disk has gotta go. Even if it wasn't, with 44k on yours it would have been a steal of a deal to get it done for just the parts cost, if they were eating the labor anyway because they had to get to the oil seal. To get it all done on their nickel is great!

 

As from my last post back in April 2006, BMW replaced the Rear Mail Oil Seal along with the clutch (replaced with remanuf'd) and flywheel. That was at about 44K mi.

Just this past week, Sept 2006, they replaced everything again be/c the leak came back. It turned out to be the Rear Main Oil Seal again. They replaced the clutch with a remanuf. one but did not have to replace the flywheel this time. I now have 58.5K mi on the car. Thanks to BMW for repairing everything N/C while out of warranty but what the hell is going on?!?! OK, one time you get a bad seal but twice? I'm not so sure it's defective seals. It seems to me like there is something else causing the seal to fail.

Anyone have any ideas?

I don't even want to think about having to pay for this repair out of my own pocket. I don't have a good feeling about this. Replacing the Rear Main Oil Seal every 14K mi or so seems a little strange.

 

Any chance the area where the seal touchs is warped? Similar to a warped cylinder head.

 

That's a good question, mdsbrain. I don't know be/c the dealer did all the work under warranty. I would assume they would have noticed if anything was warped but maybe I assume too much?

At any rate, I'm not interested in finding out if the seal is going to go again. I'm coming to the end of my rope with this car. I've been very lucky to have the warranty cover most repairs (replaced PuMA case, door handle, coil pack, two rear main oil seals, two clutches and one flywheel) but I don't think I want to find out how much it will cost to replace the oil seal from my own pocket. It's a fun, comfortable car to drive but I think I bought one made on a Monday morning. Time to cut my losses. And by loss I mean a 2005 Cooper with almost 60K miles is not going to bring me a very high trade-in price. I had planned on keeping this car for a long time but I'll be broke by then.

Sorry, I'm just venting now.

 

No I head you on that one. I've had my own issues and a PUMA case on my engine as well. A whole other thread of its own.

 

Mine is leaking again, too . Only lasted 4 months!

 

I traded my MCS in for a 2006 Honda Civic EX Coupe. I couldn't take it anymore. I cannot afford two cars and the Cooper was my daily driver. And there is no way I am going to wait around for the next seal to leak and have to repair it out of warranty. You know, I never knew how much I missed having a trunk .

 

Dealer just called to say they found out why the previous rear main seal replacement did not stop the leak - they say the motor bed plate was leaking. I don't know enough about bed plates and oil flow in the MCS engine to say whether this is BS or not, but that is their story. Let's hope the seeping is fixed for good!

 

I hope so. Keep your eye on it for sure. I know I probably could have caught the second leak sooner had I checked underneath more often.

 

Add me to the list of rear engine seal failures. With 5400 miles on a 2006 BMW MINI Cooper (not S) I am pretty disappointed. I have to take it back in to get done. I was figuring that this stuff would be all figured out after so many years of production. Has this been a problem for many?

 

Take a look here for my experience with the rear main seal https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...52#post1451152 . The rear main seal was only weeping but the transmission input shaft seal was a full blown leak.

 

My rear main seal went out when my car had less than 10,000 miles on it, and now at 22,000 miles, its leaking again. This is an 05 Cooper (non-S, non-convertible).

I'm pretty upset by this to say the least.