Hello, brand new to the forum and looking for some advice. I have discovered that My 07 Mini Cooper S has a coolant leak. From what I have read already it seems to be the thermostat housing gasket.

Is this difficult to change on the 07?

Do I need to buy the entire housing ($109) or just the gasket ($ 6)

Please help!

 

i would say if its leaking the housing is bad but i never worked on the turbo models so im useless on how hard it would be, someone else will give you that direction. good luck and check the expansion tank while your at it where the cap is and see if its wet at the seam, mine is they all seem to leak there.

 

Thank you, I did check the expansion tank and no leak there. It seems that as it heats up the leak becomes worse and is somewhere lower down, like where the t-stat would be. I made an appointment at the dealership but need a loaner and earliest appointment is 9/12/12!! I'll keep refilling the expansion tank each day and hope it makes it to the 9/12. No overheating has occurred so I believe that I will be alright until then and go easy on it.

 

"Going easy"? Traffic in the summmer is not easy on an engine. Running A/C? More heat.

You may want to park that thing until you fix it. Renting a car for a few days is cheaper than repairing the damage to an overheated engine, towing, AND a rental car.

Also: driving around with coolant leaking onto the road makes it slick for the two wheelers of the world.

MTC anyway.