Crap - I ordered worm clamps to replace the old ones on my power steering hoses but don't think I ordered enough. How many do I need, are there two or three hoses?


Please disregard this as Pelican Parts hooked me up.

 

I need a bit of help. I'm on ecs and looking for an aftermarket housing, thermostat and gasket. There are two on there but I do t know the difference. They are both aluminum and a $10 difference between them with one having the screws. I've replaced my thermostat twice in 4 years and don't want to do it again Grrrrrr.....

 

My recollection is that when I replaced mine, it was all about the gasket. The thermostat and housing were aftermarket but those parts are generally considered to not be high-replacement items. I don't know if a metal housing is in your best interest. There is a heat expansion and contraction issue to consider. The plastic ones do the job well if you install it right.

As for the gasket, I believe you're supposed to get the translucent white one - not beige or black.

 

Just saw this thread, did you already place the order?

https://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2005-Cooper-R53-S-Coupe-L4_1.6L_W11B16A/Engine/Cooling/Thermostat/


Ones URO without the gasket/thermostat and ones HT with the gasket and thermostat. They are both metal the HT has a little better outside from the casting, the URO version is a little more raw in the casting. But they both are above the plastic grade. Some of our kits have the hardware with is what people prefer. HT is in that one kit. Some people like to go with M& or a racing thermostat or choose a whaler thermostat.

 

I did put my order in and it should be here tomorrow. I went with the:


Thermostat w/ seal gasket Wahler
Thermostat housing Genuine OEM
Thermostat housing bolts x 3 Genuine OEM

I did a bit of research on the aluminum housing and unless someone can make an extremely high quality one I guess I'll stick w the OEM one. I heard a few people that have BMW's that tried them and it seems they leak etc so I guess I'll hold off on the aluminum for now. Hopefully it's the gasket but TBH I have had a look and don't see anything leaking at the moment. At this point as I replacing the coolant tank with a metal one and doing various things under the hood I'm just going to suck it up and replace it now.

 

ok. Thanks for the order.

The ones we have sold on the MINI side are good. They are new to the MINI side. On the BMW side that might be a different story. Also, the design is more simple on the MINI side. It's the plastic necks that crack over time and the older type gaskets (more yellow in color) that leak. The newer ones all come with that transparent color rubber gasket. With the OEM and wahler you should be fine, over a long period of time the metal will just hold up more.

Hopefully, that info helps. Good luck on the repair and if you need anything else let me know.

 

So just an update here on what's been done so far:

Coolant tank replaced w the Greene coolant tank - all new mini coolant added
Air filter replaced
Cabin filter replaced
Snorkle hose replaced
Brake fluid replaced and back rotors and brake pads replaced
Power steering hoses have the metal worm clamps replaced and o ring replaced on reservoir cap (not leaking now)
Thermostat housing, thermostat and gasket replaced.
Fray the and back windshield wipers oem (bought these but haven't changed them yet - I have a brain fart when it comes to replacing these, can always get one but the other is a challenge)

Still to do:
Crank senor o ring replaced
Transmission fluid flush (will get the oem parts and Toyota fluid) how much fluid should I get to be on the safe side?

As the mini is a 2005 and we just hit 30k miles I'll see if anymore of the hoses might need to be replaced and hopefully that's it for now unless there are any other suggestions.

 

Should I get the red line transmission fluid or Toyota one? Also I'll get the oem filter but should I also get the oem pan gasket or will the elring klinger brand be ok?

 

I don't know anything about the Toyota fluid, but Red Line is fairly universally respected. It's expensive, but you can't really go wrong with it.

I'd stay away from Elring Klinger. I've used them and they dry out quickly - at least with valve cover gaskets. Spend the few extra bucks on a better gasket.

 

Have fun with the CPS o-ring. I just did mine for the second time on the weekend. I would say it is easier to just go ahead and pull the whole radiator than to try to reach up from below or down from above. You can get in there with some degreaser and a hose once you have the rad out.

 

On the R 50....the CPS takes about 15 minutes to replace according to the number 1 tech at the Mini dealership......

Good Luck with your AWESOME Mini !!!!

What a " find" !!!!

 

Well I'm going to be helping the person doing this. Yes, finding my mini with so low miles and garage kept was definitely a find. I'm going to go down shortly and finish up the install of my satellite radio. I have the factory Nav in mine so I need to swap out some wires. I found this out the hard way once the panels and stereo was removed and had to put it all back together.

 

I really hope you guys can help me with the costs below. My local automotive place had my 2005 mini cooper S for 8 days in the shop. This was during hurricane Dorian and I was not able to get a rent a car so my sister so nicely drove hers down from GA. I took it in on Saturday and was told the bushings and brackets needed to be replaced. The owner of the shop said he would get the parts from mini and they would be $250 a piece. I was then called late in the day and was told the parts weren't compatible and that he would look at Advance Automotive etc. I guess the parts at Advance weren't compatible either.

At this point the mini is all taken apart so it cannot be moved anywhere else. Also tying up one lift of the 2 in the shop. Shop closed Sun & Mon is labor day. Tuesday he apparently orders them online from 2 different places, Wed - Thurs preparing for hurricane so nothing happens. Parts should be delivered Fri by UPS so I call late in the day and was told UPS never delivered them and he was going to dealership first thing Sat AM. Saturday I am told car is not ready but he has the parts. Finally get Mini back Sun with a bill totaling $1565. Invoice has no breakdown so I ask for an itemized bill. Lower Control arm bracket - $97.50 x 2 $195, Lower control Arm bushing $245. x 2 $490, Overnight Shipping $25, Alignment $85 - Parts $795.00 & Labor $665.20.
After speaking to the dealership they quote parts $195.77 and $770 in labor. Does this sound right ? So the indie shop charges me more than the dealer. I want to be able to go back to him with something and maybe he will refund some of it. I guess when he saw a woman come in he knew he could charge whatever. He also said the Supercharger has a slow leak so that will need to be replaced - quoted $2000 - $3000. If it has a slow leak does the entire thing need to be replaced? I asked about a rebuilt one and what labor will be.

 

You been taken to the cleaners . . .

 

^I concur, that's far too much money to have been charged.

Regarding the supercharger, that's more of a gotta pull it off to find out if you should replace it or not, kind of situations. You could have a slow leak (from all sorts of places, let's be honest, it's a R53) from the SC, but that means that it at least has some oil in it, which is better than a lot of them. It's a labor-heavy, parts-light service, but if there's no major stuff going on internally (heavy flaking of the teflon blade coating for 05+) or stripped out PTO gears, you can replace the fluid and seal it back up.

 

is there no one on this forum in jacksonville FL, that can help this person when it comes to maintanace items?

definitely getting overcharged. I'm feel so bad after reading this entire thread.

o btw, my 06 R50 mini also has very low mileage 32K (bought it from original owner 10 days ago)

 

Thank you for your nice respons and congrats on your new Mini! I wish I could locate someone off here in Jacksonville, I would be happy to pay someone for the labor charges if they wanted to work on my car. I love the car but only have the knowledge on here about parts etc. i obviously wouldn’t be able to perform some of these tasks. At this point I have already replaced I think 9 of the major 10 things that go wrong with this model. If I can’t find someone to work on it I won’t be able to keep it as I can’t afford the costs from the indie shop.

If anyone might be interested I’m planning on keeping it another yr to try to payoff the costs I’ve paid out in maintenance. It has 48,000 miles and when I get a minute I can post everything that’s been fixed on it which is substantial. Thanks for the read.

 

Maybe someone from Sunshine MINI's can tell you what shops are good in the area. http://sunshineminis.org

There are also links on there for a local Jacksonville forum and to their Facebook group page.

 

Thanks, I will have a look tonight. Hopefully I can find someone to take it to that's fair on there.

 

All I was told was that it had a slow leak and that I wouldn't see this under the car. It apparently was all underneath the mini and he said he would have the mechanic clean it all up. I wonder why he didn't suggest sealing it back up unless he just wants to take me to the cleaners again.