Just Picked up a 2011 MCS N18 hatch 86k miles. fun little go-cart. I have some serious questions and concerns about her. going to do some thread searching but any help finding the right places to start would be a huge help!
First thing is possible catastrophic head gasket failure....
I was crusing down the interstate 70mph 6th gear, noticed a white cloud in the rearview and POW bang boom. without warning or notice she blew a gasket or worse. she started throwing a fit lights and beeps, limp mode so I threw it in neutral and coasted to the breakdown lane, rough idling and slight knocking i shut her down and checked the oil, it was filled with coolant/choc milk. HELP! Haven't even made the first car payment..

 

Take it to the dealer to fix it.

if it threw a CEL, get the codes so we can narrow the issue down.

Do not assume it is coolant UNTIL you check your coolant level and see if it lowER than before.

N18 Engines are pretty good with minor external issues, but who knows.

let us know.

 

Hi DPMini11,
Welcome to the Nam family. I am sorry to hear that you had some bad thing go wrong with your new to you Mini. I am guessing it was either low on water, or the fans were not working. I just hope it was not a deception by the seller, when you bought it.
Do you have any recourse with the seller? It seem fishy that it would go wrong before your first payment. I do hope you can get it straightened out.
Keep us posted.

 

Yea, check the coolant and get the codes, the N18 is pretty good so having major issues with that are not common. Maybe someone repaired something before, if you go to the dealer have them run the vin and see what services and warranty was done. Also, some places have a short term warranty if you bought it from a dealer.

 

Hello, thanks for the replys. It sucked all the coolant into the engine, Taking her to a Dealer is out of the question! The crummy dealer I bought it from basically laughed at me so there going to be zero help... I ordered the Timing gear tool set, and Going to pull the head early next week. I'll update with results asap... thanks again for the warm welcome.

 

That is unfortunate. I hope the repair goes well for you. Hopefully you will just need to replace a head gasket. Luckily the Minis appear to have a master link option for the timing chain for rebuilding the top end like this. Most BMW engines don't have that available.

I recently had a complete engine meltdown on my 2013 MCS. I had a coolant line that wasn't installed properly which rubbed on the transmission and leaked all of the coolant. 70mph on the highway with zero warning that it was over heating, I overheated it. Valves were bent, cylinder bores scratched, wiring harnesses melted. It was all pretty bad, luckily it all happened two weeks before the factory bumper to bumper warranty ran out so it was all covered and fixed by Mini.

 

Sounds like the dealer you bought it from shouldn't be in business. If you haven't had it long enough to make the first payment, it would be pretty reasonable of the dealer to help sort the engine out.

Sorry to hear what happened. These are great little cars. Hope you get it fixed.

 

I absolutely agree, They should help me but not looking good. If they keep ignoring me I'm getting a lawyer involved.. I"ve only owned it for a few weeks but I love my Mini and hoping for a smooth head gasket install, Drained the oil out today and it looked like melted caramel ice cream! Letting it drain overnight then I'm going to refill and install new filter, remove spark plugs and crank it over (just in case theres water in the cylinders) in order to be sure the lower end isn't toast before jumping into a head removal. This has been the worst week of my life.. Car blows up, death in the family, window reg crapped out on my back up car.. just keeps getting better! LOL BTW I just bought an N18 timing tool kit so I maybe renting or selling if anyone needs once Im done with it.

 

So I drained and refilled oil with new filter, pulled plugs and turned over to check for coolant in the cylinders. Put plugs and coils back in, started car, she ran great no knocks, clunks or bearing noises. Good sign low end is safe! Pulled codes today, all I got was P0128. So I guess its a Headgasket and Thermostat housing. Yayy!

 

By the way, there are few other places where coolant and oil come VERY close to each other:
1- turbo
2- oil filter housing

before you rip the head, do a compression test AND Coolant system pressure/gases test.

N18 isnt known, at least to me, to have a HG issue!

 

Ya, the oil filter housing had me thinking, however wouldn't those two places mix instantly without pressure? (just a thought!) I ran the engine with fresh oil and filter and the oil is somewhat clean besides some residual coolant.
The Turbo does make some sense because this happened without it "overheating" I never got a coolant light or MIL/CEL, but coolant definitely got into the cylinders and oil... lol

 

there is plastic/rubber gasket that separates the two. unlikely to happen but was a thought.

If coolant is getting into the cylinder, then your overflow tank would want to push out all of the coolant, no?

 

I guess I'm going to have to invest in a compression tester and do some more Diag.
Being an N18 is there an easy way to reach the crank pulley without removing the engine and is it a strange style bolt like 12pt or torx? haha

 

you can just push the wheel well liner a little. there are three E10 bolts that hold the pulley. there is also a 6pt 18mm bolt (crankshaft bolt).

 

Ok, easy enough. thank you!

 

 

Thats what it sounds like, not too many n18s with head gasket issues.

To get to the crank pulley. Go through the wheel well on the passenger side. Most people just poke a hole in the wheel well cover or pull it back.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...placement.html

 

It is easier to remove the passenger tire and the inner fender and you have good access to the vibration dampener.

 

UPDATE!! So after months of diagnosing and maxed Credit cards Ive found the mystery and fixed it for good. Meanwhile upgraded lots of goodies!
Small plug (freeze plug I think) inside the head between the center spark plug tubes popped out and let coolant rush into the head, down to the oil pan, pushed out the PCV into the turbo which filled my Intercooler/intake... CRAZY MINI DESIGN

Upgraded Turbo to a Hybrid 47mm K04, Wagner Intercooler, NM hi-flow piping, Forge BOV, 3in catless DP. next stop is eco tune! haha

 

Thanks for the update, do you have a picture of this freeze plug and location?

 

Not the greatest picture but here is a before and after!