MINI2

MiniPapa · Oct 6th, 2006, 02:39 AM

Last night my wife was out with the Mini.
She had to pull over when the temp gauge climbed from mid-point to red. She shut off the car and the engine fan kept blowing for some time. She restarted the car which turned the fan off again and drove home after with no issues.

This morning I looked and found the coolant level was well below min. Now I picked the car up at the end of April so I don't know where all the coolant disappeard to in 5 months. I've had no evidence of leaking on the ground under either home or work parking spots.

I drove the wife's car to Crowfoot and picked up some coolant to top up. I also made a service appointment to get this checked out (not until the 16th

though) along with my oilservice which is almost due anyway.

I drove to work (5kms) and watched the gauge and everything was fine. Coming home though it happened again. While idling on Edmonton Trail the needle rose to red. I pulled over and shut the engine off. As I was pulling over it dropped back to normal

.

When I checked the coolant it seemed to be at the same topped-up level, so this time it wasn't due to lack of coolant.

I drove the last 2 kms home and just as I got there it started up again. I parked and shut down. The fan ran for about 5 mins afterwards. Coolant level was still fine.

Since the fan was on it can't be the dreaded PS-fan-fuse-blowing-the-engine-fan issue lots of folks have reported on the forum. I also doubt the seam-leak-on-the-coolant-bottle issue since I see no evidence on the ground, and there was coolant the last 2 times this happened.

If the gauge is faulty would the fan kick in?
Did anyone on the last Mini run notice if the red/black cooper was smoking white (burning the coolant)?
Any other ideas?

faster,Tobias! · Oct 6th, 2006, 03:47 PM

I sounds like the thermostat could be faulty/sticking, which means the coolant can't flow between the rad and block, causing the fan to come on and the needle to soar, but then when it opens everything returns to normal until it closes again.

MiniPapa · Oct 6th, 2006, 07:26 PM

If that is the case is the engine actually overheating or just thinking it is?

There is certainly no evidence of coolant sprayed out over the engine like others have reported.

MiniPapa · Oct 8th, 2006, 03:16 AM

There is definately a leak.
Since it was sitting for a day the coolant level dropped from just under max to about half full.
I also see evidence of liquid under the car though it was mostly dried up when I checked it at noon.
So that explains the initial problem.

Could the first overheat have caused the thermostat problem? The times it happened to me there was definately coolant in the reservior.

MiniPapa · Oct 18th, 2006, 11:51 PM

They fixed the leak in the thermostat housing.
No issues so far but I've driven it twice since picking her up.

It doesn't quite explain the overheating when coolant was present but they did bleed the system so maybe an air bubble was blocking the works from the first incident.

kustomisedminibadges · Oct 21st, 2006, 02:54 PM

MiniPapa - my Mini is blowing hot water out through the expansion tank and the temperature gauge is rising into te red then lowering itself back down again - sounds like the same as what happened to yours.

Did you find that it was a sticky Thermostat in the end?

MiniPapa · Oct 25th, 2006, 03:16 AM

Well the thermostat housing was the leak source but they didn't suggest a reason for the overheating beyond lack of coolant.
Since I already explained to them that I topped up the coolant and still overheated I dismissed that.
I figure the coolant leaked until there was not enough. Then the system sucked in air and that blocked the hose. So even when new coolant was added there was nowhere to go but out the leak.
I definately saw more evidence of leaking after I topped it up.

It was suggested by other forum members that the thermostat might be stuck but I don't know enough to understand if that could happen as a result of the first overheating incident.

Seems ok still but I'm getting in the habit of popping the hood every couple of days and looking at the level.

faster,Tobias! · Oct 25th, 2006, 05:34 PM

No, I don't think that overheating would cause the 'stat to stick. More likely the temp. was fine when moving, but with sitting at idle you had no airflow over the engine to help out the coolant. Glad to hear it is alright now (even though it has you paranoid!!)

AlunR · Jan 19th, 2007, 04:34 PM

I've got the same issue on the Cooper S I'm borrowing from a friend for a week with a view to buying it...

The needle will suddenly go from half way to max in about 10 seconds. Does anyone have any further ideas on this? I'm going to check the coolant when I get home but for the time being I've walked into the office to let it cool down.

Zerofail · Mar 30th, 2007, 12:27 AM

Wow! I have the exact same issue with my 02 Cooper S! I will come to a stop or let the car idle after driving and the temp needle shoots into the red. Once i take back off the needle goes directly back to nominal. This seems like it occurs with quite a few MINIs.

WissCooperS · May 2nd, 2007, 04:30 PM

im having the same problem.. for the last 2 days my mini S 2002's temp gauge would go up randomly and then go down to midpoint again.. took the car in to mini today.. the guy told me it would take some time to figure out the problem but it looks serious.. with a potential need to replace the cylinder head as the oil may have mixed with the coolant or something wierd like that.. i have no real clue what he was on about.. except that if this is truly the case (they are still reviewing the problem) it will take weeks and quite some money to fix...

Oct 6th, 2006, 02:39 AM	#1
MiniPapa MINI2 Regular Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Calgary Local Time: 12:52 AM Posts: 84 Offline	Strange overheating issues Last night my wife was out with the Mini. She had to pull over when the temp gauge climbed from mid-point to red. She shut off the car and the engine fan kept blowing for some time. She restarted the car which turned the fan off again and drove home after with no issues. This morning I looked and found the coolant level was well below min. Now I picked the car up at the end of April so I don't know where all the coolant disappeard to in 5 months. I've had no evidence of leaking on the ground under either home or work parking spots. I drove the wife's car to Crowfoot and picked up some coolant to top up. I also made a service appointment to get this checked out (not until the 16th though) along with my oilservice which is almost due anyway. I drove to work (5kms) and watched the gauge and everything was fine. Coming home though it happened again. While idling on Edmonton Trail the needle rose to red. I pulled over and shut the engine off. As I was pulling over it dropped back to normal . When I checked the coolant it seemed to be at the same topped-up level, so this time it wasn't due to lack of coolant. I drove the last 2 kms home and just as I got there it started up again. I parked and shut down. The fan ran for about 5 mins afterwards. Coolant level was still fine. Since the fan was on it can't be the dreaded PS-fan-fuse-blowing-the-engine-fan issue lots of folks have reported on the forum. I also doubt the seam-leak-on-the-coolant-bottle issue since I see no evidence on the ground, and there was coolant the last 2 times this happened. If the gauge is faulty would the fan kick in? Did anyone on the last Mini run notice if the red/black cooper was smoking white (burning the coolant)? Any other ideas?

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Oct 6th, 2006, 03:47 PM	#2 (permalink)
faster,Tobias! Fanatically Enthiusiastic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Calgary, Alberta Local Time: 12:52 AM Posts: 1,148 Offline	I sounds like the thermostat could be faulty/sticking, which means the coolant can't flow between the rad and block, causing the fan to come on and the needle to soar, but then when it opens everything returns to normal until it closes again.

Oct 6th, 2006, 07:26 PM	#3 (permalink)
MiniPapa MINI2 Regular Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Calgary Local Time: 12:52 AM Posts: 84 Offline	If that is the case is the engine actually overheating or just thinking it is? There is certainly no evidence of coolant sprayed out over the engine like others have reported.

Oct 8th, 2006, 03:16 AM	#4 (permalink)
MiniPapa MINI2 Regular Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Calgary Local Time: 12:52 AM Posts: 84 Offline	There is definately a leak. Since it was sitting for a day the coolant level dropped from just under max to about half full. I also see evidence of liquid under the car though it was mostly dried up when I checked it at noon. So that explains the initial problem. Could the first overheat have caused the thermostat problem? The times it happened to me there was definately coolant in the reservior.

Oct 18th, 2006, 11:51 PM	#5 (permalink)
MiniPapa MINI2 Regular Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Calgary Local Time: 12:52 AM Posts: 84 Offline	They fixed the leak in the thermostat housing. No issues so far but I've driven it twice since picking her up. It doesn't quite explain the overheating when coolant was present but they did bleed the system so maybe an air bubble was blocking the works from the first incident.

Oct 21st, 2006, 02:54 PM	#6 (permalink)
kustomisedminibadges MINI2 Newbie Join Date: Oct 2006 Local Time: 06:52 AM Posts: 9 Offline	MiniPapa - my Mini is blowing hot water out through the expansion tank and the temperature gauge is rising into te red then lowering itself back down again - sounds like the same as what happened to yours. Did you find that it was a sticky Thermostat in the end?

Oct 25th, 2006, 03:16 AM	#7 (permalink)
MiniPapa MINI2 Regular Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Calgary Local Time: 12:52 AM Posts: 84 Offline	Well the thermostat housing was the leak source but they didn't suggest a reason for the overheating beyond lack of coolant. Since I already explained to them that I topped up the coolant and still overheated I dismissed that. I figure the coolant leaked until there was not enough. Then the system sucked in air and that blocked the hose. So even when new coolant was added there was nowhere to go but out the leak. I definately saw more evidence of leaking after I topped it up. It was suggested by other forum members that the thermostat might be stuck but I don't know enough to understand if that could happen as a result of the first overheating incident. Seems ok still but I'm getting in the habit of popping the hood every couple of days and looking at the level.

Oct 25th, 2006, 05:34 PM	#8 (permalink)
faster,Tobias! Fanatically Enthiusiastic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Calgary, Alberta Local Time: 12:52 AM Posts: 1,148 Offline	No, I don't think that overheating would cause the 'stat to stick. More likely the temp. was fine when moving, but with sitting at idle you had no airflow over the engine to help out the coolant. Glad to hear it is alright now (even though it has you paranoid!!)

Jan 19th, 2007, 04:34 PM	#9 (permalink)
AlunR MINI2 Newbie Join Date: Jan 2007 Local Time: 07:52 AM Posts: 6 Offline	I've got the same issue on the Cooper S I'm borrowing from a friend for a week with a view to buying it... The needle will suddenly go from half way to max in about 10 seconds. Does anyone have any further ideas on this? I'm going to check the coolant when I get home but for the time being I've walked into the office to let it cool down.

Mar 30th, 2007, 12:27 AM	#10 (permalink)
Zerofail MINI2 Regular Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Annapolis Maryland Local Time: 06:52 AM Posts: 92 Offline	Wow! I have the exact same issue with my 02 Cooper S! I will come to a stop or let the car idle after driving and the temp needle shoots into the red. Once i take back off the needle goes directly back to nominal. This seems like it occurs with quite a few MINIs.

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May 2nd, 2007, 04:30 PM	#11 (permalink)
WissCooperS MINI2 Regular Join Date: May 2003 Local Time: 06:52 AM Posts: 89 Offline	im having the same problem.. for the last 2 days my mini S 2002's temp gauge would go up randomly and then go down to midpoint again.. took the car in to mini today.. the guy told me it would take some time to figure out the problem but it looks serious.. with a potential need to replace the cylinder head as the oil may have mixed with the coolant or something wierd like that.. i have no real clue what he was on about.. except that if this is truly the case (they are still reviewing the problem) it will take weeks and quite some money to fix...