Genik, I can feel your pain in many ways! Should I buy a manual, why am I losing oil, etc. I must first say that I can't agree more with everyone leaning you toward the Bentley Manual....second to none!!! It even has schematic after schematic for the electrical system. I am new to Minis and because of the manual and input from the great subscribers here....I was able to replace my head due to a burnt valve. She runs better than she ever has!!! A question about your burning oil....are you burning it, or losing it? Take care!
To see if you are losing oil put a large sheet of cardboard under you car when you park at home and work. When you move your car look for oil on the cardboard. You can also get under the car and look for oil leaks.:idea: If it is not leaking you are burning it.:nonod:
People need to stop perpetuating this myth, it was more true in the 1980's but has no relationship tp modern turbo motors, wehich are water cooled. In the case of the MINI, there's even an electric pump that circulates coolant thru the turbo after shutsown, there is no reason to idle a turbo engined MINI before shutdown. Now to the OP, what year car are you working on?
As far as the myth goes, under normal conditions I agree with you. If you've been flogging it I sure would let it idle for a bit. Just my .02. Half a myth?
Ive check it underneath, there is no leak, just a very minor one at the gasket, but no signs of any oil dripping down!
Genik, I didn't see how many miles you have on your car.....but mine now has 69,000 miles. Any moisture around your valve cover gasket? Could be losing it from here. If not..... I was experiencing the same thing..... and if you haven't looked yet, I would expect to see large amounts of carbon buildup in your intake ports. Some of the "real" mechanics I'm sure have additional input, but to identify that as a problem you'll see intermittent puffs of black smoke while driving. The other method, but is more intensive, is to remove the intake manifold and look at the valves. If you have carbon build up....there is a great write-up on how to build your own walnut blaster, to blast your own valves. TRUST me it's a real pain doing it manually....without the blaster. Spend about $65 and you're ready to blast away. Following the guidance given here on MA, it takes only a few hours and saves you about $1500 from a dealer. It may help with your oil consumption.
1. what is that blaster you say? 2. how is it used? 3. the intake manifold is the valve cover? 4. when the intake manifold is opened and closed back again do i need to purchase a new crankcase for it, or can i use the old one?
Be that as it may. It is a very good practice to let your turbo cool and stabilize if it has been run hard. Turbos get HOT very HOT thats why if you didn't put a heat shield on the first turbo minis(2007) the fake hood scoop would melt. Thats a lot of heat. Mini has also changed their oil change interval. Because the turbos are hard on the oil even modern synthetic oils. There has been lots of talk of burnt oil and hi oil consumption lately. No its not the 80's and turbos have gotten better but they still need special attention. Sorry not trying to disagree with you or hijack the thread. This is where I would usually put in something smart about the R53's but I wont, I'll let DaveO do it for me. :biggrin5:
Get the Bentley manual it is very informative. But perhaps the best thing you can do is take your Mini to a good shop and have them check your mini over. Then they can make recommendations. After that you can decide what to have them do and what you would like to do yourself.
It used to be every 15k or something silly like that but they changed it to 10k (I think) because of oil sludge and other things. Note: This is only from my readings on M/A and I have no firsthand experience with these issues because ....... Wait for it, Wait for it, Keep waiting for it, I have a 1st Gen R53 and these are 2nd Gen problems. :lol::devil: