2nd Gen R56 Cooper S Oil Leak Help Needed

Discussion in '2nd Generation: 2007+ R55 through R61' started by DarkSi08, May 29, 2012.

Tags:
  1. DarkSi08

    DarkSi08 New Member

    Mar 14, 2012
    10
    10
    0
    Ratings:
    +10 / 0 / -0
    I've been searching for weeks regarding an oil leak on my fiance's 2007 Cooper S, but I'm having a heck of a time finding anything at all.

    Here's the deal - Every day when my fiance leaves, her car leaves two dots of oil on the garage floor - or, rather, the bib we've placed under her car. It's the exact same two dots of oil, in the exact same pattern, every single morning. She has about 70k on the car, and it's been doing this since we got it.

    So far on this thing, I've replaced the tensioner, the water pump, which started leaking and making noise shortly after she got the car, installed an intake, a turbo inlet pipe, as the stock one kept popping off, (turned out it had torn anyway), the valve cover gasket, and the rear breather hose, since it was cracked. I've washed the underbody very thoroughly, and the drops reappear a few days later.

    Here's a list of the pertinent info relating to the leak, hopefully making it easy will fetch some good replies and suggestions!

    1 - Two dots of oil, every morning. These dots are on the passenger side, either off of the crossmember bolts, or two oil pan bolts.

    2 - Timing chain tensioner has been replaced, as it was leaking.

    3 - Valve cover gasket has been replaced, as it was pretty moist around the edges with oil.

    3 - Rear crankcase breather hose was cracked, so it has been replaced as well. There was a bit of oil on the power line for the starter motor from this dripping oil.

    4 - Upon initial inspection under the car, it looks to be the oil pan that is leaking, but I'm not quite convinced that's what it is. The oil pan bolts are where I see the majority of the oil gathering, but I THINK I see oil on the block above the oil pan.

    Interestingly, it looks like there may be a bit of oil on the helper pulley for the water pump, too, if that helps narrow down where the problem is. It's entirely possible that I got a bit of oil or something on the housing for that pulley when I did the water pump, though. It's pretty tough to see up there when I can only get the car 8" or so off of the ground, though.

    So, I'm at a loss here. I've seen it mentioned that the oil pump could leak, or that it could be a Vanos solenoid, etc, but there's absolutely no solid information that I can find on these conditions. Any google search for oil leaks turns up tons of information for R53's, but minimal info for R56's past the valve cover gasket. Any search on any of the big-3 forums (here, MA and Mini2) are pretty worthless, but that could just be my search terms.

    Any help or suggestions would be greatly welcomed!

    Thanks!
     
  2. k-huevo

    k-huevo Club Coordinator

    May 6, 2009
    683
    159
    0
    Pipe Creek, Texas
    Ratings:
    +159 / 0 / -0
    It would help if you would share a photo showing the location of the oil on the engine.

    Without a photo, and based on the frequency of oil leaks I've seen, I suspect the turbo's oil tube banjo fitting located on the front of the block.

    A plug located on the rear of the engine case above where the half shaft bearing bracket bolts up is another possibility.

    Dripping from the inlet hose to the throttle body.

    Loose oil filter housing cover.
     
  3. DarkSi08

    DarkSi08 New Member

    Mar 14, 2012
    10
    10
    0
    Ratings:
    +10 / 0 / -0
    Thanks, I'll see about a picture. Not sure how great the quality will be from under the car, though! :)
     
  4. DarkSi08

    DarkSi08 New Member

    Mar 14, 2012
    10
    10
    0
    Ratings:
    +10 / 0 / -0
    Most of these things are on the wrong side of the motor, though. Not saying it's impossible, but I would assume there would be pooling closer to where the leaking components are.
     
  5. Detroit Tuned

    Detroit Tuned Well-Known Member
    Motoring Alliance Founding Sponsor

    May 5, 2009
    301
    319
    63
    evertyhing
    Metro Detroit
    Ratings:
    +319 / 0 / -0
    oil pan. just starting to see them...or the turbo oil feed line.
     
  6. DarkSi08

    DarkSi08 New Member

    Mar 14, 2012
    10
    10
    0
    Ratings:
    +10 / 0 / -0
    Thanks. I'm really going to just try and replace everything that can leak, but I want to hit the obvious stuff first to try and eliminate the leak.

    I know oil pan gaskets were a problem with the R53, have there been a lot of problems on the R56 yet? Any idea how bad of a job that is? It looks easier than my STi...

    How about the oil pump? I assume it's driven off of the timing chain... Has anyone had any problems with that leaking?
     
  7. Steve

    Steve Administrator
    Staff Member Articles Moderator

    Apr 23, 2009
    12,154
    3,164
    113
    Maryland, USA
    Ratings:
    +3,166 / 0 / -0
    Didn't they use the old failure-prone fluid filled motor mount until 09-ish? If so, could be another possibility.
     
  8. Tron Chief

    Tron Chief "Need More Coffee"
    Lifetime Supporter

    Sep 18, 2010
    559
    60
    28
    Maintenance Supervisor Del Monte, retired 30 year
    Lemoore California
    Ratings:
    +60 / 0 / -0
    Front seal?
     
  9. Redbeard

    Redbeard JCW: because fast is fun!
    Supporting Member

    Dec 17, 2009
    1,636
    398
    83
    Glorified spreadsheet jockey.
    Austin, TX
    Ratings:
    +413 / 0 / -0
    My Dad ('08 MCSa) had a leak that manifested in a similar spot. Turns out the bolts on the timing chain cover can back out if not properly re-installed after a chain replacement. It's small at first but get's worse over time. Tends to leak on the passenger side. Check to make sure they haven't backed out and if they haven't make sure the seal at the timing chain cover is seated properly.
     
  10. DarkSi08

    DarkSi08 New Member

    Mar 14, 2012
    10
    10
    0
    Ratings:
    +10 / 0 / -0
    I sure as heck hope not. If that's the case, it's going to keep leaking for a good, long while. Haha

    Ah, that's good info. I'll check that out. Funny, my fiance actually suggested the same thing, I said 'nah, honey, I doubt that's the case.' haha

    As for the fluid-filled mount suggestion, I don't think so. It would be the top passenger-side mount, right? The area it's leaking would make tons of sense, but I'm pretty sure it's dry as a bone around the mount.

    Thanks, guys!
     
  11. Tron Chief

    Tron Chief "Need More Coffee"
    Lifetime Supporter

    Sep 18, 2010
    559
    60
    28
    Maintenance Supervisor Del Monte, retired 30 year
    Lemoore California
    Ratings:
    +60 / 0 / -0
    Take a look at Custom Mini Shop here on Facebook. They just had an R56 in with a bad timing chain top support that had broken and gone down into the pan. After getting that all cleaned up they had to split the engine and transmission as both front and back seals were leaking. The new engines start to consume more oil as they get older mine had 59,000 and was going thru a quart every 2000 miles. I have heard that some dealerships are telling customers that it is normal for the engines to consume a quart every 1000 miles. Needless to say if you look at my signature I no longer have the R56 and now have an R52.
     
  12. jsw6016

    jsw6016 New Member

    Nov 7, 2012
    1
    1
    0
    Ratings:
    +1 / 0 / -0
    my 2008 cooper S has an oil leak - leaves spots on the garage floor - about the size of a nickel. dealer says the "paper gasket" has deteriorated and the pan needs to be removed, ground down to remove old gasket and a new one made of rtv(?) needs to be put on. thoughts? any one else have oil leak like this?
     
  13. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

    Mar 30, 2009
    25,144
    10,052
    113
    Writer
    Short North
    Ratings:
    +10,069 / 0 / -0
    Why the dealer is saying that a new gasket must be made of RTV is beyond me. The MINI Part # for the Oil Pan Gasket is 11-13-7-565-928.

    Looks like...

    [​IMG]
     
  14. eMINIparts

    eMINIparts Well-Known Member
    Motoring Alliance Sponsor

    Mar 13, 2012
    3,751
    1,087
    113
    MINI Parts Advisor
    Bedford NH
    Ratings:
    +1,090 / 0 / -0
    Update

    R56 R57 R55 R60 no longer using the oil pan gasket. MINI is now using a RTV type sealant. The old style gasket was causing leaks.
     
  15. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

    Jun 4, 2009
    19,424
    10,031
    113
    Retired old fart
    Hooterville Ohio USA
    Ratings:
    +11,656 / 2 / -0
    Good to know. They are now gluing the engines together. ;)
     
  16. Metalman

    Metalman Well-Known Member
    Lifetime Supporter

    Sep 29, 2009
    12,713
    7,659
    113
    Ex-Owner (Retired) of a custom metal fab company.
    Columbus, Ohio
    Ratings:
    +7,913 / 1 / -0
    I glued my wife's MB valve cover last weekend to good results... So it can be done...:D Part of the deal requires the RTV to cure for 24 hrs and of course a really clean mating surface (cleaned with brake cleaner).... So it sat in the shop over the weekend... All is good now... All it cost me was a tube of Permatex and some of my time....
     
  17. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

    Jun 4, 2009
    19,424
    10,031
    113
    Retired old fart
    Hooterville Ohio USA
    Ratings:
    +11,656 / 2 / -0
    Lots of stuff is glued together now (Better living through chemistry). In fact I was surprised that the Prince engine had a gasket & not RTV.
     
  18. Wisc07S

    Wisc07S New Member

    Oct 17, 2010
    9
    6
    0
    Ratings:
    +6 / 0 / -0
    I have an 07S with about 75K. It started leaking out of the turbo oil feed line about 3K ago. If your car is you'll see an oil build-up on the top/front of the engine.

    I just replaced mine with a braided line from Detroit Tuned. Dealer wanted about $600 to fix with the not so great OEM line plus heat shield that is supposed to prevent further issues. All the parts you need will be less than $100.

    If this isn't your problem now it probably will be in the future!
     

Share This Page