Hi, I'm new here but have been coming here for help for a while. Replaced the thermostat housing last year from reading here and a U Tube video. Anyway, I started noticing burnt oil smells when at stop lights over the summer. Assumed it was the turbo oil line based on my reading but, as I started to investigate, it seems I have a different problem. It looks like the oil pan gasket because it is wet with oil most of the way around it but it is also wet to the drivers side of the pan as seen in the photo. The only other thing I can add is that I last had the oil changed at a jiffy lube (yeah, I know). They overfilled it and spilled oil that seeped below the plastic covers. Could a poorly installed filter result in this (I'm not seeing any oil coming from above but it could be taking a path that I'm not seeing) or something else related to that? Opinions? If its the oil pan, It looks like it can come out fairly easily or am I missing something.
A common place for the R56 to leak oil is the seal on the oil cooler/filter housing. If it's leaking there it could run down to the area you're seeing it. Could be leaking from the filter housing itself. Stay far, far away from Jiffy Lube and places like that. They just don't have the experience on Mini's or cars without a spin off oil filter. Just my opinion. YMMV
Wasn't leaking before the Jiffy change? Was leaking after the Jiffy change? It's real easy to nick the oil ring that comes with the filter... Speaking of which, I doubt they used a OEM filter... Stick with OEM or Mann and nothing else.... It's very possible they also lost a lot of oil from the filter housing when they changed the oil filter, which is probably running down the engine making you think it's a leaking oil pan gasket.... Air entering through the radiator can blow that oil around and make you think its the gasket. I doubt very much that it's your oil pan gasket... They aren't really known for causing issues on the R56... I really think the problem started when you pulled into Jiffy... I suggest you take it to a reputable MINI repair shop or dealer and have them re-do your oil change. And by all means get whatever craptastic filter they used out of your engine. Clean the oil off the engine and you should be good...
I would clean the engine & then look closely to see where the oil is coming from. Right now it will be hard to tell, because the oil as migrated around a bit. Please keep your MINI out of places like Iffy Lube.
OK. Thanks for everything. I clean it all up and change the oil myself with an OEM filter and watch closely. I just don't trust ANY dealer with my money (and very few mechanics). I do most of the work on all my cars except oil changes because I hate the mess. It seems too easy to botch this one up - I'll order some OEM filters and do it myself. If that doesn't fix it, I'll do the filter housing gasket and turbo lines while I have the cat off. Here's my other car...
+3 on cleaning and never going back to a quick lube shop. Welcome to Motoring Alliance the onlyest MINI Forum you'll ever need !!
Yes, it looks like a oil filter housing leak. They often look like an oil pan gasket, but are not. You will need this seal to fix it. But if your going to do a turbo oil line at the same time then do the super kit has that gasket is included.
+1 on the DT Super Kit. That's what I put in my car. Nice car. In Japan they were called FairLady Z's. Could buy a new one for about $1300 when they first came out. I ended up going with a Honda 750. Much cheaper insurance.
Its actually a 1976 280Z. That's a 260Z front bumper and 240 wheels. I still have to do something about the back bumper. The original 280Z back bumper was missing all of the rubber dressings when I got it - previous owner had interior, various body elements, and motor taken apart when I got it - It was sort of like a puzzle with missing pieces. Tooke me a couple of years of picking at it to get it together and running again. So easy to work on though - luxurious amounts of room everywhere in that thing.
So - some slight progress and new theories. The slight progress is that I changed the oil and filter with a Mann filter and 5W30 mobil one. Cleaned everything up. Drove it for maybe an hour - still leaking. I did a bit more reading about leaks and watched a video or two on replacing the turbo oil line. My line has the heat shield added to it and it is not leaking at the top. I figure that its unlikely to be leaking at the bottom. I doubt that is the problem but, if I have to take this apart to fix the oil filter assembly gasket, I'll replace the turbo oil line while I am at it. So I see that there are valve cover leak problems with the R56. What are the chances that a valve cover (or gasket) leak could turn up as seen in those photos? Recall that I said that Jiffy had spilled oil when they did the change. I cleaned that up and noticed that what I had cleaned up was quite wet with oil again after my test drive: the bolt hole just behind the oil fill cap. I'm now wondering if there is a leak near there and it is wandering its way down to the location shown in the photos I posted earlier. Thoughts? I don't mind doing any of these jobs, I just want to be sure to do the right one!
A little FYI on Jiffy Kwik Lube places. Two homes within blocks of mine have burned down in the last ten years due to oily rags left under the hoods of cars by Jiffy Kwik Lube "technicians." The owners drove home, parked in the garage, and their cars caught fire. CD