Oil starvation mini cooper S - how bad will it be?

[Biglips]

Wife has a cooper s convertible (64 plate). It has always used a lot of oil but clearly we didn’t feed it enough. Today it sounds like a diesel and v low on oil when dipstick checked. Needed nearly 2 litres to be visible on dipstick again. No obvious leak anywhere.

I fear the worst......

Any experience of the likely consequences of this?

[J1JPE]

saved you the trouble https://www.google.com/search?q=Oil+starvation+min...

[irocfan]

as far as the engine is concerned - very bad. IIRC whilst it does cost a fair chunk to get done it's not a total wallet raping

[Biglips]

Thanks for the links. It is booked in at a local specialist on Tuesday next week to have a look. Just replaced the clutch at great expense and so it is not my favourite child at the moment. Never known a modern car need so much oil which is not helped by the hopeless dipstick....

[itsnotarace]

Sounds like the dreaded death rattle - expect to pay around £650 at an independent specialist

[MB140]

Biglips said:

Thanks for the links. It is booked in at a local specialist on Tuesday next week to have a look. Just replaced the clutch at great expense and so it is not my favourite child at the moment. Never known a modern car need so much oil which is not helped by the hopeless dipstick....

I’m surprised it even has a dipstick with BMWs trend for electronic oil level gauges. Oh what I would give for an actual dipstick. Is the engine in it a bmw designed one or one they have borrowed from another manufacturer.

[itsnotarace]

MB140 said:

I’m surprised it even has a dipstick with BMWs trend for electronic oil level gauges. Oh what I would give for an actual dipstick. Is the engine in it a bmw designed one or one they have borrowed from another manufacturer.

Judging by the age of the car it's an N18 Prince engine from PSA (Peugeot). Dipsticks are pretty bad to read, Cravenspeed to a nice replacement for about £75 or you can take the existing one out, leave the car about 5 minutes for the oil to drain back down round the bend in the pipe and then dip again. If you don't wait then the dipstick drags oil up the pipe and it makes a second dip impossible to read

[Biglips]

itsnotarace said:

Judging by the age of the car it's an N18 Prince engine from PSA (Peugeot). Dipsticks are pretty bad to read, Cravenspeed to a nice replacement for about £75 or you can take the existing one out, leave the car about 5 minutes for the oil to drain back down round the bend in the pipe and then dip again. If you don't wait then the dipstick drags oil up the pipe and it makes a second dip impossible to read

Good tip about the dipstick. May be a moot point as I may punt it on when it is fixed.

[Biglips]

To close out the thread I am pleased to say that the news is good. Took it to a local BMW/ MINI indy who couldn’t find any consequence of the low oil. Car now running well without any noise/ clatter/ death rattle. Clearly we caught it just in time! Big shout out for Clayton Cars in Bristol who were very helpful and refused any payment. They will have my custom in future.

[irocfan]

Biglips said:

To close out the thread I am pleased to say that the news is good. Took it to a local BMW/ MINI indy who couldn’t find any consequence of the low oil. Car now running well without any noise/ clatter/ death rattle. Clearly we caught it just in time! Big shout out for Clayton Cars in Bristol who were very helpful and refused any payment. They will have my custom in future.

[GaryF]

Good stuff.

Keep an eye on levels and check every couple of weeks. The tip about pulling out the stick, cleaning and then waiting 5 or 10 mins before dipping to take a level is a good one and works. I bought the Cravenspeed dipper, but I think if you follow thise advice you will not need to do that - there is also the tip of filing the standard stick's plastic end flat on both sides for an easier reading.

[Biglips]

GaryF said:

Good stuff.

Keep an eye on levels and check every couple of weeks. The tip about pulling out the stick, cleaning and then waiting 5 or 10 mins before dipping to take a level is a good one and works. I bought the Cravenspeed dipper, but I think if you follow thise advice you will not need to do that - there is also the tip of filing the standard stick's plastic end flat on both sides for an easier reading.

Do you think my wife would appreciate a Cravenspeed dipper for Christmas?

[GaryF]

Biglips said:

Do you think my wife would appreciate a Cravenspeed dipper for Christmas?

Yes, it's shiny with a red end on it. She will like how smoothly it goes in and out too.

Kenneth Williams.

[Biglips]

GaryF said:

Yes, it's shiny with a red end on it. She will like how smoothly it goes in and out too.

Kenneth Williams.

[paultownsend]

Check the oil on these every week! Get the tensioner changed and get some decent oil in it.

[GaryF]

I managed to change my timing chain tensioner myself to the newer design. Info here :-

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=18...

[Henz]

Assuming you have the same dipstick as me with the red pointy end, it seems to collect oil with it as you pull it out so gives rubbish readings.
File it flat on 2 sides and it makes a significant difference to operating as a normal dipstick. Lots of pics/threads on NAM, example below...

https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/stock...

[E.Parks]

Biglips said:

To close out the thread I am pleased to say that the news is good. Took it to a local BMW/ MINI indy who couldn’t find any consequence of the low oil. Car now running well without any noise/ clatter/ death rattle. Clearly we caught it just in time! Big shout out for Clayton Cars in Bristol who were very helpful and refused any payment. They will have my custom in future.

Hi there! I’ve just brought a Mini Countryman 64 plate and on arrival from an approved bmw dealership there was no oil in the engine (below minimum on the dipstick 😱 verified by the AA).
They are paying for a full oil service and engine investigation. Car sounds fine - I’m just wondering if I should tell them to take it back. Have you had any further problems down the line after your oil starvation? Thanks, Elaine

[Biglips]

E.Parks said:

Hi there! I’ve just brought a Mini Countryman 64 plate and on arrival from an approved bmw dealership there was no oil in the engine (below minimum on the dipstick ?? verified by the AA).
They are paying for a full oil service and engine investigation. Car sounds fine - I’m just wondering if I should tell them to take it back. Have you had any further problems down the line after your oil starvation? Thanks, Elaine

We have sold the car now but there seemed to be no obvious problem once refilled.

[E-bmw]

E.Parks said:

Biglips said:

To close out the thread I am pleased to say that the news is good. Took it to a local BMW/ MINI indy who couldn’t find any consequence of the low oil. Car now running well without any noise/ clatter/ death rattle. Clearly we caught it just in time! Big shout out for Clayton Cars in Bristol who were very helpful and refused any payment. They will have my custom in future.

Hi there! I’ve just brought a Mini Countryman 64 plate and on arrival from an approved bmw dealership there was no oil in the engine (below minimum on the dipstick ?? verified by the AA).
They are paying for a full oil service and engine investigation. Car sounds fine - I’m just wondering if I should tell them to take it back. Have you had any further problems down the line after your oil starvation? Thanks, Elaine

Regardless of someone else's experience with a completely different car I would be rejecting that instantly.