2006 Cooper S 58k miles:

I discovered this leak (around the housing where it mates w/the motor) a week ago. Went to Mossmini to order what looked like all I needed to replace (thermostat w/ gasket). I was sort of expecting to get a paper gasket for the housing w/ thermostat. I called Moss and they said that the gasket included (white rubber) was all they stocked.

I went out to replace the therm/gasket and almost immediately ran into a brick wall when I saw what I had to remove to get to it. I could see that the entire filter box had to come out and to do that, I would need to remove 2 large plugs (ECU?). I saw that there are some kind of sliding clips on each of the plugs. I slid them out as far as I could but still could not get the plugs off. I didn't want to force them. I put everything back together and came in the house to see if there were any how to's on this little project. I found one post that said just get everything out of the way. I know...I should have a shop manual.

I'm seeing that it is common to have this leak. Everything I read says change the thermostat and gasket. Then I saw that the housing warps and that is common. I want to get this done ASAP as it's over a week with this leak. I have no overheating just yet.

My questions are:

1. How do you get those plugs off?
2. Is there a housing gasket (paper)?
3. Do I really need to change the housing?
4. Where can I get a housing besides the dealer? Moss doesn't stock it.

I've done domestic thermostat replacements and have always needed to replace the housing gasket. This one is kind of strange. Seems to me that if I spot a leak, then the rubber gasket must be leaking by. Yes? No? Maybe?

Thanks in advance for any help on this.

 

Here is what I know from doing a few:

1. They pull straight up while holding the clip on the side out. (If it was me, I'd disconnect your battery ground before doing so.)
2. The thermostat gasket (not therm housing) is more like a rubbery foam material with a formed o-ring.
3. I have never replaced a housing on a 2005+. Simply replacing the deformed gasket did the trick.

It's not a big job. I'd replace the thermostat and thermostat gasket to see if that clears your problem first. There has been talk of an aftermarket housing being available. I don't think anyone every found a source if it truly exists.

 

Thanks tomcatta....

When I went to pull on that plug, it seemed that the plug was coming apart before it would let go of the socket. In other words, the black cover was starting to pull up and you could see the wires underneath. I had that clip pulled out as far as I could get it....which wasn't an easy task to even move that. Any suggestions on how to coax a stubborn plug?

I guess it's all relative with this car. "Not a big job" seems like the equivalent to a domestic nightmare. A day and a half to replace brakes/rotors. 8 hours to change oil. That's been my first timer experience. So I just thought that if there are already issues known with the housing, I might want to only pull out all that stuff one time instead of two. These 'easy' jobs are adding years to my life. Engineering that thermostat housing to be a major intersection for wires and cables makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. It's very clear to me now how Mini lulls you into getting you addicted to their crummy and outrageously priced service.

Anyway...thanks for the feedback.

 

Just did the thermostat and gasket (White formed rubber) on our 2006 MCS this morning. Took me two hours start to finish including a test drive.

PULL UP on the plugs!


That is all!

 

Just curious, if it's that hard for you (and it would be for me as well), why asren't you taking it to the dealer. Unless you drove the crap out of it (lots of miles), it should still be under warranty.

 

It's out of warranty @ 56k. I just started working on this car. There is a definite learning curve. But I'll tell ya, when I called the dealer and asked what my car needed at this mileage, they told me an oil change and a cabin filter. "How much?", I asked. "$240", they replied. Needless to say, I'm doing my own work from now on. If it's too big to handle, I'll take it to an import shop. But I'm not about to begin re-imbursing Mini for 36k miles of 'free' service.....especially when they do nothing but sloppy work to begin with. You'll start bitchin' too when your warranty runs out OR you have to do your own work...or both.

 

Just feel lucky you can get at it without taking apart the whole car. The thermostat in my 944 is INSIDE the water pump, so to simply change the gasket on the thing, I'd have to remove the starter and install a flywheel lock, disassemble the entire front end of the engine with about 1 inch to work in, remove the timing belt and balance shaft belt and all associated pulleys - just to get at the thing! And I should also point out that re-assembling everything requires a $600 Porsche-proprietary tensioning tool for the timing belt, among other things...

Aren't German cars fun?!?