1st Gen R53 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: 130k Cooper S - Dissappearing oil!

  1. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    #2 Minidave, Apr 27, 2011
    Is this a new developement or something that's been ongoing that you didn't know about the car? IOW, has she been topping it off regularly or did it suddenly start using large quantities of Mobil 1?

    3.5 quarts in 6K is not excessive in a 130K engine, but if it just started doing it out of nowhere, that's a different story and points to something broken, like a ring....
     
  2. ScottinBend

    ScottinBend Space Cowboy
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    #3 ScottinBend, Apr 27, 2011
    Also check the coolant for any oil. The coolant/oil heat exchanger has been known to leak.
     
  3. ImagoX

    ImagoX New Member

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    #4 ImagoX, Apr 27, 2011
    Don't know if it's recent or not I'm afraid... Since MY car doesn't really consume all that much oil, I wasn't keeping that close an eye on it ((sheepish)) - just changing it every 4K-5K or so. I'll keep an eye on it more closely and also check the coolant - thanks for the tip!

    Re: Rings - wouldn't I have blue smoke on cold startup or excessive tailpipe deposits as a result of that? I'll pull the plugs and check them - I don't know when they were last replaced, anyway, so it gives me a good excuse. :)
     
  4. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    #5 Minidave, Apr 27, 2011
    Not necessarily, although you'd think so.....

    Definitely look at the plugs, definitely check for water in the oil or oil in the water....

    Take a closer look for leaks too. Crank sensor, crack in the valve cover, crack in the PCV hose and fittings and so on.....

    Saw a post the other day where a car was running a little rough and consuming mass quantities of oil - it had a cracked valve cover!
     
  5. ImagoX

    ImagoX New Member

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    #6 ImagoX, Apr 27, 2011
    I looked pretty close (as best I could lying on the garage floor crammed beneath the car, anyway) and didn't see any really grungy/wet/oily spots, but I'll have the car up on ramps for the oil change so I'll look again. Last oil looked fine - no cheese or any other indicators of moisture, but I'll check the current stuff. I'm shopping for plugs as we speak - anyone have any good recommendations for her? She's a very mild driver and seldom puts the hammer down (unlike me... heh), so just basic, well-performing units are fine.
     
  6. CHKMINI

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    #7 CHKMINI, Apr 27, 2011
    Matt, check with Aaron on the plugs while you're out there. He has just about all the options.
     
  7. ImagoX

    ImagoX New Member

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    #8 ImagoX, Apr 27, 2011
    Crap... that would have been a good idea... Feh.

    Oh, well - he had to order a few goodies I'm putting on this summer anyway, so I'll just ask him then. Thanks!
     
  8. Crashton

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    #9 Crashton, Apr 27, 2011
    You know this, but check your & your girls oil every 2 weeks at a minimum.

    Smoke on start up is usually valve seals leaking oil into the combustion chamber. On start up you burn the oil that has gotten there & you get smoke.

    As you know check the coolant for oil & the oil for coolant.

    If you really want to know the condition of the engine do a leak down test or have one done.

    I doubt you hurt the engine. Just keep a vigilant eye on things & remember us old things need more care. Burning oil is not a huge deal if you keep adding what gets burned.
     
  9. ImagoX

    ImagoX New Member

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    #10 ImagoX, Apr 27, 2011
    Yeah, I know it... My classic gets checked every single time I start it, but the new MINIs are so high-tech I fell into a state of complacency. Totally my bad. :prrr:

    Oil filters obtained and I'm switching to Mobil-1 All Synthetic. The other stuff's (Redline, Royal Purple, etc.) is just too bloody expensive if the car's gonna gulp it down at that kind of rate. I'll change it often - I know me.

    Thanks, guys!
     
  10. Crashton

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    #11 Crashton, Apr 27, 2011
    Mobil 1 is good oil. These modern cars can fool a fella. They are so damned reliable.

    As far as a plug change goes, since there's 130,000 on Amy's MINI it would be a good idea to install new plugs. That being said IMHO fancy plugs are not needed in that application. A stock equivalent plug will do the trick just fine. I'm running stock NGK plugs & they work well for me. If you need tools or help give me a holler Matt.