1st Gen "How To" Supercharger Oil Service + Oil Pan Gasket

SuperchargerFig27.jpg
The primary purpose was a supercharger oil check/refill... It’s an MCS only job that should be done every 80,000 miles or so for those of us with...
By agranger · Jan 23, 2018 · 10.3K
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  1. agranger

    agranger MINI of the Month June 2009
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    #1 agranger, Oct 1, 2011
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2011
    A few weeks ago, my wife went to visit her mother, leaving me at home with a spare car and lots of free time. I decided to tackle the supercharger oil service (an 80k to 100k service item, depending on who you ask).

    I collected all of my information into one place, took a lot of photos and tried to document everything as best I can. I couldn't find one good source for all of this information, so here is my best attempt at creating the document I wished for while planning this job.

    http://www.motoringalliance.com/library/1st-generation-mini-cooper-how-to-3/supercharger-oil-service--oil-pan-gasket-100/

    Articles in the library won't accept discussion, so please use this thread for discussion / questions.
     
  2. Nitrominis

    Nitrominis Banned

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    #2 Nitrominis, Oct 2, 2011
    THAT PRETTY MUCH SUMS IT UP! :cornut:

    "an 80k to 100k service item, depending on who you ask".

    Look forward to the read.:Thumbsup:
     
  3. agranger

    agranger MINI of the Month June 2009
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    #3 agranger, Oct 2, 2011
    It's taking a bit of extra work to get ready, but should be out soon... the article is probably one of the longer ones on MA... 20 pages with 28 photos/digrams (though 2 of those are beauty shots of the engine bay after the addition of powdercoated supercharger horns). It covers not just the Supercharger oil swap, but also the replacement of the oil pan gasket.

    Steve is moving the hosting of the images to the MA galley and Nathan is making a home for the imbedded PDF file of the instructions (easier to print and carry out to the garage).
     
  4. Steve

    Steve Administrator
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    #4 Steve, Oct 2, 2011
  5. Nitrominis

    Nitrominis Banned

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    #5 Nitrominis, Oct 2, 2011
    Fantasic

    This is one of the best DIY threads I have ever read!!!!!:Thumbsup::Thumbsup::Thumbsup:

    I found only one item that I may have either given a better explanation or omitted from the thread.
    If you are curious pm me and I will tell you what it is.


    GREAT WORK!!!!:::Thumbsup::Thumbsup:
     
  6. Nitrominis

    Nitrominis Banned

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    #6 Nitrominis, Oct 2, 2011
  7. Metalman

    Metalman Well-Known Member
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    #7 Metalman, Oct 2, 2011
    Nice job on the write up Aaron....:D
    Great addition to the library all....:Thumbsup:
     
  8. ColinGreene

    ColinGreene Well-Known Member
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    #8 ColinGreene, Oct 2, 2011
    For the crank trigger i would just replace the O ring, its 5 dollars. never hurts to wash the front of the motor also once appart.
     
  9. jiminni

    jiminni Well-Known Member

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    #9 jiminni, Oct 2, 2011
    Hope people know that if your washing your engine you better have some kind of a recovery system in place. This is for sure at a shop.....but not 100% at a residence? Anyone? And I'm sure California is :crazy: :lol:
     
  10. ColinGreene

    ColinGreene Well-Known Member
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    #10 ColinGreene, Oct 2, 2011
    Ill be sure not to kill the dolphins next time. Its just much easier to deal with automotive repairs when everything is clean, I think you will agree being you work at the Custom mini shop now.
     
  11. agranger

    agranger MINI of the Month June 2009
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    #11 agranger, Oct 2, 2011
    I'm getting some great feedback and learning lots from PMs being sent. Please keep 'em coming. I'll make an update once the feedback trickles down a bit so I don't drive poor Nathan and Steve crazy with version after version! Thanks all!
     
  12. agranger

    agranger MINI of the Month June 2009
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    #12 agranger, Oct 4, 2011
    Hmmm... I'm not sure if what I did counts as capture... I was using spray engine degreaser/cleaner, so what I sprayed on + what came off of the engine was wiped up with paper towels and thrown away. It isn't going into the environment at my house, but I guess it winds it's way into the environment at the landfill. I guess that I could have collected the crud (as much as possible) and added it to my growing collection of used oil.
     
  13. jiminni

    jiminni Well-Known Member

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    #13 jiminni, Oct 4, 2011
    I don't think its regulated at residences, yet? There might be some areas that are though. But at a business, at least were I'm from it's verboten.
     
  14. Metalman

    Metalman Well-Known Member
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    #14 Metalman, Oct 4, 2011
    Re: Engine cleaning.....

    So when you pull up to a "do it yourself" car wash in California, the coin selector that allows you to choose, rinse, soap, wax etc, doesn't have the one that says "engine degreaser / tire cleaner"?????

    Is that selection, like, what...... Taped over, or marked out with a black Sharpie or something??? Gum maybe.... Huh?

    You guys in California are gettin ripped... We have a full selection of choices here in Ohio....:D
     
  15. Nitrominis

    Nitrominis Banned

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    #15 Nitrominis, Oct 5, 2011
    In depends on the county but generally most car wash booths in Ca don't have the separate option for engine cleaning anymore.

    Due to strict EPA laws in CA, you can not clean an engine in just any old place. Coin operated car washes can be fined if you lift your hood to spray down the engine. Engine cleaning produces hazardous waste and must be disposed of properly. Each CA county handles it differently. Here in Santa Cruz if you allow anything but water going into the gutters even soap(if it is not biodegradable) from washing your car you could be fined if you get caught. Detail shops offering engine and chassis cleaning have a required three part separation system to catch all that hazardous waste.

    Remember we here in CA set examples that other states adopt so the day may come when your car wash gets tape over the "engine degreaser / tire cleaner" :crazy:
     
  16. agranger

    agranger MINI of the Month June 2009
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    #16 agranger, Oct 5, 2011
    Last edited: Oct 5, 2011
    I used an engine degreaser at a coin-op place once (years and years ago). The high-pressure spray got water in to the distributor and I barely got the car home. I opened up anything electronic, dried it out carefully with canned air and a hair-dryer and reassembled. I think the distributor was the second or third thing that I tried.

    I'm much more careful now, relying on soapy water, very gentle agitation and nothing stronger than the 'mister' or 'rain' setting on my hose-end sprayer. The nasty gunk usually gets hit with a solvent and wiped up with paper towel first.

    I've had several mechanics come out and thank me for keeping the engine bay so clean. It makes their job much easier (and makes it easier for me to check on their work and spot leaks).
    I wonder what would have happened to me, had I lived in California and they spotted this:

    [​IMG]

    Yes... that's the trail of Royal Purple (about $40 worth) that blew past the torn o-ring (got nicked in the install) on my oil filter housing. I made it about 2 blocks away from my house when the oil pressure lamp started coming on in the turns. I've done over 10 oil changes and never had this happen (yes, I lubed the o-ring with fresh oil during the install). I've learned my lesson and now check for leaks before going on the test drive. I would like to think that I would have noticed the oil trail down the driveway, but it was 1am when I took the test drive, so was kinda dark!

    One of my local MINI techs called it the 'Trail of Shame'. You can track the entire route that I drove around the neighborhood. I'm still amazed at how quickly that oil blew past the o-ring!

    Speaking of leaks... Engine damper #3 just failed! Grrrrr! TSW Damper, here I come. Way... expect a call soon! :D
     
  17. BThayer23

    BThayer23 Well-Known Member

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    #17 BThayer23, Oct 6, 2011
    :Thumbsup::Thumbsup::Thumbsup:

    Great write up, good job converting it for the web, too. I like the nav bar on the top right. I did all of these steps to my car in three weekends last year; I'm impressed Aaron did it so quickly and managed to document as he went. Also, any tips that bear my name probably came from Dan at Grassroots Garage - definitely the expert.

    A point on heavy engine bay cleaning: do it on your lawn. Any particulates will be filtered and trapped by the soil, and oils and grease will mostly remain trapped in the subsoils. If you clean the engine and hose down the car in your driveway, it will run into the street, through the storm drain, and straight into your local stream, without any filtration. Also, do it on the side yard in case you chose a harsh engine bay cleaner and it kills the grass (oops). Or bring it to a shop that properly disposes of harmful waste.

    Shops are usually required to hold and pump their waste or discharge it into the sanitary sewer system, but think about it in terms of concentration. A homeowner will only discharge oils and grease every so often, not enough to affect the natural ecosystem, but a shop does it much more frequently, hence the need for additional measures.
     
  18. Steve

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    #18 Steve, Oct 6, 2011
    Sorry to go a bit OT but just to spread the word...

    That's an option for any article in our Library. All you do is subdivide it into more than one page and the Article Navigation box will be automatically generated to show all your page titles. It's a nice trick and helps to add structure as well as improve navigation, etc. :Thumbsup:
     
  19. agranger

    agranger MINI of the Month June 2009
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    #19 agranger, Oct 6, 2011
    All of the props for formatting go to Steve! He's always right on the ball when I submit an article and this one was much longer and more complicated than most. I also asked 'em to pull the files from my web host to theirs to make sure that my dinky little account doesn't get overwhelmed by the MA audience (plus, that PDF is huge with all of the imbedded images)! :D
     
  20. XXL1LM1CKXX

    XXL1LM1CKXX New Member

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    #20 XXL1LM1CKXX, Jun 9, 2012
    agranger,

    I am trying to open up my SC to replace the oil or change it out if necessary. Could you help me with a couple items?
    How does this connection on the front of the ac compressor come apart?
    [​IMG]

    Also, I'm having trouble getting the dipstick out. It hits the bottom of the SC.. any help on that item?
    [​IMG]

    I'm hoping to replace the crank sensor gasket too. I'm new to this kind of work so any help would be great!
     
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