I've seen enough posts about the thermostat housing breaking down around 60k, and it seems my case is no different (i'm at 59k). Just looking for a little confirmation here really...

I've got a bit of coolant on top of the transmission housing which i'll assume came from the thermostat housing...but whats got me curious is the bit underneath the intake manifold. everything seems to be getting sprayed right there, and just curious if thats also from the thermostat housing or if its something else entirely. can't really get a good picture from there, so it's directly underneath the intake manifold and the "noise maker" (which i've removed to try and get easier access).

le sigh

 

The thermostat housing plugs into a tube running behind the engine to the water pump. The water pump is also a common source of leaking, but that is on the passenger side of the engine. Either could be the source of your 2nd leak. The coolant on the trans is a true telltale that the thermostat is leaking.

Mike

 

check your coolant temp sensor the o-ring that seals it may be shot. one way of checking that out is after a good drive run to the fron of a car and see if you can hear a hissing. other than that the thermostat housing i read cracks and it would have to be replaced.

 

I had 71,000 miles on my 09 justa when it developed a leak at the temp sensor o ring, which was located at the top of the thermostat. It was a much easier and cheaper fix than replacing the entire thermostat. Be sure to give it a good and proper assessment before diving into a repair.

 

This seems to be likely. I don't suppose you happen to know the name of said tube? Access to it didn't seem readily available. Looks like i'd have to take off the intake manifold to get any decent amount of room to work, or view.

In regards to the temp. sensor O-ring, i couldn't hear any hissing :( looks like i won't be getting off that easy.

 

Well, i had it in for scheduled maintenance today and had them do a check (that cost me $132) of things that might be wrong. As expected, the thermostat housing is leaking. However, turns out the PCV hose was amiss as well. Wasnt coolant that was leaking underneath the inake manifold, it was oil. Odd that there were no big stains on my garage floor though. They'd also found my control arm bushings were in an ill state (not surprising, i drive the hell out of the car). For all of these repairs they quoted me $1700+!!!!! I kindly told them where they could stick that quote, and that i'd do the repairs myself. I briefly spoke with the parts manager and he dropped the over-all cost on repair items by over $120 in instant.

I love my car, but good lord, why did they use so much plastic in such a hot engine bay? :(

 

My mini cooper S is a 2008 with about 55k on it. Temperature light came on last night and we checked the coolant and it was low. A few months ago had to replace the head gaskets costing about 600. Is this normal? So far we have spend more money on things that I didn't think would go out until between 60k - 70k miles.

My husband is at the mini dealership now and they are quoting almost five hundred to replace cracked thermostate housing. Why would this go out? Is there any connection?

We bought the extended maintenance package but not sure why I did now.

 

Is this a repair that can be done by someone who has some skills on working on a car? My husband has never done any work on our mini but has worked on our GM car. It is out of the warranty now, so I am guessing it is worth a try???

I found a new part for 100.00 w/gasket on ebay.

Dealership wants $500.00

 

The thermostat housing seems to be a known issue and is almost guaranteed to leak around 60k miles. I picked one up from the dealership for about $120 after they price matched (factored in shipping).

It was a fairly straight forward project. There are several very detailed write-up's on these forums and others. I changed it myself in a little over 5 hours, and i'd never played with a coolant system before.

 

I agree that if someone is comfortable working on cars that they can change the thermostat housing. While you are there, check for a crack at the bottom of the coolant resevoir, mine had one.

Unfortunately, these cars seem to have weak points based on age rather than mileage. Check for an oil leak at the top of the turbo, the oil lines tend to leak there. You will also likely have an oil leak at the oil filter housing where it connects to the block. If you have either one of these leaks, fix both areas at the same time, because it is a real pain getting access to the front of the engine.

Bottom line: These are fun cars, but they need more maintanance than your average commuter. There are people here to help guide the repairs on these types of items and give advice.

BTW, your extended maintenance is not wasted. Make sure that the dealer takes care of things like brake fluid flush, filters, and brake pads/rotors before the warranty period expires. Even the wiper blades are covered, but I don't think that spark plugs are.

Have fun,
Mike

 

+1 on all of it.

Plugs ARE covered with extended maint. They changed mine out last time i took it in (at 59k)