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Mini cooper s 53 head gasket

4K views 38 replies 5 participants last post by  SeanC 
#1 ·
Head gasket has now been changed on my mini have also changed the matrix pig of job that was.
It's not using and water and I now have heat.

The temp runs around half on the guage. I have changed the oil but when I took the cap.of it was covered in milk
Is this because the engine has been stood in the garage in pieces cold.
I also have a little on the dip stick. Before the headgasket was changed I had none of this.
Is this normal do I jsug keep and eye on it and change the oil again soon.
 
#2 ·
If you have changed the head then run if for a little bit then change the oil then run it for another couple of hundred miles then change the oil again as this will flush out any remaining coolant that got mixed in. Pop an engine flush through the mix too in both cases
 
#4 ·
Wynns engine flush will do buddy as that's what I chuck in the oil. I tend to chuck it in on every other service to help keep the hydraulic tensioner from sticking. I lob it in then take the car a good hard drive to swish it all about the innards of the engine then drop the oil when its boiling hot and once everything has cooled down and fully drained I fit the few filter/ sump plug and fill it back up with nice new oil
 
#5 ·
Also get random gurgling from the matrix I guess this is air in the system as I reat these are pigs to bleed.

Any advise on this I've lost about 3 8mm bolts on the engine side bleed pipe as they don't bleed until they totally out

Will try again today to bleed the system through.

Thanks again for the info SeanC
 
#7 · (Edited)
Did flush it yes as before t looks like it had the k seal stuff through it. I tried again this morning but can't get anything out of the top pipe hardly it dribbles tbrough if i put the cap back on. I've changed the thermostat and housing. When I rev it with the top of the header tank it flows over.
Could my radiator be knackered

Like I said it does not overheat ? And I have heat through the heaters which I never had before.

I take the cap of and leaving it running open the top rad hose and it looks empty. Why is this?

Do I need to take it for a hard drive before I blead it.
 
#8 ·
K seal is a nightmare buddy so its good to hear that you flushed it through. The gurgling should hopefully pass through time so just keep it topped up and try bleeding it too. The screw on the rail (8mm) comes direct from the water pump and I have never managed to get anything out of it either so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Running it with the cap off will help burb any air out and lift the revs on the car too as this will also help
 
#9 ·
Just been out to check again afte r a quick run out. Cap is milked up again also on the dipstick and also header tank was almost empty. Heater matrix was gurgling.
Is this a knackerday head or maybe a oil coolet. Regretting buying the thing now. Originally startEd of with no heat.
Perhaps I should pull the head of again and have it pressure tested. Is the cooper head the same as the cooper s.
I'm so fed up at the moment
 
#10 ·
I see you have another thread so lets try and keep everything together in one place if you don't mind as 2 threads only confuse the situation. You report mayo on the dip stick and also on the cap and also the expansion tank is dropping it level?

First of all, Is there any obvious leaks on the ground? 2nd is the oil level rising? If it's the latter then you have problems with that head and it may well be cracked or warped. Is there any white smoke coming from the exhaust as this is also a tell tale sign of water in the oil. The mayo could just be the remainder of the contamination of the previous failed head failure hence my last post on dropping the first oil refill very quickly then dropping the second oil fill after a hundred miles or so.
 
#11 ·
Update.
I rang the cylinder head shop to book my head in for a pressure test. I explainwd what had been done and he advised me the heads are good on these and rarely crack.
I now have froth in my oil and loosing coolent also whit milk on my cap and white smoke non of this was present before doing the head gasket. I had no heat and gases in the coolent.
He mentioned on the phone i hope you didnt uses a bga gasket. Well that was the one that was provided for me.
He says these are really bad and will not work from.the start.
So this week im going to remove the head again drop it of to.be checked at weekend.
What make gasket is recommened.
 
#13 ·
Yep had bga ones lol. Anyway if the oem victor heinze or something like that.
Will go to knights bmw after i had my head checked and order one with some head bolts
Hopefully all will be well its back to the garage now for my mini. May post some pics on this thread if i can work out how to lol
 
#15 · (Edited)
Well tonight i started stripping the mini down again

Hers some pics hopefully
Of lovley oil and coolent lol




And the valve cover inside i never had this before we fitted the





Hope they worked more to follow tomoz hopefully need the head of for friday night so i can drop it of at the head and checked for cracks sarurday.
 
#18 ·
Yuck that brings back memory's of the old k series [emoji39]

I've known cheaper gaskets fail the minute the key is turned, I would get the head checked and install a new quality gasket with new bolts.

Just a thought it's a great time to upgrade the head bolts to a stud and nut set up.. much stronger!



Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk
 
#25 ·
Update just finished lifting the head of as ive had to work im the - temperatures oustide im glad i finished

The last few nights its been home from work the work on the mini i the dark and cold lol.

Well the head is off and the bolts seemed to easy to undo im.no2 wondering if these have failed.
The headgasket underneath has signs of that copper ksea evem after i flushed and flushed the system but this does point me to the direction of the leak perhaps.
Well head going to the machine shop tomoz to be pressure tested if ok will probably have the give it a light surface clean

Will know on monday anyway






 
#27 ·
only you can tell whats on it buddy, pinch some of it between your fingers. That K seal is an absolute nightmare and only good for end of life vehicles. God knows why folk use that shyte. Cheep skates if you ask me! At least you are doing the job properly! ::smile::
 
#30 ·
I have news!

Spoken to my cylinder head guy. The head has cracked inside.
Well that's peace of mind for me at leaSt I got to the root of the problem lol.

Explains why it would not bleed as it was filling with gasses

Sourced a recon head ready to bolt on. New guides seats and seals etc. And a light skim to clean it all off pressure tested and 23 months guarantee.

The question I have now regarding engine bolts I rang bmw knights near me and was quoted 7.90 plus vat for each bolt. 60 pounds plus vat for the head gasket. The bolts seemed very expensive I have also had a quote for victor reinz head bolts at 46 pounds.

What bolts and head gaskets dot you guys uses. Why are bmw so expensive is it worth the extra money.

Cheers again
 
#32 ·
To give an indication, here in Australia it would cost GBP 4.35 or AUD $7.90 (inc tax) per bolt from an Indy parts supplier for Mini and Porsche and its all OEM. Add around 20% min for a dealership and you get an idea on price and we tend to pay a lot more here in Australia than the UK. 7.90 quid does sound excessive to me but I have noticed, Gen 1 and the earlier the year for a Gen 1, the cost goes up proportionally. These cars will become more expensive to maintain until a 3rd party parts supplier can offer product at a reduced price to the quality required yet without burning customers.
 
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