Drivetrain Thermostat housing and coolant change
#1
Thermostat housing and coolant change
My coolant has been disappearing over time. The tank seems okay. Last Saturday morning, when I walked out, there was a nice puddle of coolant coming from under the car. I filled her back up, turned her on and bled the system. I then left her running until she came up to operating temperature. I then took her on a brisk drive. Came back and no leaks. Since then she's been fine. Since the supercharger and waterpump seem to running fine, I'm going for the easiest fix, the thermostat housing. Today I put her on the lift and was looking for a possible leak. I placed a rag right above the thermostat housing as a reference. I got back under and this is where it looks like coolant has run down. That area is actually quite rusty indicating to me that moisture has been there before. I have the new thermostat housing and thermostat. I'll be changing it out this Friday. I was wondering if the gasket I have the right one. It's white in color. And, since BMW decided that a drain valve on the radiator was too much of an inconvience, I'll be pulling the lower radiator hose to drain the coolant, but is the drain valve for the block easy access? Thanks!!
#4
The intermittent blue fluid leak is almost certainly the thermostat. It's maddening - because sometimes it will go a long time between leaking, then one night out of the blue it will drop a few tablespoons again.
FWIW, often the only problem is the gasket - that was the issue in my case. The housing was fine. Had mine replaced about 40,000 miles ago and no leaks since then.
FWIW, often the only problem is the gasket - that was the issue in my case. The housing was fine. Had mine replaced about 40,000 miles ago and no leaks since then.
#5
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your gasket should be in the shape of an 8. the first thermostat I got (local parts store) had a gasket that was the shape of a 0. after taking all the stuff off to get to my thermostat and finding it was the wrong one I was a little upset (especially since my mini is my dailydriver) oh well it only took half the time to complete it the second time. If you have any questions let me know...
#6
#7
You don't have to drain the coolant to replace the thermostat.
I went through this recently. Although I didn't do the work myself, I got to watch closely and I summarized the steps in Post 31 in the following thread. Hope it helps...
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...e-straw-2.html
I went through this recently. Although I didn't do the work myself, I got to watch closely and I summarized the steps in Post 31 in the following thread. Hope it helps...
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...e-straw-2.html
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#8
I was having this same issue. Puddle here and there. What bothered me most was the smell of evaporating coolant, hitting something hot on the engine. I highly recommend doing it yourself, if you like that sort of thing. I only needed to swap out the thermostat and gasket, now all is good.
Couldn't have taken more than 30 minutes to do. And honestly, don't bother removing a whole lot, aside from the airbox, once you get at the housing bolts, and get those out, you'll have more than enough room to swap out the gasket and thermostat.
Now on to my leaking oil gasket.
Couldn't have taken more than 30 minutes to do. And honestly, don't bother removing a whole lot, aside from the airbox, once you get at the housing bolts, and get those out, you'll have more than enough room to swap out the gasket and thermostat.
Now on to my leaking oil gasket.
#9
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yup, whether your under warranty or not, the gasket/thermostat is under a 2 year warranty against anything, so if it fails or leaks, they will replace it for free. thats what the sales representative told me when i purchased mine, and i just made sure to keep the invoice just incase.
#10
I was having this same issue. Puddle here and there. What bothered me most was the smell of evaporating coolant, hitting something hot on the engine. I highly recommend doing it yourself, if you like that sort of thing. I only needed to swap out the thermostat and gasket, now all is good.
Couldn't have taken more than 30 minutes to do. And honestly, don't bother removing a whole lot, aside from the airbox, once you get at the housing bolts, and get those out, you'll have more than enough room to swap out the gasket and thermostat.
Now on to my leaking oil gasket.
Couldn't have taken more than 30 minutes to do. And honestly, don't bother removing a whole lot, aside from the airbox, once you get at the housing bolts, and get those out, you'll have more than enough room to swap out the gasket and thermostat.
Now on to my leaking oil gasket.
#11
The intermittent blue fluid leak is almost certainly the thermostat. It's maddening - because sometimes it will go a long time between leaking, then one night out of the blue it will drop a few tablespoons again.
FWIW, often the only problem is the gasket - that was the issue in my case. The housing was fine. Had mine replaced about 40,000 miles ago and no leaks since then.
FWIW, often the only problem is the gasket - that was the issue in my case. The housing was fine. Had mine replaced about 40,000 miles ago and no leaks since then.
#12
You don't have to drain the coolant to replace the thermostat.
I went through this recently. Although I didn't do the work myself, I got to watch closely and I summarized the steps in Post 31 in the following thread. Hope it helps...
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...e-straw-2.html
I went through this recently. Although I didn't do the work myself, I got to watch closely and I summarized the steps in Post 31 in the following thread. Hope it helps...
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...e-straw-2.html
#13
yup, whether your under warranty or not, the gasket/thermostat is under a 2 year warranty against anything, so if it fails or leaks, they will replace it for free. thats what the sales representative told me when i purchased mine, and i just made sure to keep the invoice just incase.
#14
your gasket should be in the shape of an 8. the first thermostat I got (local parts store) had a gasket that was the shape of a 0. after taking all the stuff off to get to my thermostat and finding it was the wrong one I was a little upset (especially since my mini is my dailydriver) oh well it only took half the time to complete it the second time. If you have any questions let me know...
#16
#17
#18
I never had any issues with it. I didnt even see increased fuel consumption as I thought I would. I get a sense the SC creates so many freaquent engine heat spikes that sensors don't have time to react or catch up. With the M7 - water temps ran about 181-182* and a factory stat with Water Wetters gave me running temps of 189*-191*.
No codes ever popped up, and ran it during cold winter months as well. I had heat in the car half mile down the road with limited warm up time. I ran lower temp stats in many cars and SUV's before this one w/o issues as well....
What issues did you have Blimey ?
No codes ever popped up, and ran it during cold winter months as well. I had heat in the car half mile down the road with limited warm up time. I ran lower temp stats in many cars and SUV's before this one w/o issues as well....
What issues did you have Blimey ?
#19
I haven't run it. But have heard too many stories of folks who did with (at best) no issue and no benefit and (at worst) issues they attributed to. Certainly many folks have run it with no issues.
For a car driven hard in high temps - maybe. For a track car - maybe. For a daily driver in average climate... I don't see the benefit. Cooler is NOT always better from an engine wear / longevity / oil performance perspective...
Why didn't the factory put a 180 degree thermostat in there, if that was the optimal operating temp? Would cost them nothing....
For a car driven hard in high temps - maybe. For a track car - maybe. For a daily driver in average climate... I don't see the benefit. Cooler is NOT always better from an engine wear / longevity / oil performance perspective...
Why didn't the factory put a 180 degree thermostat in there, if that was the optimal operating temp? Would cost them nothing....
#20
I haven't run it. But have heard too many stories of folks who did with (at best) no issue and no benefit and (at worst) issues they attributed to. Certainly many folks have run it with no issues.
For a car driven hard in high temps - maybe. For a track car - maybe. For a daily driver in average climate... I don't see the benefit. Cooler is NOT always better from an engine wear / longevity / oil performance perspective...
Why didn't the factory put a 180 degree thermostat in there, if that was the optimal operating temp? Would cost them nothing....
For a car driven hard in high temps - maybe. For a track car - maybe. For a daily driver in average climate... I don't see the benefit. Cooler is NOT always better from an engine wear / longevity / oil performance perspective...
Why didn't the factory put a 180 degree thermostat in there, if that was the optimal operating temp? Would cost them nothing....
What issues did they have ? Since the M7 stat drops the running temp just 10 degrees, seems odd that would make so many issues. And since the viscosity of the synthetic oil is not like dino oil, again I dont see how a lower Tstat would in effect create more wear like heat from friction would do.
#21
I heard some stories of cold start issues being exacerbated by them, and of some folks throwing codes in cold conditions. Definitely not universal problems.
As for wear... I'm not an expert. But I've read that optimal wear occurs within a specific temp range.
I just wouldn't put one on my car... unless I had a reason to. But it's a free country, and not something I'm gonna fight about.
As for wear... I'm not an expert. But I've read that optimal wear occurs within a specific temp range.
I just wouldn't put one on my car... unless I had a reason to. But it's a free country, and not something I'm gonna fight about.
#23
#24
As you probably already know, you have two. One up front and one by the Tstat ( not hard to get to ). Just loosen that one a little bit while adding as needed to the tank, and make sure to turn on the heat on while doing this too. If you have any overheating issues in coming days, repeat as necessary to remove any air pockets in the system.