Had a puddle of what looked like engine oil under the right side of my 2005 S. Opened up the hood and found this. It looks to me like the engine mount is leaking the fluid. I looked at everything I could on the engine without taking stuff apart and couldn't find anywhere where oil was leaking. So do the mounts on the MINI have fluid in them? Or if anyone has any other suggestions as to what would be causing this I would appreciate it. Probably taking it in this week and just wanted to be informed beforehand what I should expect.
Time for a new fluid filled motor mount. It's that silver thing above the leak. Happens to all MINIs. How many miles on your MINI? I've heard denatured alcohol will remove that sludge...
Doesn't happen to ALL MINIs (some aren't made that way), but does happen to all MINIs that have that mount.....sooner or later! Easy to change, less than an hour's work, but you do need a couple of tools..... a floor jack to hold up the engine and a special socket to get the lower bolt loose. Search for a DIY in the library..... Denatured alchohol is about the only thing that will remove the liquid, fortunately it's cheap and readily available (at your drug store or grocery store). There is a solid replacement mount available from some of the vendors (Way?) but I have no experience with it as far as it compares to the factory for NVH.
I think most MINIs have the fluid-filled mount but I don't know the percentage. It does seem to be a fairly common failure. Here's a link to Aaron's write-up in the Library. Don't worry about the transmission mount aspect, he explains which steps to take and which to skip if you're only replacing the motor mount.
Thanks for the info folks, the car is a 2005 and I'm sure they are original as the car is just now nearing 30,000 miles.
These do have a propensity to fail again. There is an aftermarket solution that many of the M/A have available. The TSW Motor Mount. However, if you are sensitive to NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) this may not be the solution for you.
I had a TSW engine damper & all it did for me was increase NVH. I could stand it less that a week. I know it is not the same as the supposed improved mount. My best guess is the TSW replacement mount will be more of the same. If one could buy one & try it with the expectation that the vendor would take it back for a refund if not satisfied it would be worth a try. My original mount lasted under 30,000, the replacement is still good at 96,000.
If I remember correctly, this is a 1st Gen problem. I believe it was addressed on the next go around. Jim
The newer style mount that has a propensity to leak was put into service from 12/2003 on the R53. The part number is 22-11-6-778-610 With a MSRP of about 90 bucks. Anecdotal evidence shows that sometime around 2009 the replacements that MINI offers stopped leaking, possibly there was a redesign.
There are a few M/A Sponsors who sell OEM parts -- pricing varies -- click the Sponsors drop-down at the top of the page.
Sorry Crash, I didn't mean to be correcting you, but I guess it did look that way. It isn't often I know an answer, so I wanted to get it on the table. :cornut: Jim
I believe the 03 justa mount is not liquid filled. If I'm wrong you'll know in a few minutes... :lol: Wait for it Mark.