[spoiled&proud]

I recently noticed that in my sons 03 Cooper S with 103k miles when he leaves fro m a stop sign at the end of ouf yard, a small puff of oil smoke comes out. Could this be the start of a big problem, this car has been a pain everything breaking sinc we bought it a few months ago, i think we got screwed on the deal.

[Ant FR]

sounds like a downfall of buying a 100k + car, natutral time for things to go wrong, but spend a bit of cash and the next 5ok will be trouble free.

[spoiled&proud]

Had to it was for my son and he payed for it, these cars are gold plated in the us, a stripped base model Mini sell for $13k and a loaded S with low miles $18k -????. Got this one for $12.5K . What do you think could be going wrong, i have an 95 Eclipse GS-T and do much of the work on it and have had to, so not looking forward to dumping money into my sons already

[mister.t]

Look on the inside of the oil cap - If there is a white residue, its a head gasket Im afraid Or, it may be over-filled with oil

[spoiled&proud]

Thank for the 411 ill check it all out and get back, son had to work today.

[jayminis]

$13,000 dollars thats cheap mate for a mini over here in the u.k. you want to come over here and live with our prices and our fuel bills. hope you get the car sorted out and dont have any hassle. take it to garage you know and they might be able to tell you the truth whereas if you go to some dealerships they rip you off left right and centre.

[DaFlake]

Yep, they pay a much higher rate on them then we do in the USA.

That being said, it could be anything. Might be worth taking the valve cover off and taking a look at the conditions of the valves.

[wiggis]

Quote: Originally Posted by spoiled&proud (original)

I recently noticed that in my sons 03 Cooper S with 103k miles when he leaves fro m a stop sign at the end of ouf yard, a small puff of oil smoke comes out. Could this be the start of a big problem, this car has been a pain everything breaking sinc we bought it a few months ago, i think we got screwed on the deal.

To be totally honest, a hard driven Cooper S with 103k miles on the clock is likely to be suffering from wear in the cylinder bores. My guess is that oil is slipping past the rings and into the combustion chamber, and you are burning a little oil as a result.

Not sure if these engines can be rebored (probably can given they are a cast iron block), but I would guess you will be buying a new engine or an engine rebuild before too long.

[spoiled&proud]

I know there are no miracle additives out there, but is there anything i can add to the oil or maybe changing oil viscosity to prolong the inevitable. The previous owner used only Castrol Syntec 5w-30 since new.

[DaFlake]

Nope, there is no way to prevent it from happening. It is going to happen to most of the engines out there at some point.

[Loui]

The S`s will chuck out black smoke if reved hard, its unburnt fuel an normal, its its blue smoke they you need to worry

[spoiled&proud]

Its blue

[Martin F]

If it is blue smoke from cold I wonder if it might just be worn valve guides on the exhaust valves or even just the seals. OK this needs the head off to fix but is not such a big deal as worn cylinders or rings.

[Westy]

If it puffs blue for a moment when you lift the throttle, such as changing gear it is probably valve guide wear, if it is blowing blue under engine load (accelerating hard) then you have cylinder/piston wear.

[adamos o3,cooper s]

blue smoke, is usually bad news when ever it occurs best thing is to cut your losses and get rid of the car,

[British SD]

Quote: Originally Posted by spoiled&proud (original)

I know there are no miracle additives out there

Unless the oil was overfilled, the engine sounds in bad shape. There are a few oil treatments/additives (Bradahl makes a good one) that thicken the oil as it warms up thereby reducing the oil blowing by the piston/valves but they mask the problem not cure it. I used it in a ford mustang high mileage vehicle. Got me a couple of more years out of it and significantly reduced the blue smoke oil burning.

[JAMIE1131]

I wouldn't worry about it unless its using more than 1 litre of oil per 1000 miles, or if it fails and emissions test. Its not going to do the engine any harm to burn a little oil. Take the plugs out and see if they are fouled up. I wouldn't expect this engine to have any problems reaching 200,000 miles (They are designed for this life expectancy, I know one of the engineers!). Take the car out for a real good thrashing and get someone (who knows about cars) to follow you, don't tell them what there supposed to be looking for and see if they report the blue smoke. It could just be paranoia that comes with buying a used car, your just waiting for something bad to happen! Where in the states are you?

[lespurgeon]

10w40 in the summer? Got me a few more years out of an old VW eons ago. Typical not responsible for any bad outcomes disclamer.

[British SD]

Quote: Originally Posted by JAMIE1131 (original)

I wouldn't expect this engine to have any problems reaching 200,000 miles (They are designed for this life expectancy, I know one of the engineers!)

100,000 miles plus on an engine and I would expect a little oil burning but getting 200,000 from any engine blowing blue smoke at 100,000 miles would be remarkable. The engines are pretty solid but being a used purchase, you don't know how it was broken in, cared for or driven these last years. Caveat Emptor as the latin lawyer/solicitor gods say!

Jamie, does the engineer have spec's on the life expectancy of the transmission? If I get a 100,000 miles from my Lego gear set, whoops I mean Midland box I will be giddy!

[JAMIE1131]

Quote: Originally Posted by British SD (original)

100,000 miles plus on an engine and I would expect a little oil burning but getting 200,000 from any engine blowing blue smoke at 100,000 miles would be remarkable. The engines are pretty solid but being a used purchase, you don't know how it was broken in, cared for or driven these last years. Caveat Emptor as the latin lawyer/solicitor gods say!

Jamie, does the engineer have spec's on the life expectancy of the transmission? If I get a 100,000 miles from my Lego gear set, whoops I mean Midland box I will be giddy!

Getting 200000 out of an engine that is burning oil may be tricky, but the pentagon engine in general should manage this no problem. One test they do is track endurance, 50000 miles on the redline and the pass criteria is no significant wear. This is far more severe than anyone could manage on public roads in 200000 miles of driving!