Mini Cooper Oil leak not from engine

So, your Mini Cooper’s oil leak is not from the engine? Are you sure it is oil and not tranny fluid? There are only a few places where you can lose engine oil. Why don’t we use a process of elimination to help you narrow down your search and get your Mini back on the road.

Things can get a little confusing under there when you are trying to run down a Mini Cooper oil leak that is not from the engine. Some of the possible leak locations are right above the axle, which can throw the oil back at the engine. That makes it harder to track down your oil leak. You have checked the oil pan gasket, the valve pan gaskets. What about the oil filter housing? The o-ring on the oil filter? One spot that a lot of guys do not think about is the heat exchange unit. It sits below the oil filter housing and is difficult to see with the car on jackstands. You are better off letting the guys at BMW work on this one because of the space confinement. It is a lot easier to repair on a lift. In a day or two you should have your baby back.

Mini Cooper oil leak that is not from the engine, that is a tough nut to crack. The chance of oil being thrown back onto the engine from the axle makes things even harder to diagnose. The heat exchange unit is the most likely culprit, but the hardest to check on your own. One of the little foibles of owning a sweet little ride like the Mini Cooper.