i noticed that theres alot of oil near these plate/covers on the back of the engine.

juz wanted to know what are those covers, whats the purpose for them and does every mini have this problem

_________________
oil leak?..what oil leak..that puddle under the car is just sweat from all that horsepower

The plates you are referring to cover the access holes to the cam followers , they have a cork gasket between them and the block and they tend to get a bit brittle with age . Fairly easy to replace once you've got your hands around the exhaust . These were on all mini motors except the ones referred to as an 1100S motor which was a 1275cc motor without the cam follower plates .

_________________

ah ok so there for mines are standard 1100 the block number is 1015/6756
but that could be juz the number of production im not sure

_________________
oil leak?..what oil leak..that puddle under the car is just sweat from all that horsepower

Yes , The general rule is the first number or two numbers gives the engine capacity , 8 = 850cc , 9 = 998cc , 10 = 1098cc(1100) , 12 = 1275cc . The cooper s 1275cc had a 9 at the start of it's engine number but different letter coding and extra studs for the head . The 1275 motor's with the 12 prefix were in Mokes , 1275LS and some others .

_________________

ah ok thats cool then, from what ive been taught with cork gaskets u can nip them up abit and see if it will stop the leak otherwise it needs to be replaced

_________________
oil leak?..what oil leak..that puddle under the car is just sweat from all that horsepower

The 1015/ engine number would be from around 1973.

yeah good luck with that, more often they're just plain knackered and need to be replace. Luckily they are ridiculously cheap.

May also be oil coming down from the rocker cover too, certainly worth a try.

_________________
SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

nah check the rocker cover its coming from halfway down the motor

_________________
oil leak?..what oil leak..that puddle under the car is just sweat from all that horsepower

You might as well get the rocker cover gasket at the same time and replace all of them as they'll most likely be similar age/condition .

_________________

the rocker cover isnt original ill take a pic and post it soon, also does anyone know the number for external filters for the 1100 motor im sorta annoyed cause i thought it was cartridge and realised juz now its not

_________________
oil leak?..what oil leak..that puddle under the car is just sweat from all that horsepower

yeah nip them up


Dont use a blardy rattle gun

_________________

Ahhhh ! yes

But sometimes after forty odd years you simply spend the five dollars on new gaskests and replace them regardless.

Really only a schooner !!!!

possible truth, well i degrease the motor down to be 100% that its coming from that cover

_________________
oil leak?..what oil leak..that puddle under the car is just sweat from all that horsepower

You will have fun tommorow then won't you? The seals might be rubber and not cork yet. The back plates are slightly different in design for the rubber ones, rolled edges curve around the seal.

I don't know about using cork in rubber plates and vice versa?? Does it make a difference?

_________________
SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Originals were plain cork.
Then they used rubberised cork =better.
The rubber ones are thicker, and shaped different for the later covers- they seal better.

_________________
DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.