Remove turbo
Turbo Mini Forums

When starting my mini when it stood still for a while it smokes for some time.
I think it burns oil, my first suspect is the turbo.
The previous owner already told me that, when he had the engine checked by a mini-specialist, they found that there was a small bit of play in the turbo-spindle, and that is already a few years ago.
My engine is a fairly standard Metro-turbo engine.
It all seems very thight under the bonnet, is it possible to remove (and later reassemble) the turbo without removing the entire engine and subrame from under the car?

Cheers,
Greets from Holland

It's possible yes, but it is much easier to just pull the engine. You'll struggle to get the drain back on etc.

Most turbo's have some play. You can diagnose if the oil is coming from the turbo compressor side by removing the inlet boost pipe/plenum and seeing if oil is present before air goes into the carb. Can also do the same with he exhaust/exhaust manifold.

Could also pull a plug and look down the bore see if the piston tops are damp. maybe stem seals have gone.

If you undo and remove the exhaust studs and the plenum off the carb the whole lot slides up and out, you can get at the oil drain from underneath.

you can also lift the whole lot off with the cylinder head.

HOSS