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Coolant leak & Oil usage

34K views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  habi222 
#1 ·
I've searched the forums but decided to write a fresh post,
Our Mini Cooper S (2007, 60,000 miles) has started to use coolant, it used to drop 1CM in the reservoir every 3 months, now 1.5cm a week!
Theres no signs of any leaks but read it could be the thermostat housing.
Today I took off the turbo inlet pipe to try and look at the thermostat housing which does look like where the problem lies, not lots of coolant leaking but some evident. Is there a step by step instructions someone could post a link of on how to change this, I had a price from Mini of £81 for a new one (looks like a plastic heart with all its connections!)

This brings me to my next topic - Oil consumption.
Since we,ve owned this car(nearly 2 years) it drinks oil about 1/2L a month, 400 miles! which wouldn't be so bad if Castrol Edge wasn't so damn expensive.
I read ages ago oil consumption is bad on these cooper S's but today when I removed the Turbo inlet pipe there was a small puddle of oil in the turbo, oil residue in the pipe and on the cam cover under the breather pipe a small puddle of oil! Also around the camcover some wetness which tells me the gasket needs changing.
I cant find any diagrams of how the breather system or the air filter/turbo charger air system works but am I right in assuming the breather is dumping oil into the turbo feed pipe and being burnt off?
Is there any fixes for the oil consumption issue yet?
On the valve/cam cover is the any filters that can be cleaned?
I read once about a possible cam cover design update is this true? if so how much is a new one? I've also read today about blanking off the breather pipe on the over end of the cam cover, does this work and save on oil consumption as well as reducing carbon build up.
Is there anything else that can be done to improve oil consumption?
I like this car but with these issues and the fact it sounds like a bag of nails sometimes on start up, I don't trust it to use everyday on my motorway journey to work!

As always any advice thankfully recieved
 
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#2 ·
Zanhar

my 2012 cms all4 will very quickly consume oil from full to 1/2 on the dipstick, less than 200 miles

if i do not add oil, it will remain at 1/2 low until i change the oil/filter

i would suggest that you not add oil and see if this works for you

my father bought a cms all4 after i got mine and his does the same thing

when i change the oil/filter, i only fill to 1/2 on the dipstick and am now burning no oil at all

scott
 
#3 ·
Zanhar

my 2012 cms all4 will very quickly consume oil from full to 1/2 on the dipstick, less than 200 miles

if i do not add oil, it will remain at 1/2 low until i change the oil/filter

i would suggest that you not add oil and see if this works for you

my father bought a cms all4 after i got mine and his does the same thing

when i change the oil/filter, i only fill to 1/2 on the dipstick and am now burning no oil at all

scott[/QUOTE

Thanks Scott, unfortuneatly it will carry on using oil until its off the dipstick, so topping up 1/2 way on dipstick will make no difference.
 
#4 ·
Update:
The coolant is leaking from the thermoatat housing which MINI informed me when it went into MIN this week for its recall for the turbo water pump. So will plan to replace it soon, new Housing from MINI £81 and read it takes about an 1.5 hour, MINI wanted about £350 to do this.
MINI also informed me that 600 mile/litre of oil is in spec, they told me this is due to my wife only doing short town journeys in it, If I could trust the car and know the timing chain wasn't going to fail I'd use it for work a couple of days a week, I travel 45 miles a day on the M25. According to MINI our car has its original timing chain set up and never been changed, Quote from MINI £960 to replace!
 
#5 ·
to remove the thermostat you have to remove the 1.air box and the all intake duct work.
2. remove all the hoses that are connected to the thermostat (5 total.)
3. on the back side of the block, thermostat is connected to the pipe that goes to the water pump. thermostat is connected to that pipe with a metal c-clip. get some long needle nose pliers and carefully pull it up. be carefull not to drop it, it small and hard to locate if you do drop it. 4. after removing that clip, remove 3 10mm bolts that hold the thermostat to the block (one on top and the other two on the sides, positioned in a triangle shape) 5. after removing the bolts and the electrical connections,pull it out. make sure to remove the old thermostat seal, before installing the new one.
the metal c-clip that connects the thermostat to the pipe in the back of the engine can be a pain in the ass. it makes it a lot easier if you remove the intake, but you dont have to.
NOTE: if its the thermostat that has external coolant temp sensor i would recommend replacing that as well, they are known to go bad.
after installing new thermostat and connecting all hoses and electrical connections , you have to bleed the cooling system. to perform bleeding procedure fill the reservoir with coolant to the top and open the bleeder screw on the thermostat. its a black plastic philips screw, dont use philips screw driver just use a flat head. once you have a steady stream of coolant coming out the bleeder screw close it. be careful to not over tighten and brake it off. i would suggest doing the bleeding procedure before you install the air box and air duct work, in case you drop the bleeder screw it would be easier to put in back in. hope this helps, if you have any questions let me know.
 
#6 ·
on the oil consumption, its normal. all minis use oil and you have to top it off. if your engine does not sound like a diesel your timing chain is still ok. the reason the timing chains fail is because the timing chain tensioner works off the oil pressure. so if your oil gets low the tension on the chain is not sufficient, and thats why you hear the raddle noise. as fat as the carbon build up there is no fix for it. if you drive the car harder meaning higher rpm range, it will build up slower. minin recommends putting mini plus into your gas tank to prevent carbon, which in my mind does not help it at all because its a direct injection system and the injectors do not spray on the back of the valves.
 
#9 ·
I haven't been on here for some time so I'll update - Still drinking oil!
I've changed the thermostat housing took about 3 Hrs, not quiet a straight forward as above guide, I did remove the airbox also the wiring is loomed in a housing which had to be dismantled and removed, this housing fits into the thermostat housing. the clip at the rear of the engine was a total pain trying to see how it came out and went back in, also the actual metal spring loaded hose clips were a total pain in the rear! I did consider replacing with jubilee clips but decided to keep it factory original, during this job I discovered that one of the main radiator coolant hoses had signs of rubbing so I protected that and the metal braided pipe under the airbox (what is this pipe for?) had signs of abrasion so I bound it with 'spiral wrap' to protect it.
No more leaks, very happy and saved £300!
Thanks for everyone's help
 
#12 ·
Using oil and water

I have a 2008 S,, it uses about a qt per month. .small leaks but most of it is burned out pipes.. good for engine.. keeps pistons cool and last longer.. i have over 80k miles and drive it like i stole it. over 80mph daily.. so i dont care
WATER is a different problem. my water pump just went out.. pouring waster out of weep hole. seal on shaft gone bad. got pump from NAPA for 115,, dealer said 350,,
now to adventure. .dealer said 1500 to change pump. i have to find directions on how to pull motor and change the water pump. i am NOT paying that man 1500 for a 3 hour job..
anyone that knows or can tell me where the instructions are to change R57 water pump. PLEASE show me..
thanks in advance.. :p
 
#13 ·
Just gone through this post as trying to find info on contaminated coolant fluid as my wife's cooper s is a mucky green black colour, which is strange as its just been changed as the head had been off due to a decoke. Anyone else had this as I think the coolant was light blue or pink.

Anyway on the decoke side of things BMW as a cheaper fix to stripping the engine. They have a pipe that fits to the exhausted outlet in the head and blasts the carbon out with crushed walnut shells.
 
#14 ·
Our mini cooper S coolant is exactly the same. It is all serviced under the TLC package and remains muddy green.

I recently de-coked the mini myself using Mr Muscle Oven cleaner (no fumes) and a bit of agitation with a long thin flat head screwdriver. It turned the carbon to a black sludge that i wiped out with a rag. Cost me about 4 Hrs of effort and alrdy had the Mr Muscle for the oven, so the cost was NIL. I followed online instructions for the walnut blasting for access. Note: The bottom bolt that supports the intake is a B*****d to get at.

Car now revs freely up to the red line, instead of getting breathless at 5k rpm.

On another note, I can get 47mpg indicated driving careful with the right foot and keeping around 60mph using shell v-power nitro.

Oh, another thing. Walnut blasting is to clean the inlet valves & not the exhaust ;)

Tab
 
#15 ·
Fluid leak near front under turbo

My 2011 MCS periodically leaks a somewhat clear fluid similar to brake fluid near the front center under the turbo. I've checked and felt around and cannot feel anywhere that can it can be coming from. It is in the same spot on my garage floor. Any ideas?
 
#16 ·
Nice to know about the Oil leakage and coolant leakage and your suggestion about it is also awesome.I am a mechanic by profession and know very well about this procedure but you all talking about this is correct.
 
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