Hello everyone. Let's start out by saying I'm new to the Forum. My wife had a beautiful 2012 Jeep Compass with the horrendous CVT transmission. It started slipping and revving and then stopped altogether. I'm currently digging into replacing the valve body on that so we can sell it.

I knew that she really wanted an automatic Clubman. I was browsing the classifieds and came across a 2008 automatic naturally aspirated Clubman for $1,500. I called the guy right then and there and he said his son had taken it for a drive about a year ago and it overheated. He doesn't know how long it was driven once it overheated. They towed it home and when they added coolant it began leaking around the middle of the engine on the driver's side. He couldn't see the exact source. He parked it for the last year thinking the head gasket was blown and finally decided that he would sell it as he wouldn't be able to afford fixing it. He didn't have a mechanic check it over to confirm whether or not it was a blown head gasket. He hasn't started it since because he is afraid of causing more damage.

We went to look at it today and it is in great condition aside from the problem he described. Upon looking at it the engine on the outside has a wet oily substance on the block in the area of the exhaust manifold. That being said the whole engine compartment looked like it had never been cleaned. I pulled the oil filler cap and all looked well inside. the brake rotors are rusty and even with the car in neutral it can't be pushed (that's an issue for when i pick it up tomorrow).

The coolant reservoir was empty so we filled it up with fresh water. It immediately began leaking somewhere around the middle of the engine where the engine meets the transmission on to the pavement. I was not able to get under the vehicle to see where it was coming from and could not really see anything from the top. It leaked until the reservoir was empty again. We could not start it as the battery was stone dead and would not even start with a boost. I could hear the starter solenoid clicking. The seller was unable to wait around to boost it as he was headed to work and we showed up on short notice.

Long story short his phone was ringing off the hook while we were there with people wanting to come see the car so we took a chance on the car, offered him $1000 and walked away with the sale.


Here's where I need your expertise. From what I have described about the car so far, what are your suggestions as to what could be wrong with the car? Obviously when i get it home I will be doing a thorough degreasing of the engine and engine bay to make it easier to see any current leaks. I will also be removing the intake system to get a better look at the thermostat housing area as I am told they are prone to failure. What else should I be checking before believing that it may be a head gasket?

Thanks in advance,
Caleb

 

I would put it in service mode (take bumper off, etc) & then you can see what is leaking. Hope it is an easy fix for you.

 

The thermostat is in that area and the infamous water pipe that connects the thermostat to the water pump. You could remove the air filter piping and take a look.

Useful sites include:

Newtis.info
Realoem.com

 

Ok, update time. We went this morning with a uhaul trailer and fresh battery to pick up the vehicle. I knew the brakes were seized on the back so I jacked the car up, removed the rear tires, and freed up the calipers enough to get it loaded. I'll probably remove all four at a later time and rebuild them.

I also happened to notice that the inspection ran out December 2016, so I think the car has been sitting at least two years instead of one

We put in the fresh battery and after a few slow turns it started up. we immediately noticed an oil leak dripping off and smoking on the exhaust manifold under the front of the motor. The car ran quite rough at low rpms but seemed to smooth out a little if i hit the gas. It did stall once when I brought it to a stop before loading it on the trailer.

We got it home, in unloaded it and went straight to work cleaning it up. I did a full wash and detail on the outside. After and good vacuuming and cleaning of the inside (which looks like it has never had before) it shines like a diamond, other then a small rip on the side of the driver's seat.

Next i went to fully degreasing the engine and engine bay. After that was all done I removed the top of the exhaust heat shield and all of the intake prior to the MAF sensor. I poured water in the reservoir and right away saw a leak at the back of the thermostat housing. Upon closer inspection it looked like someone had tried to repair it, poorly.

With the upper heat shield off I started the car back up and after about 20 seconds I saw that the was oil running down the outside of the block somewhere right behind the exhaust manifold. It drips down on the exhaust and into a pan I have under the car. Any ideas on what could be causing this?

I also intended on pulling the plugs to have a look. When I removed the coil pack assemblies I noticed a tiny amount of oil around the plugs for the left three cylinders. The driver's side plug area was good. Unfortunately I was not able to remove the plugs for inspection because they take a socket which I don't have. It's almost like a torx socket. Any idea what socket I need for this and standard plugs I could replace them with.


So after all that I'm happy that the coolant is only leaking from the thermostat housing. I'll buy a new one of those and thermostat. I am a bit concerned about the oil leak though. Once the engine shuts off the leak slowly stops. Is it still likely that I have a blown head gasket or is this a more catastrophic failure?

Again, any ideas or help would be appreciated.


Caleb

 

You need a new thermostat housing and plan on the plastic pipe going to the water pump too. Personally, I'd replace the water pump at the same time since you have everything else removed. The whole job takes about 2.5-3 hours. Congrats on the purchase!

 

I forgot to add that you should check the oil filter housing and see if it is leaking. Right front corner of the engine. Easy to reach and if it is leaking it might just be loose from someone never finishing work, due to the overheating.

 

I just ordered a new thermostat housing. I'm not going to replace the water pump just yet but will be doing it after I fix the oil leak. If it turn out to be a head gasket I'll do it while I have everything apart.

The oil filter housing looks fine where the plastic part threads in to the receiver. No oil around that area.

The oil leak is buried behind the heat shields on the exhaust manifold. I'm having a hell of a time finding the heat shield bolts on the passenger side.

 

The oil is likely leaking from the oil filter housing, which bolts to the engine block behind the exhaust heat shields. An often reported site of oil leaks in the gen2 MINI. There is lots of information here on NAM to help you with this job.

 

If you have a leaking head gasket, you should have water in the oil pan. The oil would then look milky brown. If that's not present, then your head gasket is probably fine.

 

Yep, check this out: 11428643758

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...lant-leak.html

 

I won't have a chance to work on it for a few days but I suppose my next step will be to remove the exhaust manifold and inspect where the oil filter housing bolts to the block.

I'll update with my observations once I have that off.

 

Time for an update. To be honest I forgot I started this thread until just now.

I pulled the cylinder head and could see where the oil was leaking through to the outside of the engine block. I took the cylinder head to the engine machine shop to be planed and got the bad news that the head got so hot it pushed out two of the valve seats and warped the head.

New parts ordered:
-Used cylinder head from California (could not find a N12 cylinder head in Canada)
-Head gasket
-Head bolts
-Thermostat/ housing (had a hole in it)
-Timing chain kit
-Oil filter
-Oil filter housing gasket
-Crankshaft seal
-Spark plugs
-Battery
-Serpentine belt
-Valve timing solenoids

Anyway, The used cylinder head showed up and as soon as I turned it over two of the Camshaft cap bolts for the intake side fell out. They had been snapped off in the head. Took it to the machine shop and they told me that some of the lobes on the intake cam were also worn out. The seller is going good for the machine shop bill to have the bolt pieces extracted and the bolts replaced and I am pulling the Camshaft off my old head. I also had to swap over the dipstick tube (which was crushed on the used head from shipping) and the Valvetronic actuator (which had the harness bracket broken off. The head itself though looks to be in good condition and the mating surface is true.

The issue now is that the machine shop will not reassemble the head and I have to do it myself. That will be the project for next week when I get it back. I'm really hoping I don't mess up the torque specs for the camshaft caps.

 

So I've got the car all back together. New head gasket, good used head, head bolts, timing chain, tensioner and guides, new valve timing solenoids, oil and folter and probably whole bunch of other things I'm forgetting.

It starts and runs. For the first 20-30 seconds it is rough at idle and stumbles but then smooths out and runs like a dream.

I'm getting a p0012 code (timing over retarded) and random misfire codes. I used the Pieper tools to lock out the timing when changing everything.

Any idea on what I may have overlooked or what could be the issue?

I read about people resetting the adaptations, but I have no idea what they do (hopefully someone can explain it) and don't have the tools to reset them. Could this be what is causing my issue?