I have had one of those bad days we all know so well. Something that shouldn't take too awful long being a huge pain. I have had a P0597 code for awhile now. I bought the thermostat when it first happened but have been putting it off for a little bit as I have had a lot of other things going on. I went to start it a couple mornings ago and started getting misfires on C4 and troubleshooting lead me to it being a coil. So I figured if I am going to be working on it, I might as well finally replace the thermostat. I had also read many places that if you are going to replace the thermostat, might as well replace the coolant pipe as well while you are already at it. On the surface, this made sense to me. ~117k miles, 90% highway miles, I don't drive particularly hard most of the time but I figured, as was pointed out, might as well. At this point, I am a little bit ticked that I took that advice or I wouldn't be in the boat I am in now because it hadn't been leaking and when I pulled it out, the pump end was no brittle and was in good shape as far as I saw. Oh well, too late for hindsight now.

Anyhow, I was able to get the water pipe out without taking the intake manifold off. Don't get me wrong, it was a huge pain to get it out for a variety of reasons, but I was able to get it out. However, I absolutely cannot get the new one back in. The manifold and the block, coupled with the bend in the pipe are not playing well at all. My knuckles are beat up, my swear word bank has been depleted and it beat me today.

Looks like I should go ahead and remove the manifold. There is a lot of good info around on how to remove it, but literally none of them seem to be for the base, all are for the S. I don't think there are too many differences, but there are some for sure.

I have a Bentley manual (literally the most worthless investment I have ever made...it is terrible, IMO) and it does have "instructions" on how to remove the manifold, but it is showing to remove a whole lot of things that I don't think are necessary at all.

So, are there any resources anyone knows of or experience that can be shared for removing the manifold on a base? I don't necessarily need step by step or pictures or anything, just basic first do this, then do this, maybe watch out for this, etc. I am going to be dodging some weather over the next week and don't have a garage, so I gotta be as efficient as possible when doing this. I am not a mechanic, but have been working on cars since I was 11, so about 30 years now but I haven't had to do much work on the MINI. I feel lucky in that regard based on what I have seen around and heard.

Thanks in advance for any assistance anyone can give.6.4.1

 

Take a look at this set of repair procedures --- https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/ same ones used by Mini dealer mechanics. Use the last seven characters of your VIN to ensure the correct version for your car.

 

Thanks for the resource, it looks about as straightforward as I would have thought. Luckily, with a night sleep and more daylight, I was able to get the water pipe in without removing the manifold. I busted the hell outta my hand as it slipped I'm there but I'll take it. Worth it in this instance. It was difficult to get the pipe lined up in the water pump hole, but using a bore scope and lining it up and getting it snug, but not seated, I used the thermostat to push it in naturally as I gently snugged the bolts up.

 

Hello,
This thread should help.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ater-tube.html

 

I have a non-S and removed the intake manifold a few weeks ago with ease. I think there are 6 14mm bolts you can get to easily from the top and 2 bolts you need to get from below. These and a few electrical connections and the PCV breather hose and that’s it. Be gentle with the breather hose as it is made of thin plastic and breaks easily. I think it took a total of 30 minutes for me, a first timer doing the job. Don’t break the electrical connections and keep track of the bolts.