6 replies to this topic

[Miss Andrews]

Hello All

I have a 1995 Mini Mayfair 1.3 SPi.

Just a bit of a query. Since Ive had the car it seems to use up a lot of oil and I fairly regularly keep topping it up. It doesnt seem to be leaking from anywhere as I havent seen any spots of oil from underneath it.

With previous (newer - not a mini) cars I never had to top the oil up and although I dont mind topping the Mini's oil up I just wanted to ask if this is the norm with Mini's and have other owners have found similar oil usage or could it be a previously unidentified leak somewhere??

Many Thanks

Vicky

[icklemini]

As they get more miles on them , they do tend to use oil...

If its not leaking (sure its not??) then its gotta be burning it

How much oil are you going through?, I had a right old oil burner 20 odd years ago that would use just over a litre of oil per 75 miles... as well as burning it, oil would also leak out the gearbox selector shaft seal

[Miss Andrews]

Im fairly certain its not leaking like I said I havent seen any patches under the car at all.

Ive had it since April and on the road in May and its had at least 2 litres put in it. Ive done just over 2500 miles in it so far including motorway journeys too. If it is burning it is it a major problem and can it be fixed?

As they get more miles on them , they do tend to use oil...

If its not leaking (sure its not??) then its gotta be burning it

How much oil are you going through?, I had a right old oil burner 20 odd years ago that would use just over a litre of oil per 75 miles... as well as burning it, oil would also leak out the gearbox selector shaft seal

[icklemini]

2500 miles per 2 litres isnt terrible for a mini, its an ancient engine design and build quality and mileage add up and it will lose oil - either by leaking it or burning it...

to be honest I wouldnt really worry about topping it up..., its a weekly routine like checking water, tyres, etc.

When you have to put a litre in for every 100 miles then really start worrying!

[jetblack81]

Hi, one thing you hadn't mentioned was which oil you had topped up with or what was used in its last service. I would suspect that if it was serviced by a non mini or classic specialist they could have used a modern synthetic based oil poss a 10/40 part synthetic as this was commonly used in a lot of 90's cars. Even the ref guides in halfords stores ssuggest this as i believe they take that data from what the car manufacture recommends. I believe that rover may have said this at the time although i haven't looked at a rover mini handbook in some years to see. Synthetic thinner oils were popular in the 90's (and now) as they were meant to be cleaner oils and better for catalytic converters amongst other benefits. The a series although more refined more now than ever is in principle a 50 year plus old design and certainly in a mini where the gearbox sits in the sump too i would suggest and have used myself a good quality 20/50 mineral oil designed for classics. Both castrol and millers do them as does halfords for about £15 for 5ltrs in quite a retro tin. I hope this helps.

[Ethel]

You could do a compression test, there's a fair chance it's just valve stem oil seals. Have a look to see if the exhaust smokes when it first starts up on a morning.

[Miss Andrews]

Thanks for that. Yes its got 10/40 in it at the moment which I have been buying after looking in the Rover handbook. I will definitiely try your suggestion to see if it makes a difference!

Hi, one thing you hadn't mentioned was which oil you had topped up with or what was used in its last service. I would suspect that if it was serviced by a non mini or classic specialist they could have used a modern synthetic based oil poss a 10/40 part synthetic as this was commonly used in a lot of 90's cars. Even the ref guides in halfords stores ssuggest this as i believe they take that data from what the car manufacture recommends. I believe that rover may have said this at the time although i haven't looked at a rover mini handbook in some years to see. Synthetic thinner oils were popular in the 90's (and now) as they were meant to be cleaner oils and better for catalytic converters amongst other benefits. The a series although more refined more now than ever is in principle a 50 year plus old design and certainly in a mini where the gearbox sits in the sump too i would suggest and have used myself a good quality 20/50 mineral oil designed for classics. Both castrol and millers do them as does halfords for about £15 for 5ltrs in quite a retro tin. I hope this helps.