[TonyW1967]

My 2010 Mini Cooper S Countryman ALL4 is one of the cars that uses oil - OK, I'm fine with that, I plan to get it fixed, my mechanic tells me that he will replace the complete top cover, which includes the PCV (there is slight oil seepage around the cover, also on the tube to the turbo). I'm adding a quarter to half a litre every 800 kilometres, the car has done 89,000 kilometres, oil change done 3,000 kilometres ago. There is absolutely no oil leakage under the car, at any time.

However, the big current concern for me is that I took it for a drive yesterday and when under heavy acceleration, the red oil pressure light came on - just for a second, then went off, so I drove normally, no re-appearance, then decided to accelerate heavily again, and the red light momentarily reappeared. So, I drove normally home, about 15 minutes, all OK, I checked the oil, about 1/2 way up the dipstick, I topped it up to nearly full, and this morning, tried it again - same issue, under heavy acceleration, the red oil light appeared briefly. The oil light doesn't appear when driving under normal conditions.

Any thoughts?

I may be way off here, but I have seen a few low battery warnings recently, and will be changing that soon - is there a link to this issue there?

 

[TonyW1967]

Many thanks, I will share this with the Mechanic...

 

[TonyW1967]

so its a cooper s countryman will be N18 petrol prince engine and they do eat oil anyway, the oil pump is ecu controlled on that, as is thermostat ie piloted ecu controlled there is a recal on some cars for this thermo housing have seen cars getting to hot and oil suffers from it and thin out as oil is tested to 100c and prince engine runs up to 108c two things worth looking in to,
the oil usage i have seen a lot with many cars and can be down to a few things, ie like your mech says rocker cover maybe, also if engine running hotter than is good helps use oil, also timing chain stretched will cause engine to run retarded and creates more heat add all these things together and things go wonky,, also bi product of all this is carbon build up in crankcase and especially around oil control rings on the bores and also valve stem seal do to thin oil it will use oil more so, all of the above is what a typical n18 with 80.000 miles plus n18,,
i have helped the oil uses before if its only based on carbon build up by adding seafoam to engine oil and flush the system, i also then add 1/4 can to the new oil on these engines so other time ie 8k oil change next time it cleans and keeps clean,, also driving them harder helps to prevent bores from shining,, on really bad ones have put 5/40w ie a thicker oil at 100c in and that has improved things,, this all said i would seafaom it and drive it for 30 miles the first time before dropping oil and add 1/4 can to new oil maybe run it for 1k harder see if that sorts it,, worth a punt if engine is not worn out or course

Hi Mike, quick question, as far as I can see, the Valve cover has the integrated PCV - is it possible to replace the membrane, or does the whole cover have to be replaced? I see for some types, the membrane can be replaced, but not sure for my N18.....

 

[TonyW1967]

Thanks, I seem them, also one purported to ship from the UK;

Valve Cover Cap & Membrane 11127646552 Fit for MINI R55 R56 R57 R58 N13 N18 E5K3 | eBay

Refresh your car, help to make your driving more smoothly. Color: Black & Red.

www.ebay.co.uk

But the one from Russia looks the most professional, with the most good info;

Breather PCV kit MINI Cooper (N16 N18 engines) | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Breather PCV kit MINI Cooper (N16 N18 engines) at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[TonyW1967]

Well, I replaced the valve cover cap and membrane, and no more leakage around that area, but I can still occasionally smell oil in the cabin. There is still some oil seepage around two main areas, around a large rubber pipe at the left rear side of the engine (my car is LHD) and also around a small pipe at the right front of the engine, just in front of the cover. I will post pictures tomorrow, but could the oil smell be coming from there, or is there a more usual suspect area?

The car is still using oil, but not excessively smoking....

 

[TonyW1967]

Thanks Mike, if it was the oil filler cap, I would see oil around it, but it is clean..... I'm thinking to warm the engine up and have someone rev it, and see if I can spot any signs of oil/smoke in the engine bay.

I've attached a pic of the engine, showing where the oil film is, I don't know what those pipes are from/to, but maybe you can suggest what I can do about them<

Next step will be to replace the rocker cover, which is relative low cost and simple to do.....