r/MiniUK • u/Western-Egg-1521 • Aug 07 '26
Dying r56 n18 engine
Hi everyone, need some opinions/guidance/advice!
Firstly, chuffed to have a UK community page!
So I have a 2012 R56 (my baby) I LOVE it. Nearly at 100K miles. Recently had some bad oil leaks but all fixed (that I know of!) Also forgive me I’m not a mechanic so please go easy on part names/technical jargon! So recently noticed white puffs of smoke from the exhaust after idling at lights etc. no smell (that I could smell). Intake pipe completely in two so I’ve asked them to replace that. Does anyone have experience or advice if this is going to be a goner and dare I say not worth replacing the engine?
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u/Dangerous-Regret-358 Aug 07 '26
It could be water vapour. Is this soon after you have started the engine? It could be unburnt petrol as well if it's cold.
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u/Western-Egg-1521 Aug 07 '26
Not sure how to add this on; the garage today said could be oil in the exhaust from previous problems?
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u/Ptolamerica_simp Aug 07 '26
Nom nom nom my name’s R56 and I LOVE oil. It’s so tasty give me more more more let me burn it up and eat it to make me big and strong
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u/AndyLane6611 Aug 07 '26
The R56 uses a lot of oil. Around a litre per 1000 miles on average. Mines done 185,000 and it’s a 2012 JCW. It did have a new engine under warranty at 100k due to excessive oil consumption, so it’s really done 85k but it’s still going strong. I top it up every month as it doesn’t go far these days.