[deve]

Hi, I 'm new to this forum.I 'm from Greece so please excuse me for my poor english.I have a 2002 mini cooper. My mini has a strange problem that even the bmw technicians can't sort out.It all started a year ago.I had the engine run for about an hour (standing still) when a funny noise came out af the engine bay.I openned the hood and i saw water coming out of the coolant expasion tank cup side with very high pressure so steam was coming out of the engine when the water reached the engine block.That didn't open or crack the cup. I turned off the ignition and then the fan strarted working and everything was ok.The funny thing is that the temperature indicator was , at all the time, at normal position (in the middle).The same thing happened twice last week when i was stuck in traffic jam.There was also a funny sound and a tremble from the engine just before the leak started .Yesterday I went at the bmw center and what they told me is that there is no crack at the tank and about a cup of coolat liquid was missing.They said that it was the first time they deal with this kind of problem.They also said that the thermostat should be replaced.And if this doesn't work then the water pump maybe having a problem. Did anybody had the same problem?Any ideas

[DaFlake]

Welcome to the forum.

Sounds like it is a sticking thermostat. I think that they are on the right track.

[deve]

That's what i though too, but if i have a sticking thermostat then the temperature indicator shouldn't go to a higher level?Even a bit, till the thermostat opens and the coolant starts to flow normally?That d@mn thing was right in the middle!

[DaFlake]

That is a bit odd....

What does the oil look like?

[deve]

If you mean the coolant liquid i think it's rather light green.I don't think that it's mixing with the water pump oil causing the brown color that is mentioned at some other threads, but i will check it again .Last night when my girlfriend parked the car after a distance of 60klm (on highway,i wasn't in the car) she said that she heard a sound like boiling water for a while when she turned off the engine together with a fading sound like a mechanical spin or something (i guess like a bad bearing sound)and the fan didn't start as the temp was ok once again.I have never heard this sound.Coulf it be the water pump?As far as I know boiling water sound is a result of air in the coolant circuit.Is it possible a bad water pump to leak air in the hoses?BMW specialists said that they should first replace the thermostat together with the thermostat housing, meaning I have to pay 150€ and they 're not sure if this will fix the problem.And then they will replace the water pump.I 'm not willing to pay a fortune just for experiments! I will go today to a garage where i take my e36 for service (without having the slightest problem since 1997 at 200.000klm)and see if they have something to say.
...to be continued!

[DaFlake]

Please keep us posted and I hope that it is resolved soon. This is one of those things that could help someone in the future.

[deve]

As I said I went to check for the color.The expansion tank was EMPTY!!!!!!Yesterday I had the coolant tank refilled.60klm of highway, without hearing the fan and the coolant is gone. Just called the bmw service head engineer and he told me that thermostat replacement has to be done as soon as possible.It is the only logical quess.The thermostat is malfunctioning so the electric fan doesn't start. Maybe 2-4 celcius degrees outside temp is causing the water temp indicator to stay at normal position (my guess).Monday that is.The problem is murphy's law!The problem never appears infront of the engineer!Never!

[DaFlake]

Of course not... The thermostat would be my logical guess as well and also the easiest to do.

[deve]

I 'm not feeling very well!!.Yesterday my mini was finally in one piece again (i will explain).The thermostat along with the thermostat housing was replaced.10 days ago the engineer called and told me that they had to replace the clutch which broke down.It broke during a roadtest after the thermostat replacement.So I had to pay 800euros plus 140 for the thermostat.After 5 days of negotiations with the insurance company which didn't cover a transfer from one garage to another I payed 120 euros to another company and a tow truck took the car from there and moved it to another garage in which I payed for the clutch replacement (by the way the bearing was crushed) 400euros (OEM Valeo clutch set).I went the next day to the garage to see what was going on and my mini was allover the place!The front end was totally dismantled and the engine was at the floor in order the clutch to be replaced.The front bumper, front pieces of the chassis and the whole engine came off.It was like I had a big crush or something.Anyway.The first engineer (from bmw, the one that replaced the thermostat) said that the instant overheating was caused by the clutch as it was stuck.The second engineer (the one that replaced the broken clutch) couldn't say anything because the car had already a new thermostat and thermostat housing and he wasn't able to do a road test because due to the broken clutch the gears where off and the car, at that time, couldn't move.He let the engine running for a whole day before the clutch removal and everything seemed ok.He also did an extended road test with the new clutch and again everything was ok.Now. The car is running fine.I don't know if the original problem is fixed and this whole thing cost me 150(thermostat)+120(tow truck)+400(clutch)=670euros!!!!! so far.If I had the clutch replaced at the BMW center i would have payed 940 euros!Last year I payed 550euros for power steering pump replacement and 100 euros for passenger side airbag cables replacement.Total cost 1320euros .I love my mini but I 'm not so happy when it comes to failures considering that I also have a E36 318is 11 years and I have never payed not a single euro for damages.

[MINIMANIAUK]

Sorry to hear of your troubles,
reference the overheating problem , we have had a similar thing ;
symptoms;
gauge never went over normal
loss of coolant
engine overheating -not constantly but every now and then

THE PROBLEM was due to the fan not cutting in sometimes,this was caused by a faulty control unit (also would not go over normal temp on gauge due control unit)
replaced control unit all good again
downside is the control unit is £500 plus fitting and programming!!!!
we have also seen other control unit /temp indication problems mostly intermittent and causing needle to rocket to the red without an actual overheat
I have looked into possible repair of all the control units for the MINI ,but at the moment it looks unlikely to happen ,so costs are to remain around £500 for each one -ouch!!


A BMW engineer said the engine was overheating because of a clutch ????!!!!!!????? interesting diagnosis, I would love to hear his theory on this.....

[deve]

The car now seems fine.No steaming, no missing coolant, no funny noises when shifting gears.The theory was that because the flywheel and the pressure disk where actually jammed at the time of the overheat because of the faulty bearing, it caused the engine to overheat for a very short time due to the abrasion of the metals?!Anyway.I don't want to know if that was the fix to the problem or the thermostat replacement (if of course the original problem is fixed and there will be more steaming engine).The thing is that clutch replacement tuned out that had to be done regardless of the steaming engine.If I have this problem again I will inform the forum (probably you're going to hear it on the news ''furious mini cooper owner beats to death a bmw technician''!!!!).

[suprthy]

Well, guys, yes, it is true that a burnt out clutch could contributes to engine over heating. The reason is that the transmission usually have coolant running in it somewhere to cool it off. If the clutch is burnt, it does is spinging and creating heat; but, my guess is that you would have to drive for a while for the egine to overheat. In anycase, if the clutch is burnt, then you won't be able to move either. The engine would just spins. You can also smell burnt clutch (smell like your brake pad got stuck to a rotor). As for the bearing, I don't know about that.

One more thing, our CS has a problem with the coolant tank itself. It used to have coolant seeps out of it. You can identify it by the white trails it leaves behind. I told my wife to get the metal coolant tank that mini pro (not sure) sell but she was just lazy and let it runs as is.

[DaFlake]

Quote: Originally Posted by suprthy (original)

Well, guys, yes, it is true that a burnt out clutch could contributes to engine over heating. The reason is that the transmission usually have coolant running in it somewhere to cool it off. If the clutch is burnt, it does is spinging and creating heat; but, my guess is that you would have to drive for a while for the egine to overheat. In anycase, if the clutch is burnt, then you won't be able to move either. The engine would just spins. You can also smell burnt clutch (smell like your brake pad got stuck to a rotor). As for the bearing, I don't know about that.

One more thing, our CS has a problem with the coolant tank itself. It used to have coolant seeps out of it. You can identify it by the white trails it leaves behind. I told my wife to get the metal coolant tank that mini pro (not sure) sell but she was just lazy and let it runs as is.

Ummm... Not sure that I agree with this at all.

1. I don't think that the MINI uses a cooling system on the tranny.
2. The coolers that I have seen on trannys typically are oil coolers where the transmission fluid is pumped through a radiator. I have never seen an engine cooling system connected to the tranny direct.
3. Even if the transmission was slipping, it would not generate enough heat to overheat the engine unless you stood on the gas constantly for a long period of time.

It sounds to me like they were shot gunning the problem and throwing parts at it to try and fix it.

Glad that it is resolved though.