is it worth rebuilding my 1275 or buy another one

[cooper127588]

hey guys ive had some bad news from my mechanic it seems that my engine is burning oil 1ltr every 250 miles seems to be getting worse so ive decided to take drastic measures and either built the one thats in the car now or buy a new recon'ed one from either minisport or somewhere else but itll cost me about £700
its gotta be rebored so its smooth and new rings maybe upgrade the head aswell More power but im just wondering if it could be anything else ohh and it has 20w 50 mineral valvoline vr1 racing oil in her plus it only seems to be burning oil when shes on long runs and high - mid range revs

Any Advise would be Helpful To Me

Cheers
Andrew

[taffy1967]

Could it be something simple like worn valve oil stem seals? The 1998 Mini Paul Smith LE that a family member once owned used to like a drink of oil and needed regular top ups even though it was only about 3 years old at the time (bought second hand).

So it could be an easy and cheap fix. Apart from that I wouldn't recommend Mini Sport, not from all the horror stories I've heard.

[coedy]

Is this the same mechanic that told you to use super thin oil previously...?

As Taffy said. could just whip your head off, and get the valve stem oil seals replaced and see if that cures it. if not then you have all ready got a reconditioned head ready for the next block.

Find a local engine builder if you do go down the reconditioning route you will save on postage and they will sometimes be cheaper than the mini big names.

[cooper127588]

well i bought the engine with 33,000 miles on the clock and thats genuine ive got a spare head if i buy all new valves rockers and all that stick it on see what happens the thing is theres no blue smoke when u start her up or give her revs and shes smooths as a silverstones curcit , it only happens when u go for a long run
ill get that sorted next week

[taffy1967]

There was never any blue smoke on start up or when seen driving away with that Mini a family member owned.

But it did consume a fair bit of oil after a good run, or after a few weeks use.

Where as my 20 year old Mini Cooper did the L2BR in 2008 and didn't use a drop.

[cooper127588]

so the best thing to do then is to change the oil valve seals and see if that sorts it

[coedy]

It would most definitely be cheaper than rebuilding the entire engine or slinging in a new engine..

Like we've said, worst case scenario is a worn engine with a nice refurbished head on that you could put on a new engine anyway!

[ljonez]

yep its worth a go but dont forget if the valve guides are worn then the new seals wont fix the problem as there will be to much moment for them to handle.

if you do go for a rebuild then i'd say use a local machine shop, theres still some brilliant company's around who really know their stuff, they are usually cheaper and theres no postage and surcharges etc etc and the big advantage is you can actually go talk to them about what you need