oil cooler/"heat exchanger" replacement

[98oilhead]

'03 Cooper S. Need to replace the sealing rings and, as a precaution, the oil cooler.
This looks reasonably straight forward but I'd like to try and NOT drain the coolant as this is a PITA to refill.
Any hints or whatever are always appreciated.
Nick

[Luccia at Pelican Parts]

Originally Posted by 98oilhead

'03 Cooper S. Need to replace the sealing rings and, as a precaution, the oil cooler.
This looks reasonably straight forward but I'd like to try and NOT drain the coolant as this is a PITA to refill.
Any hints or whatever are always appreciated.
Nick

What issues are you experiencing that leads you to believe the heat exchanger is faulty? It's not uncommon for this area to leak on the R53 unfortunately. The o-rings get hard over time and stop providing a good seal of the unit. I do believe that MINI does recommend replacing the whole unit vs. just the o-rings if there is a leak. When's the last time you changed the coolant in your system? It might not be a bad idea to replace it while doing this job - kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

#5 (heat exchanger) on the diagram below is here: 2003 Mini Cooper S Hatchback - Oil Circulation - Page 4
#6 (o-rings) on the diagram below are here: 2003 Mini Cooper S Hatchback - Oil Circulation - Page 4