I am a 70 year old retiree whose wife has just bought a 2007 mini s and we have fallen in love with this car. For most of my life I have always changed my oil and filters after a bad experience with a dealer oil change when the mechanic didn't tighten the oil plug and if I hadn't caught it,I would have ruined my engine. Is it difficult to perform an oil change on this car?
Welcome! Make sure you post a picture of that MINI. Changing oil is not difficult, below is a link. R56 Oil Service - Library
:cornut: Welcome to MA from Sherman,Texas and a young squirt of a mere 60yo. I have an 08 R56 BRG MCS/JCW and yes, the most fun car that I've ever driven. Jason
It's easy if the munch before you didn't tighten the plug to 200 ft pd then the fun starts. I'm with ya on the do it yourself. To many people on crack I think. Torque wrench please.
The previous owner of my MINI would unfortunately bring the car to STS for oil changes. So my first oil change involved a small blow torch and vice grips because the bolt was torqued way too much and the head was stripped Nothing a little patience and 'tough love' can't fix.
No one mentioned that you need a seriously LARGE socket (27mm if I remember correctly) to get the flipping oil filter canister off. Its not hard to get off, but few of us happen to have a socket that large and we don't find out that we don't have one until we start the project and have all the oil out of the car (well, that's what happened to me anyway).
Welcome, and these cars are indeed a blast. I perform my oil changes as well...and the MINI's is no particular hardship. About 30-45 minutes start-finish, nothing out of the ordinary for a vehicle with a cartridge filter. Get that proper socket for the oil filter housing, and a long extension. I've taken to holding the coolant overflow tank out of the way with a bungee. That's about it for tips/hints.