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03 Mini One Oil Pressure

2K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  Russel1311 
#1 ·
Hi, first time posting.
I bought my 03 Mini One from a (very reputable) second hand dealer about four months ago and have had no problems at all. Just recently however the oil light has been coming on after the engine has warmed up. The oil was near the lower limit so I topped it up, and for a few days the light didn't come on again and I thought that was the end of it. But it's been coming back on, and reading other threads on here it seems it could either be a simple wiring issue or a serious problem.
The car had a full service and MOT before I picked it up, and looking at the invoice it shows that they fitted a new oil pressure switch, a new oil filter and a new oil pump as part of the servicing.
Obviously I will take it to the garage soon as I am able to, but what I am wondering is, considering all the new oil equipment the garage fitted, should I still take the oil light as a possible catastrophe and not even drive to work tomorrow?
Thank you!
 
#2 ·
If the oil light is coming on you cant really just ignore it and assume its say the switch or a wiring issue, unless you know for certain thats what it is its will be rather expensive if it is oil pressure and you ignore it.
Does it come on at low revs once warm, like idle only, or all the time?
Considering what it had done before you bought it it seems it might have had the same problem in the past, it might have been done to try and hide something, thats the thought at the back of your mind, like maybe the previous owner ran it too low on oil and did some bearing damage that new thicker oil might disguise for a period?
I would say the best thing is not to drive it until its been checked out, otherwise if the engine does expire they will say you ignored the warning??
 
#3 ·
Cheap 'pattern' part oil filters can cause this on Mini's.

The potential problem...

A potential problem arises with your 2002-2004 MINI during a filter change when the plastic cage 'detaches' from the cannister cover and gets pulled out with the oil filter, allowing the spring to pop free. If the technician is not familiar with the early filter setup - the plastic cage gets thrown out with the dirty oil filter. Without the spring and cage in the early cannister, the filter fails to seal against the cover resulting in 'low oil pressure' warning light.

Since the cannister cover is built differently for the 'cage version' vs. the later version, the filter will not seal properly without the cage, allowing unfiltered oil to circulate around the filter. Circulating unfiltered oil is NOT good for your engine... not to mention the low oil pressure.

Another problem arises if you should happen to purchase an early 'un-caged' oil filter. If you use this filter with the later 'uncaged' cannister cover, the filter will collapse affecting filtration and oil pressure.
MINI Cooper Oil Filter Confusion / Problem / Hints 2002-2004
 
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