Potential big issue with Mini?

FC · 08-21-2013, 02:09 PM

As you know we bought it from JST with ~8 months of warranty left with ~19k miles, IIRC. We put on ~7-8k more miles in the ensuing year or so (until I got my 328iT) and since then it is driven only about 3k miles/year. The car currently has 31k miles.

Not one to follow the crazy 15k oil change intervals, I do my own service every 7500 miles (Mobil1 0W-40 & OEM filter). When I did the last one a few hundred miles ago, I was shocked to see how little oil was left, so I researched and found that these cars consume quite a bit. Funny, I don't recall being that low at the ~23k mile oil change (well, it was around the time of my head injury so who knows?). Anyhow, I made it a point to tell my wife, who for the last couple of years almost exclusively drives the car, that we should check oil levels often.

Worth mentioning that I did notice that a slight ticking that had come up went away with the oil service. It has been running great since, including this past Saturday when we took the whole family in it to the city.

Last night she reminded me that it had been a few weeks since the last oil change. It had only been a few hundred miles but I said what the heck. So I take the dipstick out and clean it and put it back in only to find it will not go in the last 3-4" - no matter what I try. I start the engine and it runs smooth so I shut it down again.

Upon researching this, I discovered a big tensioner/guide/chain issue with the R56. In a nutshell, the chain tends to slacken/stretch/fail. It manifests itself as a rattle/ticking (not unlike the one I had prior to the oil change, but worse it seems) from the belt slack and if you are lucky you change the tensioner for a new style and that will reduce slack and fix it - but maybe only for a while. The POS design (see photos) involves plastic chain guides that can wear, crack, etc., and the dipstick goes through one of them.

So, despite us having no apparent issues, the question remains:

What the hell is preventing the dipstick from going in all the way? Clearly it's going into the cavity of the plastic chain guide, but what makes it stop short?

1) Is something inside the plastic guide hole blocking it? If so what? A broken piece of plastic from the same guide? The chain can't be THAT F'd up since there is no rattle so I doubt there are chunks missing.

2) Is something (large) in the oil pan blocking the dipstick? I have trouble believing this given that the engine runs smoothly. And what the hell could it be?

I plan on pulling the valve cover tonight to see if I can spot anything wrong.

I don't know what a dealer could do besides pulling the cover and looking and from there perhaps replace the tensioner/chain/guides. This job seems to be 8 to 14 hours and cost $1200 to $3000 depending on who (indy vs. dealer) and whether it is just labor or part+labor. Some have had MINI offer to pay 50% on good will (very few got 100%). It seems the parts are ~$300 and timing tools ~$200-300.

Assuming things are bad and the above parts have to be replaced, and assuming MINI doesn't step up to cover it out of goodwill so that I am out no more than $1k total, I'd be inclined to do the job myself. If I do, I will thoroughly document the job and post it, since it appears nobody has so far.

A few related links:

Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6E_BBV_REs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFfOk-p-Xh4

kit

http://www.waymotorworks.com/timing-...-cooper-s.html

http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2007-C...ing/ES2588605/

JST · 08-21-2013, 02:26 PM

Ugh. Sorry, dude.

FC · 08-21-2013, 02:42 PM

It is what it is. Like I said, right now the problem seems like a mere annoyance. The engine runs fine. But I will find out more tonight once I pull the cover. I am really perplexed. The only explanations I can think of would suggest something bad happened, but the engine does not exhibit any signs of something bad having happened.

If I don't pull that dipstick I wouldn't have even looked into this for who knows how long.

The question is how long can I put this off? Not long I fear. I would have loved for this to wait until spring when I have no more grad school, no pressure of winter coming, and most importantly, a totally finished garage with a lift.

*Plaz* · 08-21-2013, 03:25 PM

FC · 08-21-2013, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plaz

Well posts 11, 13, etc are encouraging.

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...ce-please.html

Which seems to follow this:

http://www.motoringfile.com/2013/05/...er/#more-29526

Terri Kennedy · 08-21-2013, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FC

What the hell is preventing the dipstick from going in all the way? Clearly it's going into the cavity of the plastic chain guide, but what makes it stop short?

Can you get a borescope down the dipstick tube? If it is stopping 3-4" before full insertion, that's got to be above the oil level.

BMW just can't seem to get tensioners (for anything) right - on the E46 2.5L, you have two choices of fan belt tensioners - one that squeals on startup and one that sounds like marbles in a blender.

Nick M3 · 08-21-2013, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terry Kennedy

Can you get a borescope down the dipstick tube? If it is stopping 3-4" before full insertion, that's got to be above the oil level.

BMW just can't seem to get tensioners (for anything) right - on the E46 2.5L, you have two choices of fan belt tensioners - one that squeals on startup and one that sounds like marbles in a blender.

Or get an ebay USB endoscope camera for $10. The only downside is that the cable is just, well, a cable, but the picture quality is about a billion times better than any moderately priced ($2-300) borescope I've ever used. And at $10, who gives a shit if you break it?

FC · 08-21-2013, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick M3

Or get an ebay USB endoscope camera for $10. The only downside is that the cable is just, well, a cable, but the picture quality is about a billion times better than any moderately priced ($2-300) borescope I've ever used. And at $10, who gives a shit if you break it?

No kidding! That cheap. huh? I'm on it.

Nick M3 · 08-21-2013, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FC

No kidding! That cheap. huh? I'm on it.

Yeah. And, again, you can actually see with one. The downside is that you'd have to grab a laptop, but on the other hand, you can capture video/stills.

FC · 08-21-2013, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick M3

Yeah. And, again, you can actually see with one. The downside is that you'd have to grab a laptop, but on the other hand, you can capture video/stills.

Bought one from Amazon. $15 with 4 LED's and 16' long, but it is a little fat. Still I can see many uses for it.

Bought another one from ebay for $16, but that one only has a 7mm dia head so I may actually have a shot at fitting it. Problem is it will be a week before I get it.

08-21-2013, 02:09 PM	#1
FC Solving problems Join Date: Oct 2003 Carmudgeonly Ride: M5 / 718 GTS / Cooper S / GTI / LR4 Location: Metro Boston Posts: 25,263	Potential big issue with Mini? As you know we bought it from JST with ~8 months of warranty left with ~19k miles, IIRC. We put on ~7-8k more miles in the ensuing year or so (until I got my 328iT) and since then it is driven only about 3k miles/year. The car currently has 31k miles. Not one to follow the crazy 15k oil change intervals, I do my own service every 7500 miles (Mobil1 0W-40 & OEM filter). When I did the last one a few hundred miles ago, I was shocked to see how little oil was left, so I researched and found that these cars consume quite a bit. Funny, I don't recall being that low at the ~23k mile oil change (well, it was around the time of my head injury so who knows?). Anyhow, I made it a point to tell my wife, who for the last couple of years almost exclusively drives the car, that we should check oil levels often. Worth mentioning that I did notice that a slight ticking that had come up went away with the oil service. It has been running great since, including this past Saturday when we took the whole family in it to the city. Last night she reminded me that it had been a few weeks since the last oil change. It had only been a few hundred miles but I said what the heck. So I take the dipstick out and clean it and put it back in only to find it will not go in the last 3-4" - no matter what I try. I start the engine and it runs smooth so I shut it down again. Upon researching this, I discovered a big tensioner/guide/chain issue with the R56. In a nutshell, the chain tends to slacken/stretch/fail. It manifests itself as a rattle/ticking (not unlike the one I had prior to the oil change, but worse it seems) from the belt slack and if you are lucky you change the tensioner for a new style and that will reduce slack and fix it - but maybe only for a while. The POS design (see photos) involves plastic chain guides that can wear, crack, etc., and the dipstick goes through one of them. So, despite us having no apparent issues, the question remains: What the hell is preventing the dipstick from going in all the way? Clearly it's going into the cavity of the plastic chain guide, but what makes it stop short? 1) Is something inside the plastic guide hole blocking it? If so what? A broken piece of plastic from the same guide? The chain can't be THAT F'd up since there is no rattle so I doubt there are chunks missing. 2) Is something (large) in the oil pan blocking the dipstick? I have trouble believing this given that the engine runs smoothly. And what the hell could it be? I plan on pulling the valve cover tonight to see if I can spot anything wrong. I don't know what a dealer could do besides pulling the cover and looking and from there perhaps replace the tensioner/chain/guides. This job seems to be 8 to 14 hours and cost $1200 to $3000 depending on who (indy vs. dealer) and whether it is just labor or part+labor. Some have had MINI offer to pay 50% on good will (very few got 100%). It seems the parts are ~$300 and timing tools ~$200-300. Assuming things are bad and the above parts have to be replaced, and assuming MINI doesn't step up to cover it out of goodwill so that I am out no more than $1k total, I'd be inclined to do the job myself. If I do, I will thoroughly document the job and post it, since it appears nobody has so far. A few related links: Videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6E_BBV_REs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFfOk-p-Xh4 kit http://www.waymotorworks.com/timing-...-cooper-s.html http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2007-C...ing/ES2588605/ Attached Thumbnails

08-21-2013, 03:25 PM	#4
Plaz ••••••• Join Date: Oct 2003 Carmudgeonly Ride: '11 1M Location: Churzee Posts: 17,741	__________________ 2011 1M

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FC Solving problems Join Date: Oct 2003 Carmudgeonly Ride: M5 / 718 GTS / Cooper S / GTI / LR4 Location: Metro Boston Posts: 25,263	It is what it is. Like I said, right now the problem seems like a mere annoyance. The engine runs fine. But I will find out more tonight once I pull the cover. I am really perplexed. The only explanations I can think of would suggest something bad happened, but the engine does not exhibit any signs of something bad having happened. If I don't pull that dipstick I wouldn't have even looked into this for who knows how long. The question is how long can I put this off? Not long I fear. I would have loved for this to wait until spring when I have no more grad school, no pressure of winter coming, and most importantly, a totally finished garage with a lift.