Yikes! Please help me diagnose this.

Car runs fine.
No funny noises that I've noticed (I don't hear the waterpump rattle YET)
Car does not overheat
Heater in the cabin works well
Does not leak or use coolant
Engine oil in crank case looks fine
Car has lots of power

My r53 has around 73k miles on it, and I've owned it for only a few weeks. Yesturday when it was cold, I decided to open the coolant reservoir just to check, expecting to find that the level of coolant was fine.

To my surprise, I found some mayonaise looking cream/tan color residue on the inside of the coolant cap. It looks just like what a crankcase oil cap would look like if the vehicle had a blown head gasket.

Then I started thinking.... Doesn't the waterpump get the lubrication for it's gears from the supercharger? That would explain why there's no coolant in the crankcase.

What should I do? Here's my thought, I should flush and replace the coolant and see if the residue reappears. Yesturday I cleaned the cap with a paper towel, but I saw a little more when I checked it at lunch today.

I don't have a way to know if the previous owner changed the waterpump and didn't flush the system well enough afterwards. I think this would be a best case scenario,... so I can hope.

Should I just plan that I'll need to replace the supercharger and waterpump soon? I was reading in some other threads about when the gears go that it requires a complete rebuild and water pump gears are not available seperately... Does that seem right? I think I need to do more research.

How will I know when the waterpump has failed. If I keep a close eye on the Oil Temp in the Chrono Pack guage cluster, along with watching the Coolant Temp guage... then I can prevent serious damage from overheating (when/if it does overheat), such as blowing a head gasket.

I know I need to get myself a Bently Manual and learn more about my car. In the mean time, all suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks

Alex

 

I think your understaning of how the sc is lubed in relation to the waterpump is mistaken...
All lube is in the sc, internally, none is used on the actualy waterpump. There is a coupling that the water pump attatches too...(on the exterior of the sc), but no lube is used ON the waterpump....sometimes called waterpump gears, it is simply or more accurately refered to as a pto...power take off.
I would flush the system....perhaps somebody added "waterpump lube" or other addatives to the coolant system....
The creamyness is a BAD sign...
If you are luckey it goes away....or MAYBE (THE MOST LIKELY) have a failed headgssket...worst case is a head/block crack.

 

Just what Zippy said, if you suspect that the head gasket is leaking, you need to start driving it or even starting it. You can grenade the engine if enough water gets in there.

 

Thanks Zippy, I appreciate the correction.

It seemed odd that it would be done that way, but again, it seems odd to me to have the supercharger gear drive the water pump in the first place (maybe im still missing something) Am i correct that the waterpump is on the flywheel end and not the pulley end of the engine (like where the upper radiator hose goes to?). Again, thanks.

I will flush it and see what happens.

If head gasket is suspect, then I should do a compression test and find someone that can do a leak down test, right?

Alex

 

There is not any water in the oil, no steam in the exhaust either.

Coolant level is full, and I have not ever needed to add coolant

Hence.... Im confused. Not typical for head gasket blows I've seen. It doesn't even overheat

 

Oops, I meant stop driving it.

That is a bit weird, but the leak could be small for now and only going one way at the moment. Just be cautious....

 

I knew what you meant. I certainly will heed caution. I'll be checking it at least twice a day.

Will do the coolant flush this weekend. Still hoping.

 

You have only had it for a few weeks -- so who knows what has happened. To your point -- head gaskets are usually pretty easy to diagnose: white smoke coming out of the tailpipe, milky OIL as well as coolant -- have you pulled the dip stick out yet?

Here is a thought -- previous owner was a moron and filled the coolant tank with some oil thinking it was an oil fill point?

To Zippy's theory -- someone added some sort of weird additive that reacted to coolant?

Like everyone has said drain that coolant -- it should definitely not be any weird milky color.

 

Have you pulled the dipstick yet?

Yes, nice golden color the day I got it. Was told the oil was just changed. I'm checking it frequently, maybe it's slowly getting a little more darker Carmel in color, but all good -nothing at all milky. I almost expected it to burn oil faster than it is. I've added 1/2 quart that it has burned in the last 2000 miles since I've had it.

The coolant itself doesn't look milky (just the inside of the coolant cap) but I'll be able to see it better after I drain it.

You're right that Who knows since I've only had it a few weeks. Maybe the first owner traded it in with a blown head gasket, and the dealership fixed it. I hope no one poured a bottle of fix-it-glue-crap into it.

I'll post when I have pics of the drained coolant.

Thanks

 

I've been reading, and people are suggesting Valvoline Zerex G-05. That's great, it will save me a two hour drive to go get the blue stuff from MINI dealership.


Here's a pic of the coolant reservoir cap. The center of the cap was really caked with it, it's brass color behind the plastic.

I can't believe there's no water in the crank case, but thank goodness. Runs strong, and not using coolant or oil. Oil and water temps remain normal according to stock chrono-gage

After cleaning the cap with a paper towel, a little more of this white residue appeared the next day.

Here's my question, can I / should I flush it with this Zerex Superflush? It says Quickly flushes accumulated sediment and corrosion
Restores cooling system efficiency by removing light rust, scale and oily residues. - Zerex® Super Flush, with its powerful patented cleaning agents, restores cooling system efficiency by removing rust, scale and oily residue in just ten minutes. It can be used on all cooling system metals including aluminum.

In either case I'll flush it with a few gallons of distilled water, before I fill it with new antifreeze. By the way, I found a great thread with detailed instructions. Thanks to whoever did that. I was able to locate the bleed screws after reading it (which had been my main question about it)

As always thanks for your input. Please let me know what you think about the Superflush. http://www.valvoline.com/products/co...ator-products/


Alex

 

Are you sure that's not just dried up coolant? You know coolant becomes chalky white when it gets heated and dries right?

Coolant and oil become chocolate milk colored so I don't think you are dealing with a head gasket at all.

Pics = thousand words what you are showing is dramatically different than described in your post.

At any rate used distilled water to flush..it's the least likely to do harm.

 

From your picture, that is what you are concerned about? If yes, stop worrying that is dried coolant. IF you are not seeing anything else in the oil or coolant other then the residue on the cap you can stop being concerned.

 

Flush and monitor....thats a pretty small amount of anything.....could just be from weird mix of different coolant brands/types....
Of note, you can also get coolant at the bmw dealer...same as mini...the zerix-g-05 can be hard to find....but pepboys is one chain that does carry it.
As i said, enjoy your car,don't go crazy a flush might be ok, but a good drain and fill is fine most of the time if you are certain of the radiator content. The extra chemical flushes are mostly to dislove minerals from folks having used tap water.....so if not clean out, can be an issue (the chemicals). Since the mini radiator has no drain, or inlet, just hoses, it can be a pain....
I just drop the lower hose, drain, add a new hose clamp, and close back up when done. The bleeding is a bit tricky, but doable...just have spare coolant...you will likly loose a halfgallon or more waiting for bubbles to get out. As said, mix coolant with distilled water or buy premixed 50/50 coolant.
Frankly the acids in a flush mix get me nervous....if you can see tons of minerals, it might be needed, but unless you are careful, you could do more harm than help.

 

I bought my zerex at o'Rielly .. just another option that for sure carrys it. Just flush with water and call it good. Does appear to be the combination of coolants from the pic. They would cause a build up, which , luckily is in your reservoir. Flush and done. No more worries.

 

Well, let's hope it's dried coolant. It just looked more like mayonnaise than chalk dust, but maybe it's damp dusty stuff..

Anyhow, thanks to you guys for your replies. I'll skip the chemical flush, I'll just fill and drain distiller water through it a few times.

I'm surprised I had not (yet) read about anyone temporarily removing the thermostat when trying to flush everything out. I do want to keep this as simple as possible though.

I can run it with only distiller water in it till it warms up, then shut it down, and let it cool for a little while, then carefully open and drain it again. Sound like a plan? Am I making it too complicated?

Here's my question for the day: there's a vent/bleed bolt in a fitting for a 1" heater hose that's kinda just above the bell housing beside the head under a bunch of wires. Looks like I'll need to get a longer extension to reach it (at least a foot), and maybe a swivel socket would be good.

Anybody know what size socket I should buy? 6, 7, or 8mm I'm guessing. I can barely see it, let alone reach it to test fit a socket.

Maybe I should removing my CIA would give me slightly better access?


Alex

 

By the particular bleed bolt I'm asking about is about a foot straight down from here.... If anyone knows the size of it

 

To follow up. The best notes I found (as I still haven't bought a real book) were here https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...00-post47.html And also here. http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...ant_Change.htm

Being a MINI noob, I came across the dilemma of where to put the floor jack. Yes I see the four pucks where the jack stands go, but I then need a different place to put the floor jack to lift the car high enough to place the jack stands. I can't seem to find it now, but I found threads on cutting a 2x4 to length between the jack points, put the floor jack in the middle of that. You'll see the seam where the metal folds together under the plastic side skirt. The wood spreads the weight along the length of that. It worked, no broken plastic, and no bent floor boards. I had been thinking lift the front then the back... With MINI I guess it's lift the left side, then the right side.

I'm pleased to say that I find MINI no more difficult than any other car I've worked on (Alfa Romeo, Fiat, VW aircooled, VW watercooled, Honda, Ford) just looks intimidating, because everything is packed so tightly in there. Pelican parts instructions said extend the front bumper out to have easier access to lower radiator hose. I found this unnecessary. There are a handful of screws to remove the two plastic panels on the underside of the bumper and undercarriage of car. Seemed simple and easy. I assume the other is closer to the instructions for putting the car into service mode (as in the sticky on here). Seemed like way too much work, and I had LOTS of room to reach in with pliers and squeeze the hose clamp.

I'm surprised that it didn't say to turn on the heater first, and even more surprised at myself, cause I know better, but I'll get back to that. For me, the most important part was to get ALL the old coolant out. Should be a little over a gallon and a half (6.3 quarts if I remember the exact amount).

Pulling the lower radiator hose alone, gravity gave me about 1/2 a gallon. Using a very old and tired 2.horse wet/dry vac I pulled another 2 quarts out of the engine through the lower radiator hose. Well, I had two thirds of it out, and I also had 6 gallons of distilled water. Gravity can do its work here.

I poured 2 gallons through the coolant reservoir, and also removed the upper hose so that I could pour a couple gallons through the radiator. 4 gallons later, everything coming out was clear water.

Mission accomplished I thought.

My poor old vacuum gave up its ghost, and I wasn't able to turn it on again to get all the water out of the block; though I had not really thought about how much water was in there till all the hoses were reconnected, and I found I could only add 2 quarts and it was full.

I had already mixed my gallon of Zerex G-05 with distilled water 1:1 or 50/50 I decided to let the car warm up, so the thermostat would open, then let it rest for a while, drain it, and repeat this process till I had used all of my remaining 6 qts. of 50/50 mix. It was good practice to bleed it too.

I knew the thermostat is beginning to open when the upper hose got warm, when coolant comes out with no bubbles from that bleeder, close it. Watch the level in the coolant reservoir closely, it will drop a lot, fill it again, but don't over fill it. Let it run some more, and 5 or 10 minutes later, you'll see the coolant level in the reservoir rising, put the cap on. Let it run another 5 minutes. BTW, the heater should be on high, with the fan on low all this time (and probably from the beginning). Once it's good and hot, turning the heater fan on high, and hitting the a/c to run the low speed fan brings the needle down below the 195f mark in only a few minutes. Turn off the car.

I had lunch, and rotated the tires. The outside temp was probably 70f and it was obvious to me that the hour I waited for it to cool was more than enough When I undid the lower radiator hose, more green came out! (the Zerex is not green). Not sure if this was behind the thermostat or in the heater core, but in the end, I think I got all that crap out. (I would have been less worried if it was blue, but I dunno what it was, and it looked wrong, dirty, lots of little bubbles on its surface, and my cap kept getting some kinda residue on it) I also think more came out when I drained it semi warm the second time.

I poured in a total of 7 qts. Of my 50/50 Zerex, (and inadvertently recycled at least 1qt of it). My cap is staying clean, the coolant level stays full, and it appears to be all the right color of the new that went in. I need to check the chemistry I guess, adding some pre mix, mixing it around with other stuff in the engine, draining some out, then adding some more premix is certainly less than ideal. As to the last question I asked you, the bolt is 8mm, but swivel socket is not needed. Also I found much better access (or at least vision) by temporarily moving the big hose that goes from the CAI to the throttle body, so that I could remove the silencer from under the air filter housing. I did my warmups without the silencer, but of course had the air filter reconnected to the throttle body.

Next time, I'll get my real wet vac back from my sister before I begin (4.5 horse). Run the car with the heater on, then let it cool just a little while I jack up the car, get tools ready etc. Drain, vacuume, fill with distilled water, bring car to temp, bleed, cool, drain, vacuume, THEN fill it with 50/50 mixed coolant. Here's a pic of the dirty, filmy on the surface looking green coolant I replaced.

At this point (4 days later) I feel confident it definitely was not a head gasket problem. I don't have the tool to measure the chemistry... Is it the thing I've seen that it like a big bulb syringe with little ***** that float ad different levels??? Is it expensive? Do you think its fine as is now? Should I drain the whole thing and start over? Maybe if its weak, I could remove some from the reservoir with a turkey baster and add a little straight coolant???

 

yes
no
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I've used the tester in the past, but if you're using 50/50 you should be fine. If you do test it and it's low, straight coolant in the reservoir is a good solution.
Glad to hear it's not catastrophic. Always start with the simple stuff.