changing oil...... in a mini

[fatgtr]

hey sorry its a bit off topic, but am looking to change the oil in a mates mini (one of the old school ones) and was wanting to know how easy it is to change the oil and filter. also the box uses the same engine oil. does this make it any different

cheers

[Leon]

piece of cake, just take the grill off to get to the oil filter.

Exactly the same as any other oil change.

Although, as I recall, you have to pour the oil in very slowly because the head drains incredibly slowly.

[Dell'Orto]

I thought you just waited til it had all leaked out onto your driveway, then topped it up again?

[deaf_rattle]

I thought you just waited til it had all leaked out onto your driveway, then topped it up again?

they all leak, even after a full rebuild

[Dell'Orto]

Of course, they're british!

[deaf_rattle]

i reckon the block comes out with holes in it

[NA Drifter]

make sure you use 20W 50 or thicker oil...! nothing thinner than this, as the "engine oil" serve as gearbox oil to. u will need at least 5 liters in total

[Santa'sBoostinSleigh]

my mates mini used to burn 2L of oil a week

he valve bounced that b*tch every day and still couldnt blow it up

cant even remember how many engine mounts he broke

[Ae92typeX]

and dont use synthetic oil, g'box's dont appreciate it in minis.

other than that, just the same as others. run for a few mins to warm oil, drain, refill. Clubmans you dont have to take the grill off, roundnose its best to...but you will work that out anyway.
As they share box/engine, its good practice to service every 5000km max, many owners do theirs at 3000km on minis.
Be careful when tightening up the drain plug- as it goes into alloy, it can be easy to strip for anyone over muscled. Ive seen many cases of it happening over the years.
Whilst doing service pays to check the oil in the dashpot on carb also- lots of people forget this. grease nipples for suspension also get forgotten and sieze up, which is begining to be a costly mistake with BMC suspension parts costs nowdays.

oh, and built well they dont leak or burn...

[TrouserFxGt]

Whilst doing service pays to check the oil in the dashpot on carb also- lots of people forget this. grease nipples for suspension also get forgotten and sieze up, which is begining to be a costly mistake with BMC suspension parts costs nowdays.

For the dashpot use high speed sewing machine oil or atf. Undo the black cap on the top of the carb, remove piston and add oil. Doesn't matter if you fill it to the top as it will find its correct level when piston is replaced. Replenishing this oil really helps with driveability.

Definately grease all the suspension mounts and dont ever forget the ones in front of the rear wheels.

[fatgtr]

cheers guys thanks for that.

by the way, what is the purpose of te oil in the carburetor anyway?

[Ae92typeX]

try to top up about halfway, but I agree, it generally sorts out if you overfill. either sewing oil or similar is fine. really you want it to be a single grade oil, e.g. sae20
As TrouserFxGt suggests, essentially it helps with drivability. without the oil you wont get smooth operation, and worst case it will just stop to function and sieze up.
Got lots of article on it/tuning etc, but heres a quick link quote:

'Also within the piston rod of most SU carbs (also known as the damper or dashpot) is oil — yes, oil. If you want to see a funny look, go into your local auto parts store and ask for their suggestions on oil for your carburetor! The oil provides resistance against the piston to ensure the appropriate amount of fuel to air mixture is maintained. Oil does quickly burn in well-worn carburetors, so dashpots must be refilled frequently. If dashpots go dry or the oil used is too thin, then cars often will experience a “flutter” under acceleration. While British parts suppliers like Moss and Victoria British still sell SU carburetor oil, owners commonly use Automatic Transmission Fluid, 20 weight or 30 weight engine oil.' http://www.classiccarclub.org/SU%20Carbskb.htm

[neo]

they loose alot more oil if you dont put one of the pushrod covers back on LOL...
If the sump-plug hole is naff, a 16mm sumpplug tapped itself straight in on my old one. =)

[deaf_rattle]

and dont use synthetic oil, g'box's dont appreciate it in minis.

other than that, just the same as others. run for a few mins to warm oil, drain, refill. Clubmans you dont have to take the grill off, roundnose its best to...but you will work that out anyway.
As they share box/engine, its good practice to service every 5000km max, many owners do theirs at 3000km on minis.
Be careful when tightening up the drain plug- as it goes into alloy, it can be easy to strip for anyone over muscled. Ive seen many cases of it happening over the years.
Whilst doing service pays to check the oil in the dashpot on carb also- lots of people forget this. grease nipples for suspension also get forgotten and sieze up, which is begining to be a costly mistake with BMC suspension parts costs nowdays.

oh, and built well they dont leak or burn...

the engine i was referring to, was built properly and well.
they are just prone to leaking....

[Ae92typeX]

deaf_rattle I agree, they are more prone than many(or virtually all) cars even when rebuilt, but they can be built to have no issues.
main areas are crank seal on clutch end, filter to block oil connections, gear changer and on the smaller a series engines the covers for the cam followers.
Often the correct shimming of the primary gear is out/worn which allows for enough play to put some wear on the crank seal, second most common main area ive found. Filter housing pipes to block commonly seap, not too hard to fix. Gear changer, particularly after the 'wand' change are terrible for leaking and more often than not replacing the seal alone (which is what most rebuilders do) does not fix this- it a bad design for sure. Two seals works good most of the time (you can even fit 3 just), otherwise there are aftermarket modified units also- i'd say thats the most common problem area on all 'a' series engines. cam follower covers also weep oil often, but easily fixed.

But yea... 90%, including reconditioned ones do tend to leak at one point or another.

[NZcelica]

deaf_rattle I agree, they are more prone than many(or virtually all) cars even when rebuilt.

Obviously you've never owned a Vauxhall...I've owned two
They seem to re-define 'leaking oil'

[Lloyd]

Its not a leak, its an external engine lubrication system. Some of you need to go back and do tech again

[Ae92typeX]

Vauxhall...well, how about we say that side of the world just leaks then! lol

lol, I forgot about the external engine lube system...dont forget the real-time rust preventitive applicator...not that leaking oil helped many british cars with that either... and to think, they were once better than the jappa cars...