Mini Cooper R56 P0137 code

Really diving into details there @Tester and missing the big picture.
They are listed as oxygen sensors on parts websites, in the Bentley manual, and everywhere I read about the two oxygen sensors for my car. Perhaps mechanics cll my oxygen sensors air/fuel ratio sensors, I do not know. But none of the facts change becuase of what they are called.

@sgtrock21 The EPA estimate is always on the conservative side and that my nine year old car with 77,000 miles on it gets nowhere near the EPA estimate is the problem. Of course I have no idea how the car was driven before I bought it at 70,000 miles. The slighty melted plastic of the intake manifold indicates it was driven badly. My whole point is that the car doesnā€™t get anywhere near the mileage it should and jumps all over the map so something is obviously wrong.
The compression test is the best advice so far and will be done tomorrow.

Iā€™ve always found that nothing can be diagnosed unless itā€™s understood how the system works.

Tester

Theyā€™re referred to as o2 sensors or oxygen sensors in the service data Iā€™m looking at. Iā€™m not sure if that means they really are the traditional narrow band sensor, or they are in fact the wideband air-fuel-ratio sensor. On the electrical schematic, the section where the power-train control circuit is shown is referred to as ā€œlambda controlā€. By the looks of the circuit, the pre-cat sensor has 3 current outputs, labeled

  • alsvr1 (GE) - Yellow
  • alsvp1 (WS) - White
  • ilsvp1 (GE) ā€“ Yellow

Apparently GE mean ā€œyellowā€ and WS means ā€œwhiteā€ in mini-speak , referring to the wire colors I guess.

The current outputs are converted to voltages by transistors located on the ā€œDME Control Unitā€.

Given that the outputs appear to be currents, Iā€™m presuming these are wide-band air-fuel ratio sensors rather than narrow band sensors. The post-cat sensor is slightly different, and only has 1 output, and that appears to also be a current output, implying it is a wide-band air-fuel ratio sensor.

I concur that the diagnostic process would be less ambiguous if the nomenclature used by the car manufacturers was consistent.

Its German for some reason.
GE - gelb
WS - weiss

Germanā€¦ for some reason? LOL It has a very specific reason.

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and now for some hard data.
Compression test:
Cylinder 1 - 160psi
Cylinder 2 - 156psi
Cylinder 3 - 162psi
Cylinder 4 - 172psi - Oil on spark plug threads

Crankcase pressue test:
I believe spec is 38mbar but that is from online as I cannot find it in my Bentley manual.
At idle 55-70mbar
At idle with PCV plugged - -5 to +10mbar

So the compression test looks good to me except the spark plug gasket on cylinder 4 is failing or failed. Could the leak on cylinder 4 cause the frothy oil and bad crankcase pressure? I am thinking about doing an oil pressure test or testing the fuel injectors but donā€™t know if they would be useful.

Are you referring to Bavarian Motor Works?

Indeed I wasā€¦

My next door neighbors own a 2014 Mini. They love it. I have driven it and liked it. I have also driven 2 vintage British Mini Coopers. One was the only right hand drive vehicle I have driven. It was no problem on USA roads but I donā€™t know if I could successfully drive anything on the wrong side of the road. I could probably do OK on a rural roads but turns in traffic would be counterintuitive.