Oil change

Grinder,

The beauty is that you don't have to slide under. The oil drain plug is easily reached from the front of the car, while lying just in front of the air dam; the oil filter is up top. The filter is more expensive than I was used to, but other than that, it wasn't too bad. I think I paid $12 for the filter, and about $20 for 5 qts of Mobil 1 5W30. Took about 20 minutes to do the change.

Rich

Oooooo. I will have to check it out. What torque do apply to the drain plug?

I don't know. I just tightened it snug, like every other car I've ever owned.

As Paul would say, do a search on Mini2.com for oil change. Also, try searching

Found out the torque. 25n/M or about 18 ft. pounds.

Ah, another victim of the great American Oil Change scam.

Michael.

All I can is my cars are still running well at 150k.

So what is the great american oil change scam? I know that changing every 3k is not good for the environment. But what works best for cars?

Get a pair of Rhino Ramps. But it will still cost you ~$35 if you use the factory filter at $10. Plus you need the 36mm socket. I do mine every 5k. I consider it cheap insurance. I do it myself 'cause I like to look around for any potential problems along the way.

Anybody remember people pouring the old oil on their dirt driveways to keep the dust down?

I have been hesitant to do my own oil change because of the oil filter. I picked up two filters at the dealer, and figured I'd do my own oil changes, until I got home and saw the filters. What I have for my "S" doesn't look anything like what the photos show on the above site. Those pictures show a filter with a rubber gasket stuck on one end, and an O-ring that attaches to the canister. What I have is a filter that has no rubber gasket stuck on it, but instead has the filter element, two larger round rubber gaskets that I assume must fit around the canister housing, since they are a lot larger than the filter element, a plastic bag that contains the O-ring for the canister, and two small O-rings, that I assume must go over the small pipe that the filter element pushes onto. Not knowing where all the gaskets and O-rings go, I decided not to attempt a filter change until I could get some info on it. Did the dealer give me the wrong filters? If so, where can I get the correct filters? The part number on the filter box that I got from the dealer is 16 14 6 757 196. Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

-- Miniman

Oil filter for Cooper & Cooper S.........BMW p/n 11 42 7 512 446 Marin

Thank you so much for the correct part number Marin. The dealer I'm forced to take my car to isn't very helpful. They won't tell you anything, and they want you to bring your car in for the least little thing. That's a 40 mile drive for me each way, and anything I can do myself to my car is a real time saver, not to mention enjoyable.(when I first got the car and went to them for an oil change, they wouldn't even tell me what type of oil it used. They wanted me to buy their "BMW" oil that they sold in their small accessory shop.)

-- Miniman