| Mini 1 Head gasket failure
Think I've just joined the band of owners with head gasket failure on their Mini 1 Diesel.
I had an over heating engine around two weeks ago - needle went into the red - I pulled over very quickly and called the RAC - they suggested it might be a sticking thermostat - topped it up with water and advised me to keep an eye on it. After that the car ran OK but as a precaution I had the car serviced. After a few days the temp gauge suddenly shot into the red - pulled over and turned the engine off - The engine quickly returned to normal operating temperature. I continued - same thing happened - I turned the heater on and turned to head home. I stopped off at a service station and checked the rad - 'stone' cold. I topped up with a fair amount of water - (it quickly heated up) and continued home. I put it into a local one man band garage - he's diagnosed a head gasket fault.
I found it strange that the temp gauge indicates normal temperature even though the water level had clearly dropped to a seriously low level and the heater continues to blow hot air. Before everyone says - the temp sensor needs water to work correctly! The point I'm making is that the temp. gauge appears to be capable of extremely misleading readings - I cannot believe the engine was running at anything like a correct temperature yet the gauge initially only had an occasional foray into the red zone and otherwise indicated a completely normal temperature. I don't know whether the garage that serviced the car picked up on low water level but it looks like I'm in for a big bill. I've had a lot of problems finding a garage that wil even touch the job and am resorting to a garage miles away that I had previously used before a house move.  | 
