about the hydro-lock question:
It actually doesn't take much at all; all you need is an unfortunate splash of water to work its' way through the intake system and BAM, the piston will be locked up.

Moral of the [short] story? Stay away from big puddles, no matter how fun they are to splash in

 

Randy..." YOU ARE A CLASS ACT"... Nuff said.

 

Good report! Where does someone get 85 octane fuel? I have never seen anything below 86 octane (and that was at a handful of Sunoco stations).

 

>>about the hydro-lock question:
>>It actually doesn't take much at all; all you need is an unfortunate splash of water to work its' way through the intake system and BAM, the piston will be locked up.

So water in the intake is the root cause of puddle-related engine failure? If I went slow enough, I could conceivably traverse ~6" of standing water (power steering pump fan issues aside)?

 

just a question on the check oil light... does this mean that the oil light is bogus? It seems to me that if that is the case and that if they can replicate that the light was not functioning, shouldn't mini be responsible for the warranty work... after all, if the light did it's job, then this wouldn't happen.... man... time to check my oil then!!!..... in a seperate note, Randy... you're the MAN.....

 

The gas is an issue I thin those of us unfortunate (petroleum-wise at least) enough to live this far west have to deal with.

We have 91 octane premium, 87 octane mid-grade, and 85 octane regular.



Always check your oil - that's why they call it an "idiot" light! By the time it comes on, it is probably too late, as it indicates there is not enough oil to produce a very low oil pressure. We are still a little baffled by the fact that it didn't work. The light itself is not blown - we checked.

Randy

 

>>just a question on the check oil light... does this mean that the oil light is bogus? It seems to me that if that is the case and that if they can replicate that the light was not functioning, shouldn't mini be responsible for the warranty work... after all, if the light did it's job, then this wouldn't happen.... man... time to check my oil then!!!..... in a seperate note, Randy... you're the MAN.....

Most cars I've seen that have an oil light come on due to low oil are VERY LOW on oil. You have to be several quarts low in most cars to get the light on. The light is indicating low or no oil pressure. If the oil pump can create enough oil pressure with half a quart of oil in the engine to keep the light off it doesn't mean your engine has enough oil to survive.

Remember, the oil light indicates low oil pressure, it's not a oil level warning light. You can have 5 quarts of oil in your car and if the oil pump fails, that light will come on too!

 

re Hydrolock: The stock MCS inhales thru front snorkle and outlet in airbox for water is only small hole in back of airbox and the intake to compressor. The alta is half open so water has a little more opportunity to escape (splash out?) without getting sucked into engine. The open designs of air intakes like BMP would probably not facilitate hydrolock. If you are into swimming thru puddles, an open aftermarket intake would probably be for you.

 

I think the water issue may have been a deliberate reference to classic Minis' allergy to water. Never had one hydrolock, but driving through a puddle over about 1" deep, or even a heavy rain, could kill your engine. The distributor was positioned right behind the grille and really didn't like being wet. I always carried WD40 with me after I sat at a major intersection blocking rush hour traffic for 45 minutes one rainy afternoon.

 

This is yet another reason why I am installing an oil pressure gauge in my MINI.

As for the lamp (LED actually) for low oil pressure not coming on, it's increasingly common for today's engines built to such tight tolerances to give 'delayed' warnings. The oil pump is probably able to build up about 5psi of AIR pressure in the oiling system while running, and this is the usually minimum pressure to extinguish the light. There was probably enough residual oil in the pan and filter to push through a thin, foamy aerosol of oil through the engine. In low- or no-oil pressure situations, it is almost always the rod bearings which get damaged first; the high stress along with the throwing motion of the rods and crank demand a lot of oil in this area as it gets slung out very fast.

 

Ha, my friend has a 91 240sx that he got from one of those sign and drive places (you know the ones with only one location owned by one guy or a family with nothing but beat up used cars and 1 guy for service, if that). It was in good shape, my friend was dumb enough to pay 5K for it. But anywys after a couple 100 miles he had to change out the clutch because it was the original clutch on a 100k mile car and it was his first time driving stick. So he's takin it apart and notices that the tranny had no oil in it at all, then he noticed that there was no plug what so ever. He also did a compression test on it and found that one of the cylinders wasnt up to par. Dont buy from sign and drive.

 

Great job of investigative reporting Randy. Just the facts ... thanks. I checked my oil last weekend after a good detailing. 7500 miles (8 months), pully, ECU and intake mods, and a quart+ low!!! I jumped in my wifes car and went to the nearest Mobil. Then told my other MINI friends at work to check their oil.

I'd tell each of you the same. Don't be the idiot the lights are named after.

 

>>I'd tell each of you the same. Don't be the idiot the lights are named after.

Yeah, I just checked my car's oil after parking it for a few minutes because I was so scared. The car burned up some (.5-1 quart) of oil up to 4500 miles. I had changed the oil at 4500 miles to Mobil 1. I had checked at 6k miles and it was full. Now nearing the 10k miles, it is still nice and full.

 

I left my home with NO OIL, none, nada, nyet, hell it was all in the gravel of my driveway. I received NO idiot light, nothing.

 

>>just thought i'd share a not so cute story about MINIs and driving through "puddles."
>>
>>for those of you who live in Hawaii, at high tide, there is a "HUGE PUDDLE" of water in front of Ron's Auto Parts in Mapunapuna (Ahua St.). i see cars driving through the puddle daily. a friend of mine works for a rental car agency that has MINI coopers. he drove one of them through the "puddle" and halfway through it, the car stopped running...they had to push the car out...the water had totally blown the engine....needless to say, the poor MINI with the broken engine was sent to the auto auction. i thought about purchasing it and doing an engine transplant of some sort....but thinking about it was as far as i got...hehehe.
>>
>>lesson learned: never drive a MINI through large puddles :smile:
>>
>>(and yes, my friend got in a little bit of trouble but didnt lose his job :smile:
>>
Maybe the downpipe on the intake tube isn't just for adjusting the sound of the intake note - maybe it's there to soak up some water befre getting into the intake

 

Just thought I'd add my $.02 about driving through puddles and hydro lock.
I am a manager for an auto salvage pool. We bring in vehicles for insurance companies (totals) and auction them off to licensed dealers and dismantlers. Right now I have a 03 Jetta and a 04 Volvo XC90 that have gone through puddles and blew their motors. Usually on a new vehicle such as these the insurance company does not screw with them. Just total them out and send them to us to dispose of. I would hope that the Mini owner will be paid off for his vehicle. Usually if the water got high enough to be sucked in through the air intake, it was high enough to seep in to some electrical connections as well. This may not be evident at the time but, in a year or two it might show up (corrosion). That is another reasion these vehicles are totalled and then sold with "salvage" titles.

On a related note, titling laws are governed state to state (should be federal). Be ware that these vehicles are out there and could be hiding behind a clean title. Many states do not recognize other states salvage titles. So, in a couple of months from now, there just might be a 04 Volvo XC90 or a MCS for sale that seems awfull reasonable. Make sure you research every good used car deal.

:smile:

 

>>WHO WAS THAT GUY????
obviously he didn't appreciate it that Randy couldn't say his problem was a MINI issue and resents it.

 

I just received a 2002 CR that my partner bought at auction in Hawaii in July. It was a rental car. We new it had a bad engine but did not know what because everyone lies at the auction. I got it up on my lift today and there are at least two rods kicked out the side of the block. Mystery solved.

Anyone know of a low mileage long block available in Calif?

 

This site has a search engine for hundreds of junkyards:

http://www.car-part.com/

BTW, you have to search under "BMW Mini Cooper".

If you get a chance, snap some pics of the damaged block, I always like seeing the results of huge destructive forces.

 

Regarding Hydro locking :smile:
As an example of how far we have come:
I made a wrong turn while on a four wheel drive trip and got the Land Rover into 3 FEET of water [that is too deep even with an air intake that is 18" off the ground :smile:] but got it turned off before any damage occured to the engine. Pulled it to dry land, pulled the spark plugs, shot water 2' out the top of the engine, removed 2 gallons of "milk" from the sump [and refilled it :smile:] and she started right up again :smile: Gotta love '50's technology LOL
The MINI is probably in danger at about 6"

 

I just noticed this - it appears that deerharb's partner bought the hydrolocked MINI from mini-t's friend.

 

Read about this before, on this thread. I worry that sometimes you don't know whether a puddle ahead is 1/2" deep or 10".

 

>>>>just a question on the check oil light... does this mean that the oil light is bogus? It seems to me that if that is the case and that if they can replicate that the light was not functioning, shouldn't mini be responsible for the warranty work... after all, if the light did it's job, then this wouldn't happen.... man... time to check my oil then!!!..... in a seperate note, Randy... you're the MAN.....
>>
>>Most cars I've seen that have an oil light come on due to low oil are VERY LOW on oil. You have to be several quarts low in most cars to get the light on. The light is indicating low or no oil pressure. If the oil pump can create enough oil pressure with half a quart of oil in the engine to keep the light off it doesn't mean your engine has enough oil to survive.
>>
>>Remember, the oil light indicates low oil pressure, it's not a oil level warning light. You can have 5 quarts of oil in your car and if the oil pump fails, that light will come on too!

Yep. MINI's have an oil pressure idiot light, but I don't believe they have a check-oil light. I had a Ford Ranger which has both lights. The oil pressure light means QUIT RUNNING NOW!

 

The problem is... If the cars did have the 15% pulley their warranty would have been void. Any problems you may have with the motor can be blamed on the pulley.

-donut

 

>>The problem is... If the cars did have the 15% pulley their warranty would have been void. Any problems you may have with the motor can be blamed on the pulley.
>>
>>-donut
Not so fast there Donut. A blanket statement like that is not true for all of the Dealers mine included. :smile: