[Jupiter]

Could some kind person please describe the procedure to replace oil & filter on the Cooper. Location of sump drain plug? How to remove and replace the filter? tools required? Can it be done without raising the car of the ground?

[obehave]

This should have been posted under Maintenance

Read this

[RobHardyUK]

Just make sure you jack the car up securely. Just to help incase you dont know what a sump actually is, it simply is where the oil is contained, so the sump plug is mearly like the plug in your bath, hence a bath plug, this is a sump plug. Quite a easy job to do even for beginners!

[Doctor Wha?]

Posted about this before, but I'll agree that it is quite easy to do. The tricky bit is getting to the filter cover without burning yourself, assuming you're (ideally) changing the oil while the engine is still warm and the oil free-flowing.

Enter technology with a solution... Mechanix Wear have agood assortment of gloves and accessories used widely by racing crews, and pro mechanics. The Lady of The House and I have been quite happy with the things we've gotten from them.

The particular Godsend for MINI oil changes was the Kevlar heat sleeves. My engine had only been off for about 10 minutes, but I could reach down to the filter cap in comfort and ease. The block felt "sort of warm" but nothing near the searing heat you'd get on your unprotected arm. Best $25 I've spent of a garage bit yet.

They make heat-resistant gloves as well. I haven't sprung for those yet, but given the great perfromance of the sleeves, I just might.







Now, to get that filter cap off, the tall 36mm socket you'll find at most hole-in-the-wall shops won't cut it. They're just too large to fit in the spaces in the Mini engine. There's more than one source for a shallow 36mm socket, but we got ours from Samstag Sales, a company in Tennessee that imports German-made tools of excellent quality, and reasonable prices. When you open the above page, click on the link for "BMW MINI," and it'll take you right to the listing.

For Newbies in search of mroe details on oil changes, I can also recommend the "Search" function up on the toolbar. It's actually very thorough, and you'll get some good results.

Good luck,
DW