Ok it’s obvious I don’t have the patience to be a good mechanic. Trying to change the oil today in the R57 and while trying to move the coolant Reservoir out of the way to reach the oil filter the coolant 3 way junction snapped. Anybody know where I can just buy the 3 way coupler to fix this? Any other suggestions/input is appreciated. Thank you.

 

Found a solution, brass PEX fitting 1” x 1” x 3/4”. Works perfect see pictures below

 

Looks like a better solution than the stock plastic piece. Now there will be a shortage of 1x1x3/4 PEX T's as thousands of mini owners rush out to buy one lol.

 

LOL, some other helpful advice. Completely remove the nylon connectors that broke off inside of the rubber hose. I took a pair of players and squeezed the rubber hose and those nylon pieces broke up pretty easily. I just removed them with a pick/screwdriver. I also removed the nylon clamps that secured the rubber hose to the old nylon Tee joint.

 

Just some kudos here for the OP, exactly the same thing happened to a mobile mechanic who came to our R60, I know it was him as the day after he did the oil filter change we're driving it for the first time in a cloud of steam. Can't prove it though so it's me fixing it.

Going to use the same brass fitting, after shredding my knuckles getting the bits out I don't fancy digging around deeper to replace the entire hose assembly as
MINI parts diagram suggests. Good ole brass and jubilee clip combo for the win.

 

Found this post after a different one, which has some good advise for those where the fitting hasnt cracked yet:

I would venture to say it breaks within 20 oil changes. The way it breaks you can't see it is because it is 180 degrees from line of sight...Also, I advise that you remove the bolt holding the aluminum coolant line to the turbo in the future when re positioning the coolant line. What that will do is spread the stress more evenly along the entire length of the line in case the hose doesn't bend.

linky

 

Were you able to do the work without taking the hose out of the thermostat? My stock T fitting hasn't cracked yet but when we looked at it it seems easier to take the whole thing out of the car, work on it, then reinstall. It seems I have to destroy the current one to replace it with the brass fitting, correct? Or is there a way to disconnect the nylon connectors from the stock plastic T fitting? Did you have to cut the ends off the hoses that don't have clamps or did you just clamp where the nylon connectors used to be? Thanks!

 

I went to change the oil last night - and coolant came gushing out.... so I searched and found this thread - so I figured I would post.....

I used pliers to squish the open hose ends, breaking the plastic insert into pieces - that then fell out.
The plastic ring easily separated from the hose - if it was glued at one point, that glue had long failed....
I bought a brass PEX fitting 1” x 1” x 3/4” and hose clamps - and it all went back together....

Hope this helps someone else as these cars get older....

 

I think the Pex fitting is a quick solution to this failure, but I also believe this is the better long-term solution:
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-rein-par...539845352~ren/