I just bought this 2003 MCS with 67000 miles. It's a good looking car and runs great. Although, the first week after I bought the power steering went out and now, three weeks in and the car is over heating. I fill it up and can't find a leak. It doesn't blow steam out of the exhaust and it maintains its presure in the system. What Am I Missing? It stll loses its antifreze. Okay, I found the leak. It's in one of the small hoses under the power steering unit. Now I need a diagram of the hoses to be able to tell the parts store which hose to buy. Can anyone help me out?

 

It's probably the thermostat housing. Really common issue on these cars.

 

Good to check your thermostat housing gasket which is an upgraded part, but it could be your low speed fan too.......check to see if it's spinning with engine on. If it does't come on unless the A/C is on you will need to replace the fan assembly. The part is inexpensive, but the labor is a tad high since the MINI has to be put into full service mode.

If going to the dealer is not an option, then seek out one of your local MINI clubs mechanic as there are tons of short cuts, and some guys I know even do their own.

The part itself can be had on ebay for about 79.00 and free shipping. It is made by TYC inc, and is sold by VPautoparts. And it has a lifetime warranty, which is better than OEM. This aftermarked fan assembly has a very good record, maybe even better than OEM.

Mine was replaced in November because it was overheating while at drive up windows and while at lengthly stop lights.

I did a thread on it here: http://massmotoringclub.com/index.php?topic=2490.0

 

Possibly the coolant tank...they often leak around the seam..a real pinhole leak....look for white residues around the seam, or on the heatshield below.
Once the the system has been run low, it needs to be blead to get the air out...that may be causing it to overheat.

 

Wasnt there a recall already on the tank ? His should be the newer one I think.

 

I think if it was the tank it would not hold pressure & you'd see the leak.

On the other hand when my thermostat housing was leaking I could not see the leak. When the car was cold I could get a slight whiff of coolant. Once warm I could not. I had to add a bit of coolant from time to time, but the loss was small. Mine was fixed under warranty, but I believe it is not a hard job to DIY.

Good luck with the new MINI.

 

The older tanks are kinda white/translucent...newer ones are yellowish...but most folks say that while the newer ones are better, they stll leak as they age....an easy diy, costs about $30. The leak on my old one leaked just as slow as a thermost leak.. Never saw a dribble, and barely smelled a wiff of coolant....still held preassure fine, just lost a bit of coolant.

 

Just to rule out Another major... Look at youboil cap...the underside should be pretty clean...and check your oil...should look normal..no "creamyness".
As long as those 2 items are fine, just work like a dectictive...park on a piece of cardboard,see if you can find a drip to localize the area you are looking.
When your motor is running, it sounds normal right, no hint of a chains dragging sound, and no odd screeching right?

 

Since you mentioned the PS fan you need to be aware that the 02 early build 03's had this issue of the fan sharing the circuit with the radiator.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...rness-fix.html

You very well could have related issues. The other thing is what others have mentioned. Early white coolant reservoirs leak, and the thermostat housing is a a problem as well.

I have an 03 MCS with about the same miles as you and I have had it replaced on mine.

 

My '06 MCS had the same problems right before the warranty expired. They replaced the thermostat (may have been the housing? It was warranty works so all I really cared about was that the problem went away.)
Sorry about the bad luck

 

Thanks for the help but I found the problem to be a hose. One of the small ones under the power steering pump. Now I need a diagram of the hoses to tell the Parts store what I need. Thanks again.

 

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/partgrp.d...21&hg=17&fg=05

 

Thanks a lot planeguy, that's more information than the parts stores were able to give me.

 

I had posted before about my PS not working. This morning when I started it up it was working just fine. That is until I took it over to get the cooling hose fixed. When I started it up again no PS. Anyone know about the sensor that is suppose to control it?

 

Generaly glycol in the cooling system, and electerical componets don't mix well.....that is why they usually say to protect or shield the alternator when working on the cooling system.
The ps pump might dry out and work after a rinse... If not, new oem units are avalable for $500 ish....rebuilt units (some have good luck, some don't for $200 ish. Be sure to use only the correct petrosin ps fluid if you are low or need more...mini, BMW, VW, napa, and a few auto places sell it...it is very different from the regular ps fluid. If the ps pump was dammaged...make sure the ps cooling pump is working too.

 

Jason, It sounds like you have an early build 03 with the issue I cited before. The radiator and PS fan share a circuit on these early models. if you loose the fans, you overheat the engine and the PS pump.

To the best of my knowledge the only way to have the TSB work performed is a dealer or MINI specialist like Detroit tuned, helix....etc. These guys have been around since day one, and know the issue but are probably not local to you.

Look for your build date on the inside of your driver door. If it is 12/02 or before, then I recommend that you phone your dealer and see if they can tell you if the TSB had been performed on your car.

 

As long as the radaiator fan still runs, then the ps fan should still be operable if the mod has not been done.
Changes to production cars did not occur till in 2005...my 2004 build, my 2005 was modified a few months after delivery by the dealer to bring "up 2005 standard".....you can tell if this mod had been 2 ways....one way is to look for a ps fan connector near tha radiator fan connector....if you don't know what to look for, go into th cabin , remove the fan panel...check for a fuse that was added...the bottom rear...look on the panel...there is a bit of a crypic picture...if one of the bottom rear fuses (there still are blanks, unused) has this symbol, it is complied with. All the cars I know of got new, updated fuse panel covers udating this change as part of the change... Mine did.

 

Since you were loosing fluid...if you don't have this mod...just something to keep in mind. What happens is the ps fan gets jammed...by dirt, grime, maybe a stray bag...and it blows the fuse...that it shares with the radiator fan...resulting in overheating from no cooling fan...
Check the fan operation by turning on the AC...you should hear the rad fan turn on....this test will not tel you if the low/high speed is ok...but will tell you the fuse is not blown.

 

Thanks for all the information. I'll have to check everything out this weekend.

 

The dual aluminum tubes you describe in the latter part of your edited is part of the cooling system. They go frequently and can even become clogged up with debris like plaque in an artery.


Is this it?





They can be purchased from your MINI dealer. I dont believe there are aftermarket sources yet for this part. In a pinch a good mechanic can fabricate some too.

 

First time posting so I hope I get this correct... 04 BRG/W MC R50 CVT... Have a P0128. My daughter uses the car for only a few miles each day and didn't notice the SES light. The car had lost about a 1/2 cup of coolant every week but the temperature gauge never went above half-way on the scale. From reading some of the posts I drained the coolant, replaced the thermostat housing, the thermostat, the expansion tank (looked grim), and the expansion hose. Following the instructions in the Bentley book I began the process of refilling the coolant. The engine never 'drew' the coolant from the expansion tank so I'm not sure what to do at this point. With the car idling and the interior heater turned on high the fan on low, the heater never generates hot air... at least not before the temperature gauge reaches maximum. In the off chance that there was air trapped on the heater core I opened that valve a few seconds... no result. I'm looking for ideas. I think that the thermostat is operating correctly (the coolant in the fill tube is 'gone' after each attempt). No strange sounds coming from the water pump (not that I'd know what to listen for). And the radiator fan does come on high speed (and I think on low but I'll check).