[thegoldenbonce]

Hello

My MINI One 02 recently overheated, I've owned it from new and this has not happened before. The temperature guage went right up into the red and would stay there or calm down depending on what I was doing during the short journey.

I'm very ignorant about how cars work and so I'm looking for a bit of help. I've taken it to a garage and they're not sure whether its the cooling system or whether its the head gasket.

After the first journey where it overheated there was a trail of liquid (water rather than oil I think) leading out from under my car. I filled what I thought was the reservoir back up with water and drove back home. The problem was not resolved on the way home so I took it to a garage the next day.

All the garage did to ascertain the problem was to leave it running for the day but it didn't overheat - perhaps it needs to be revved to overheat?

I'm due to be driving 300 miles in it on Friday night but am kind of concerned that its going to blow up during the journey.

Apologies for being so clueless about this stuff, its embarrassing.

Any help much appreciated.

[mab01uk]

Quote: Originally Posted by thegoldenbonce (original)

I've taken it to a garage and they're not sure whether its the cooling system or whether its the head gasket.
All the garage did to ascertain the problem was to leave it running for the day but it didn't overheat - perhaps it needs to be revved to overheat?

If this is all the garage did to check then I think you need to go elsewhere!
There are several straight forward tests which can be done to narrow down the problem such as pressure testing the cooling system for leaks, checking for combustion gases in the coolant plus a compression test for the head gasket and other basic checks like thermostat, electric fan operation, visual check of all hoses, heater matrix for leaks, air locks in system, etc.

[Streeters]

If its the head gasket, you can check yourself for an indication.... remove the oil filler cap.... if the inside of the cap appears to be either a chocolate brown colour or has milky spots or white bits in it then there is water in the oil ...thus head gasket.

we were losing water a lot recently and it turned out to be the thermostat housing. It wasnt overheating just drinking litres of water per week

[richg40]

Tell them to check for dry coolant around the thermostat housing. I'd bet all your money on the thermostat housing leaking.

[huntmdwn]

I had a very similar experience today. Sitting in traffic with the sun beaming directly on the passenger (right side on USA model) side of the car, and suddenly the temperature gauge jumped to the red for a while. I was waiting for the light to turn green to pull off of the road at a fuel station, and as soon as I got into the shade, the temperature gauge dropped suddenly back to normal. Needless to say, drove to a second light, sun beaming on the same part of the car, and the gauge went back to red. Shade again, normal reading again. Is this a normal behavior of the system? How does the temp gauge get it's information? Could the sun be the culprit at all?

[olipants]

Quote: Originally Posted by mab01uk (original)

If this is all the garage did to check then I think you need to go elsewhere!
There are several straight forward tests which can be done to narrow down the problem such as pressure testing the cooling system for leaks, checking for combustion gases in the coolant plus a compression test for the head gasket and other basic checks like thermostat, electric fan operation, visual check of all hoses, heater matrix for leaks, air locks in system, etc.

morning

ive got a mini one diesel and it has started overheating, on friday night we went up to newcastle upon tyne from derby and i put two litres of coolant (mixed) on the way up there and it seemed fine then

we came home last night and i toped the coolant up in the morning, another two litres. on the waqy down we had the same problem, jumped from middle to high and the red light came on. i pulled over and topped up with a litre, carried on for about ten miles then had to pull over again

we made it home but ive got to leave it with the wife tomorrow and i'm off to london

last night i lost power before i pulled over but once it had cooled down it was okay again

the fans are working but the header tank was bubbling

is it the head gasket then?


thanks
tony

[fordcymru]

Creamy white paste inside the oil filler cap is not always a sign the headgasket is gone. If the gasket blows between a cylinder and a water way then you get bubbles in the header tank while the water dissappears up the exhaust. BMW state to change the coolant mix every two years to maintain the coolant efficiencey. If your not a competent DIY mechcanic then find yourself a good local garage to diagnose your problem.