Hello All,

Replaced the thermostat housing in the gf's R56 as well the seal for the oil filter housing after these issues were diagnosed by the dealer.

After starting the car up it seemed to run strong and everything was fine but i was reading off a lot of error codes including ABS and others. After about an hour of idling and refilling the coolant tank i took the car for a spin around the block and all error codes were gone accept for two.

Still remaining are

P0599 Thermostat Heater Control circuit high
and
P0503 Vehicle Speed Sensor A Intermittent/Erratic/High

I have driven another 10-15 miles or so and error codes still remain

So....

Does anyone know what the 503 code is? Information is very limited online and what does this have to do with the thermostat replacement? Is one of the connectors in the wiring harness over the thermostat related to this sensor? Where is it and what does this sensor do?

Also, why am i still getting the 599 code could this be related to air-bubbles still being trapped in the housing? will this go away eventually by it self? I have been unsuccessful in trying to clear both of these codes to see if they come back....

TIA

Spetz

 

Got an update.

So i figured out that the trouble codes i was reading were the old codes from the original event when the thermostat housing leaked... I was able to reset check engine light on the dash using some procedure i found online but the trouble codes keep coming up on the code reader. Is there a way to also reset old trouble codes through the service menu?

Also is there a list of the service menu commands?

thanks,

Spetz

 

sorry.. this is out of your topic. I'm having thermostat problem as well. what year and what model is your car? how many miles? did you have idle problem too?
I've been suffering idle problem about 6 months but there was no ways to find out.. I've checked diagnosed but nothing came on. finally one of the mechanic find that there is something wrong with the thermostat. he said that might cause the idle problem. did you fix them by yourself or go to service shop? if so, how much did you pay for it?
please let me know.
thanks

 

The mini is 2009 r56 with 65k miles. The first issue that it had was the over temp light was intermittent a few times. When this started happening it did run a little rough during idle.

The dealer quoted me 2k for thermostat and oil filter housing seal replacement. So i said no thanks!

Knowing what i know now the thermostat is a relatively easy fix but if you haven't done it before plan to spend 4-6 hours on it. I got the parts from BavAuto for around 120 if i recall correctly. don't really need any special tools but if you have a 10mm swivel socket and various extensions this will make your life a lot easier.




Replacement goes like this:

1. drain the coolant (if its not gone already which was my case with the cracked housing)
2. remove the overflow tank
3. remove the air intake upto the airfilter box.
4. Remove the cover that covers the spark plugs.
5. Disconnect the wiring harness and label everything. This will let you peel the harness back toward the cockpit. Disconnecet battery before doing disconnecting electricals... You will disconnect:
a. ignition wires
b. sensor on the left side of engine that is in the bundle with ignition wires
c. o2 sensors
d. all sensors on thermostat
e. several sensors on the engine block probably cam position and others
d. the 2 main connection to ECU (large square connectors).
6. After everything is peeled back you will have access to disconnect hoses.
7. There is a clip which is hard to get to on rear side of housing that connects to the main water pipe from the pump. When you un-clip it make sure not to take out all the way i spent a lot of time trying to put it back in after.
8. 3 screws will remove the thermostat housing from the block
9. Clean up the mating surface on the engine block and reassemble in reverse order.
10. Refill the overflow and squeeze the water lines. Run the engine and let idle for about an hour as the system fills with water.

Hope this helps let me know if you have other specific questions. Id be interested to know if you have the same warning lights and error codes come up after doing this as I did. Does your car not give ANY error codes now? Just runs rough? Can you tell the temp that everything is running at? If your code reader doesn't give you this data there is a way to check it through the display on the tach

Spetz

 

Hi and thank you for posting the steps to the fix.
I am new to this forum and discovered a drip under my car recently...which turned out to be blue-green coolant. My son came over and diagnosed it to be the thermostat housing so he said he would fix it. I am in the process of ordering the part but also have a noise that has been coming from the passenger side of the motor. I have no skills diagnosing these sounds...to me it sounds like a baseball card clipped to a bike wheel that is really noticeable at cold starts.
I guess I will end up taking it to the dealer after my son does his thing with the housing replacement.
BTW I drive a 2007 MCS coupe, manual.
Thanks again and I'll let you know how it goes...fingers crossed. Hope the noise isn't anything serious. 83K on the odometer.
Patsy

 

Thermostat Housing: sounds like a leak on the back side. Leaks on the top of the transmission housing then down the back. Make sure to check the connection between the housing and the water pipe.

Click the hypertext links.

Thermostat Housing OEM part number 11537534521
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/11537534521/ES25098/


Water Pipe: OEM part number 11537589713
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/11537589713/ES253291/


We have the coolant to do the job. OEM MINI Coolant recommended: 82140031133
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/ES196253/ES196253/


Thanks and I hope that helps out.

*Make sure to check the bottom of the coolant expansion tank , over time they can crack and leak at the bottom.

 

Thank you for the additional info. My son did say it was it was leaking on the transmission!
Thanks for the links too...😊

 

Yes the picture help a bunch. Your welcome for the pics.

Yes, they leak and pool coolant on the transmission then carries down the backside. Also check the expansion tank. I had one leak down the back on the transmission, then leak at the expansion tank down the road.

Thanks

 

I have a 2007 R56 with about 90K that recently set the P0599 trouble code. While it is a generic code (P0XXX) it certainly specific to certain makes with that feature. There are two additional codes, P0597 Thermostat Heater Control Circuit Open, and P0598 ....Circuit Low, related. Other threads had indicated they replaced the thermostat or the temp sensor. My scan tool indicated the coolant temp was between 185 and 190 while the engine was running so that leads me to believe the thermostat is working just fine (and the engine is not in danger). I pulled the connector to the temp sensor and immediately got P0177 coolant temp too low (-40 is open circuit) which leads me to believe the temp sensor is fine. Pulling off the air intake ducting I found a second sensor on the "octopus". You can see it on the picture, it's in the radiator hose fitting in front of the heater hose fitting. Pulling that connecter set the P0597 code indicating that was the source of the issue. I cannot find a listing for that sensor and it looks to be integral to the thermostat housing. So I guess I will be changing a thermostat housing as well. Unfortunately mine is not leaking. Hate that. Does anybody know what that system actually does? Is it a temp sensor for the heater supply of perhaps an actuator/valve of some sort to regulate flow. Oddly complicated for a heater line.

 

I still have the thermostat housing that i pulled of my mini. I'll try to take a look at it in the next day or two and see if i can draw a flow schematic for you if you're interested, maybe we can figure out what that sensor is for unless someone already knows.

Spetz

 

The sensor at the very bottom is the one you are talking about? It controls the built in thermostat.

Thermostat Housing OEM part number 11537534521
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/11537534521/ES25098/

 

oh how i prefer a thermostat housing like this

 

[QUOTE=ECSTuning;3711112]The sensor at the very bottom is the one you are talking about? It controls the built in thermostat.

Yes in fact clicking on the link picture 7 is looking directly at it. There is something in there? It looks empty in the picture. You have as good a price as I've seen so I'll probably go ahed and order one.

Thanks.

 

Thanks ,

Its the thermostat itself , that is the plug in end. Its molded into the thermostat housing.

 

I have a 2008 mini Cooper with 91K miles base model which had P0597 Code reading the very help-full comments i got the thermostat housing for $89 from ebay and replaced the old one; but i still get ERROR CODE P0597 how do I reset the CEL.

 

Make sure the engine harness is clipped in all the way on the thermostat on the plug on the bottom and on the top, bottom is black and molded into the unit. Top is brown connection and is the temp sensor. Check those first. Then most OBD readers can clear codes to see if it pops up again.

Thermostat Housing OEM part number 11537534521
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/11537534521/ES25098/



Thanks