R56 ('07 & up) DIY Oil Change.

For the shade tree mechanic in all of us New MINI owners.
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MUNGO
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R56 ('07 & up) DIY Oil Change.

Post by MUNGO »

Just completed my first DIY oil change on Mungo. It was a piece of cake. It only took me an hour. MINI tells you to wait until the computer asks for an oil change, however most MINIacs believe you should change it more often. All the info you need to change the oil is in your manual and in the link below. Good Luck! ;)b

R56 Oil Change
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MiniMatthew
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Post by MiniMatthew »

Just courious, does the '07 & Up have a spring loaded oil filter?
That's the hardest part about changing your own oil on the pre-07; the thing is very difficult to get back on.
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Post by MUNGO »

No springs. Just a filter in a housing. Easy as pie. :D
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pyroMINIac
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Post by pyroMINIac »

This was an easy DIY. It's absolutely worth the effort (over the $$$ the dealer wants). Thanks for the post. I included a few pics I thought might help...

2008 R56 MCS 6-Speed manual transmission
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Oil fill and dipstick
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Oil pan drain plug
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T50 bit for plug removal
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Crush-ring (to be replaced)
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Coolant housing to be moved (remove 1 screw)
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Just lift and twist to the left (no need to disconnect hoses)
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Oil filter location
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Oil filter removed (rubber gasket to be replaced)
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8mm allen wrench (works much better than T50 bit)
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MUNGO
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Post by MUNGO »

Great pics! Thanks for the addition. :D
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BillTheCat
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Post by BillTheCat »

Beautiful pics! Nice contribution.
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Post by DWebber18 »

Yeah the 8mm allen works great, I had to call Way to see what to use for it, and luckily he was near his phone. Also I believe its a 27mm socket for the filter housing, don't try doing this before you get one. I was a tard and had to end up removing my inlet tube, and my cold side boost tube so I could use a crescent wrench and work inch by inch. Also theres about 1/4 quart of oil in the filter housing so slide your oil pan over to catch all the oil the filter drops.
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Post by MUNGO »

Crescent wrench? :lol: I stuff a bunch of shop rags around the filter housing to catch the oil.

Crescent Wrench!!!???!!! :rofl: j/k
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Post by DWebber18 »

Better than going to the store for like the third time to get stuff I didn't know I really needed. And pliars don't work at all
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Re: R56 ('07 & up) DIY Oil Change.

Post by monstarmike »

I just did my JCW @ 7500mi. Followed the above guide and it was easy as pie. The hardest part was getting the coolant overflow/excess tank out of the way. For some reason on my car it didn't want to come off the top snaps after I swung it back from the bottom.

I didn't have that much oil in the filter. I did let mine sit over night before I changed it (did it first thing in the morning). I still dripped a few drops on the top of the transmission. I recommend if you've let the car sit for a good amount of time of just stuffing a rag right there. I also recommend a short extension and a universal joint. It made the task very, very easy.

Till this point I thought my '91 Honda CRX was easy. Undo the drain plug, wait, reach under the intake manifold and undo the filter. The hard part with that car was if the filter was stuck. The MINI fixes this problem!

Overall the cost was ~$49 for Castrol synthetic oil (5 quarts) and $10 for the oil filter (from NAPA; on sail). So not bad. Gainesville BMW wanted $150 to do the change. That's a lot of labor for the 30-45min it took to do it!

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IXCatz
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Re: R56 ('07 & up) DIY Oil Change.

Post by IXCatz »

My service light came on and my mileage was past the free service at the dealers and their appointments were booked for another week. So I searched online and bought the special oil filters and royal purple oil. I drove to my son's house and he looked at the oil and said Pricey! :whistle:
He changed the oil and said, forget waiting for the service light, let's change it at least every 10k because this oil feels thick.
It took longer for me to reset the oil service light than the actual oil change.
Now it's been about a week and my MPG is reading 44.8 (not a typo)
I'm using the same gas and running the same route to work at the usual high speeds.
I can't think of anything different.
Is it the royal purple oil or is my car lying to me?
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Re: R56 ('07 & up) DIY Oil Change.

Post by JBKone »

monstarmike wrote:...I didn't have that much oil in the filter. I did let mine sit over night before I changed it (did it first thing in the morning). I still dripped a few drops on the top of the transmission.
i've heard if you just crack the seal so air can get in there, then let it drain for 15 min and it won't drip much. No need to leave overnight. (though, now I don't remember if that was 1st gen or 2nd... prob same either way).
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captbj
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couple 'o comments

Post by captbj »

couple of unsolicited comments on DIY oil changes....

1. An easy way to break into the wrench turning hobby - build your confidence - and you'll soon be ready to try brake pads.

2. For those who have never used ramps pyro's first picture has a great tip. Note how he's positioned the ramps against the lip of his garage floor. It is VERY common for a ramp to shoot out from under the tire as you try to get on them and when they do shoot out they do so FORCEFULLY!!!! I saw one knock a person right off their feet one day - yes a GEN1 MINI. If your garage floor is very smooth or painted be very aware of this first time out. Plastic ramps are worse then metal ones in this regard.

3. Many argue that you don't want to let the car sit for everything to drain overnight...rather you should be draining when the engine is warm so it flows better and more comes out. I've no opinion on this one myself but metion it for your consideration. I've usually done the warm thing ... but just warm not HOT. I usually try to do mine in the AM but will take a couple of turns around the block just to warm things up, then let it sit for 5 or 10 to drain down.

4. WHAT TO DO WITH THE DIRTY: Major part chains like AutoZone, Advanced Auto etc and even WALMART Auto and JiffyLube are required by law to accept your 'donations' of dirty oil. Just ask where their tank is and they'll point you to the back corner someplace. There will be a log sheet for you to put your name and what you put in the tank "motor oil." DO NOT MIX IN ANYTHING ELSE, like brake fluid, or you can contaminate the entire tank making it unrecyclable. Synthetic or dino seems to be OK - no one has ever asked me about that. My local land fill has a recycle collection point and takes the oil, and the containers I bring it in, and brake fluid, and antifreeze, and dirty oil filters, and left over paint and and and .... check yours.

4. Due to the way the filter sits against the engine, up-side-down, the technique of breaking the seal to let in a little air allows much of the oil held in the filter can to drain down and is a technique I use and recommend for both GENs (I've had both). I wrap a shop rag around the base of the filter can and back it off about half to 3/4 turn and let it sit for a few minutes. Then I try to keep the rag there as I quickly pull the can off. Funny, of the 4 cars in my garage now the one that makes the LEAST mess changing the oil is the 79 Mini!
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R&J Mini
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Re: R56 ('07 & up) DIY Oil Change.

Post by R&J Mini »

Very nice photos, and good info. Thanks
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