I have a 02 MINI with a 15% pulley. Last year close the end of my warranty my engine was replaced due to an overheating problem that lead to the engine letting go. It was the number 4 cylinder that faulted when the ring actually broke and put a hole in the cylinder. I was told that it was because a fuse blew and the radiator fan stopped. In the early Mini’s there was only one fuse that controlled the radiator fan and the power steering cooling fan. That’s the one that was blamed for my engine failure. The engine was replaced and I was happy. That engine was supposed to have a two year unlimited warranty. A little less than a year after the new engine was installed the same thing happened. The engine was only running on 3 pistons. I took it to the Charlotte, NC dealer where I live. They are not treating me with quite the “we aim to please” attitude. The engine was replaced a year ago by a dealer in Winston Salem, NC. I was out of town when the engine gave up that was the closest dealer and that’s were MINI towed it. The Winston dealer did nothing but make me happy. I was worried about being close to the end of the warranty but they said if you’re under the warranty, you’re under the warranty. Now with a new block and head the same thing has happened. I would guess it’s not the engine that’s the problem. I would also think that the 15% pulley is not the problem. It was on for three years before there was an issue. As we all know that’s the same reduction of the JCW kit. The fact that the ring broke on both engines on the #4 piston makes me think something else is to blame. When I asked why it was replaced a year ago and now it’s not they told me that the other dealership should have told me to get rid of the pulley. The other dealership did not mention that. Again, that dealership said it was the fuse to the cooling fan. I’m in a bit of a bind. They want about 9 grand to replace the engine……. Who has that sitting around? I’m sure that if I tried to sue I’d spend about the same amount as if I just bought a new engine. Thoughts anyone?

What can I do?

 

I'm afraid I don't have a lot of experience but would assume the dealer put the 15% pulley back on when they replaced the engine. That would seem to make it okay. I think you should definitely talk to them and see if they are willing to honor the warrently on their work or acknowledge that they didn't solve the problem you brought them before your regular warrently was up.

I get the impression MINI USA gets involved in these issues if you ask them to. I think their interest in happy customers exceeds that of some dealers. I also believe their desire to avoid legal fees exceeds yours as they have the alternative of simply fixing your car.

 

That is odd. Hard to believe that you would end up with exactly the same failure, if overheating was to blame. How long did you drive the car each time after if overheated? Did they replace the entire engine, or just the bottom end (short block)?

 

Call the other dealer and ask them if they would warranty your engine as they should have that on record. If they are willing, have it towed there even if its a few hundred miles away, it would be plenty cheaper than 9k. If you do do that, ask the dealer if they can install a seperate fuse for the power steering pump and rad fan. This also brings up a good point.....if your power steering pump is blowing fuses, then why wasnt that replaced? If it was legitimantly the Rad fan blowing the fuse, then why wasnt that replaced? If you do get your engine replaced whether you pay for it or not, I would advise installing a real h20 temp gauge, that way in the future if another fuse would say pop, then you would be able to see your engine temps rise. That being said, if your not running your AC and your not sitting around idling a lot, their should be sufficient cooling of the radiator that the fan shouldnt kick on. There are a lot of what ifs, and I wouldnt settle for a bs answer from any dealer. Cylinder 4 is the coolest running cylinder as it has the h2o pumped directly into that part of the block. Cylinder 1 is the furtherest from the coolant thus is it the hottest cylinder.

Keep us posted on your situation..

best of luck!

 

Hmmm. Curiouser and curiouser.

 

They (BMW) have to prove that the 15% pulley caused the failure before they can deny your warranty claim.

I think you should seek assistance from the BMW Zone Guy for your region (ask your dealer's service manager how to get him involved).

Contacting MiniUSA will be a complete waste of time and energy.

 

I think it's actually the other way around. the number four cylinder is the one at the end of the cooling line. This is what i was told when the first engine stopped running.

 

So I guess they never did the new wiring harness to fuse the cooling fan and the power steering separately. That was supposed to have been done by your dealer. There maybe a TSB out on that one.

Then this is a direct result of overheating the engine?

I see you have a bunch of Mods but don't see any gauges. You should know the OEM temp. gauge is worthless.

Are you mechanically inclined?

 

I was told by the dealership that put the new engine in that they did put the new wiring harness that separates the cooling and power steering fan. I know the gauge is a dummy gauge. If and when i get my car back from somewhere i'll be putting in oil pressure and a real temp gauge.

 

Oh if I had a dollar for every time this misguided advice was given I would be rich!!! The dealers can and will deny your claim for any reason they want. It is up to them to "prove" your part caused failure.....but that proving happens in the COURTROOM, after you have paid 9k to an attourney! and you better get a good one.....because the MM act which is the basis of tis misguided urban legend is designed mainly to protect people who install say a stereo but the engine blows, and the dealers says we wont cover your engine because you modified the stereo...you dont have a leg to stand on when you modify a engine component and your engine blows. because if you do go to court they can roll out the real engineers who designed your car.....They will explain that there is a reason that the JCW kit replaces the SC with one that has coated blades to deal with the higher temps....etc ....So getting MINIUSA involved will not help you when you have a modded car....furthermore some dealers will void warranty if they find out you track the car....now that is sucker punching, dont buy from a dealer like that

Most dealers are quite reasonable and given your mods you have been treated generously up till now. no chance anyone but you will pay for this engine

 

You could always use an independant shop. Have them rebuild the motor, or buy a used/rebuilt. Don't have to pay the stealer.

 

at this point if my block isn't damaged I'll put some aftermarket pistons in and try to make the engine more durable. an engine a year isn't what i'd call reliable.

 

I would most likely use an independant shop. I don't think most dealership mechanics are used to working on the bottom end of the engine.

 

If they were both due to overheating, now that you know about it, you can prevent it from happening again. I wouldn't exactly classify intolerance to overheating as unreliable.

I would also make real sure the cooling system is working ok. Water pump, passages clean, radiator not plugged, hoses not collapsing. There are things that can agravate overheating, and when you got a new motor, might not have been checked or replaced.

 

Actually, they don't.

 

If it is due to overheating i'd like to know why it's overheating. no one elses is. Why mine?

 

An '02 probably has had the coolant replaced. Was distilled water or tap water used? LOTS of minerals can collect and plug radiators and coolant passages.

I had a bike motor from FL that was amazingly plugged with white crystalline gunk. The inside of the water pump was almost solid-hardly room for water to move through at all. The radiator was almost totally plugged. It was only a couple years old, and shouldn't have even had coolant replaced yet. So at BEST it ran hot. Very easy to overheat. I used some of the kind of flush stuff you drain the coolant, put this stuff in with water, and drive for 100mi or so. It took I think 3 or 4 cycles of this stuff to get it decent (not clean by any means). Would have probably been better to tear EVERYTHING down and get it hot-tanked.

So there's one possibility you could check. Are your water pump, hoses, thermostat perfect? The electrical to the fans good? Lots of stuff to check...

 

Good luck with the MM act. A few of us are still looking in vain for a single car owner, not just MINI owner, who has successfully used this argument in arbitration and won.

I would fall back on the fact that the first dealership put the 15% reduction pulley on the car at the first rebuild. If they did not provide written advice to remove it at the time of rebuild you may have some recourse to get coverage.

I also like the suggestion of towing the car back to that dealer. They seemed more willing to help than the current one. Even if it is $1000 to tow it, it is still cheaper than the cost of the engine. They may even be willing to rebuild with forged internals.....worth looking into.....Good luck!

 

I agree with towing it back to the dealer that replaced the engine, but call them first and see what they have to say. As to the overheating and the comments about the gauge, my '03 MCS (I've only had it for a month) has a temp gauge in the main cluster, are you all saying it's inaccurate? Or that his '02 doesn't even have this gauge?

 

all BMW temp gauges are dummy. they only go from cold to middle to hot. no in between. You can't see the temp rise from middle to hot. they just go straight to hot. No fluctuation after the car is warmed up.

 

MINIdave, all years have the dummy gauge
Exactly what he said, they are all worthless.
If you want to know whats going on with your engine (and you should) you need to add an after market water temp., oil pressure and oil temp. gauge.

 

+1

 

If you want reliability then be very carefull not to play amateur engineer.....I see people ALL the time who go aftermarket and buy something for the race track thinking that it is more durable than OEM....when it is not!

I once had a design class where we did a failure anaylsis on connecting rods, one was a standard steel and one was a chrome moly alloy.....like you see being pushed in all these specialty race catalogs....Though the yield stress was much higher for the alloy it failed much MUCH sooner when you did the fatigue anaylsis. The point was clear and one I took to heart! Parts for the racetrack are for racers who rebuild engines often and need short term strength over long term durability. Many aftermarket products follow this same logic.....they have their place but reliability is NOT found in the aftermarket.....just ask those people who used aftermarket sparkplugs and have them blow out of the cylinder

 

There is *some* room between middle and hot. When I was trying (unsuccessfully) to drain and refill my cooling system, it wasn't bleeding correctly and I saw the temp gauge go to about 2/3 before shutting the car off. This was the only time I've ever had the fan stay on after shutting down. Luckily, I got it right the next try.

If you go into the hidden functions in the speedo gauge (search MINI2), you can get a readout of the true coolant temp. The needle hits the middle of the gauge at around 75-80c. Running temp is 90c and it usually fluctuates between 87 and 93c. If there is the same leeway on the upper end, it would be around 105c before going above normal.

I'll have to check again when it gets into the upper 90's (Fahrenheit) this summer.

 

Not arguing the issue of race equipment vs OEM equipment, that is a different thread. I just think that the dealership that did the rebuild first should have advised him that the pulley could void his warranty on the rebuild. If the did not, and they reinstalled the SC on the new short block without written warning, he may have enough of a hole to drive through to get a rebuild.

On the sparkplug issue I think the primary problem is the MINI/Bentley recommended torque setting of 18 fl-lbs is the issue. Most plugs should be torqued to 22 ft-lbs. If you pulled the OEMs and then re-torqued to 18, not 22 I think you would see the same relative incidence of failure.