Hello all , Merry Christmas!, I did a stage one build on my R53 s bringing up to jcw specs. I installed a new water pump, radiator and fluids, adding some water wetter to keep things cooler, standard thermostat. I bought a lower priced water pump from ECS tuning, that went out within two weeks of installation, bought a mini factory one from them, now several months later that seems to be leaking! I don’t race or drive my car too hard, any Ideas on why this may be happening? Thanks all-E

 

what is the failure mode? same for both? I did my first one at 150K - 18 months ago. I got a OEM one from FCP Euro. Where is it leaking from?

 

Yes, it sounds like an install issue or gasket is not set all the ay.

 

I'd not use anything in the cooling system except a mix of the recommended anti-freeze and (preferably) distilled water. Anti-freeze has additives to help prolong the life water pump seals. With an otherwise correctly working cooling system engine cooling will be fine with "just" anti-freeze/water coolant.

 

You should be using a standard 50/50 premix antifreeze. Why are you adding water?

 

This. Check installation process.

 

OEM BMW coolant does not come pre-mixed, though he never mentioned adding water, did he?

 

The first WP had a bearing failure which caused the solder plug to melt, dripping fluid letting me know it’s bad, the second one has been fine, no leaks or anything, for several months, now seems to be leaking but I can’t see from where yet. I added a product called “ water wetter” which give extra cooling capacity to the radiator fluid, with distilled water and mini factory radiator fluid 50/50. If I installed it incorrectly it would have leaked from the start. Neither leaked when installed. Thanks for the reply’s.

 

Ok - the bearing - not much to say - that is a product quality issue. For those who do not know - the pump on the r52/53 supercharger is driven off the back of the supercharger- there is an o-ring and neck to the head, and hose connections. Check them all carefully. Did you replace the O ring on the neck?

 

For a suspected but not visible leak I like a hot pressure test. Top up the coolant level with distilled water. Do not overfill but the fuller the better.

Be sure the cap is on securely. Start the engine. Turn off the A/C. Drive the car normally around town -- my experience this heats up the coolant quicker -- until the engine gets hot enough to cause the radiator fan to come on.

Go home. On your driveway raise RPMs to ~1K and hold until the radiator fan comes on. Shut off the engine. Open the hood. Wait. If there is a leak it will almost certainly make itself known in short order.

In one case a bad cap was venting pressure (and water vapor) which was causing the coolant level to drop.

In another case the coolant tank had developed a crack along its mold seam on the bottom of the tank. Just moments after shutting off the hot engine the tank opened up and gushed hot coolant. I let the car sit overnight then the next morning added about a gallon of distilled water then drove the car several miles to the dealer. The tank did not leak. But once out of the car it was clear the tank had been seeping coolant for some time.

Yet another time and another car a pin hole leak in the radiator was discovered.

 

YesI replaced all the o rings and gaskets with new, thanks for the input. I have to run the car and try to see where the radiator fluid is coming from, radiator is new, leak is from the middle if the engine as it leaks on the plastic skidplate that covers the bottom of the engine, I’m just hoping it’s not the water pump again. Any suggestions on a better pump since I’m turning it at higher rpm than standard speed? Does the jcw run a different pump? Thanks all

 

As an FYI, I wouldn't suspect gaskets or O'ring simply because the leak didn't occur immediately, (yes it's possible, just not likely).
Also, higher rotational speed from a smaller pulley, has never been an issue, and the pumps are the same.
Really does sound like it's a quality issue with the pump itself, unfortunately they can be a crap shoot, even high dollar oem's can fail prematurely.

 

Yes Kinda what I thought, two bad pumps in a row… 🫤 I’m thinking of trying another supplier, who does maybe get a better lot.. does anyone have a premiere parts company they prefer? I have been happy with ECS Tuning, but maybe need to try someone else, thanks-E

 

Though I’ve yet to need it, FCP Euro has a lifetime replacement guarantee.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

We have a warranty on most of our parts for 1 year or more. ECS Tuning branded parts are pretty much lifetime. Genuine MINI parts are like 2 years unlimited miles unless special order or electrical.

Most of the time I find a part installed incorrectly or something else that contributes to the problem like a bad connection or the part its connected to had been damaged on removal.

Either way most of the time on the forums here people post up pics of the install and someone see something that looks wrong and that usually solves the problem of a part that keeps failing.

If we have a bad batch of parts we are usually the first to see it as we have the volume. I work with MINIUSA and Many OEM supplier direct so i can go upstream and tell them what's wrong with the products. Lock the product out. 99% of the other resellers don't have the contacts/connections as they don't work direct. I had some of these contacts way before I worked at ECS

 

That’s great, I of course deleted the picture of the first water pump but the solder had melted and there were definitely metal shavings around the shaft from the bearings. I plan on taking the my mini apart this weekend to determine if it’s the water pump or a hose or connection. It will be hard to take pictures because I won’t be removing the super charger if possible, but I’ll do my best, believe me Replacing two in one year is extremely uncommon, so I would like any input at to why this happened. I have rebuilt several cars and have restored vehicles from the ground up so my mechanical abilities are quite good, not saying I never make mistakes but I’m not a noob. I do appreciate any input to learn and get better. Thanks-Eric

 

Yep, no problem. Always good to post up pics as then we can see and help. Also many eyes on a part can help see the problems. Might be something like a bad weld or connection from the factory or a damaged original part.

 

So I finally had a chance to work on the water pump “issue” …. Had car on the rack, started it up and let it warm up for 15 minutes…. No leaks!😳😳!! Took car off the rack and took it for a ride of about 20 minutes, going through all the gears and using the heater( it was 32 degrees in Ohio today) brought it back and upon the rack…. No leaks😳😳!! I have no idea what the leaks could have come from before, bone dry today, looked all over? We’ll have to wait and see…. Here’s a few photos of the non leak

 

See a lot of antifreeze residue. As much as I am not a fan of washing engines I will make an exception to remove coolant residue after a spill during refill or after a severe leak has been fixed. The coolant residue can smell when the engine is hot and whenever I smell anti-freeze I think leak. So I prefer to have the engine clean. With the engine clean any odor of anti-freeze is a leak.

 

Yep, wash it off and them smell for something sweet. And look at it again after a couple heat cycles.

 

Thanks all, will keep a lookout and sniff around, hopefully it was not a leak!

 

Just a thought. If you don't put the waterpump in just rite into the flange on the block IT WILL periodically and randomly leak from there.. you'll know if you get coolant running onto the under bumper shield and runs off then.. I have the same issue from the cheap pow davies Craigs electric waterpumps. I thought they're internally seals were failing but it seems they must not come with the correct sized oring or a janky one that gers deformed easily and gets a flatspot from pushing it into the block flange.

 

Could always do the R50 water pump relocation swap.

 

I got a genuine mini water pump from @ECSTuning and it was missing a torx bolt from the housing, so I just took an old one out of the old pump and replaced it. I have not had the chance to run it yet as I am still in the middle of the overhaul. But I will def be looking out for leaks!