1) So incase it is a head gasket... what should i do while the head is off? ARP studs?? Is there a better Gasket (metal gasket?) should i port the head? oooooo

2) Could it be anythink else besides the head Gasket? is there an oil cooler?

 

Head/headgasket is the most likely failure....
Could be an oil cooler (unlikely to fail, but possible) or even a crack in the block or head....
What you spend $$ is up to you...depends on what you need to do and the $$$$ you have to spend!!

 

Sorry to hear that. That needs to be sorted out right away.
I'm hoping that doesn't happen on mine before I get around to fixing it,
since I depend on mine as my daily driver.

 

im trying to think about what i can do performance wise.... this would be great opertunity for like... CAM... Porting..... hmmmmm anyone have any ideas?

 

That's what I'd do.....make a spread sheet of the cost of the OEM parts versus the performance items and find someone who can rebuild it for you if you're not mechanically inclined.

 

Big hp is in a head and cam...but $$$.
Since the head must at the very least come off, you will save the cost of a headgasket, labour, and maybe the studs...so not a huge savings...but if you were going to do it someday, might make sense.
But as we speak, the motor needs to be opened up to determine the failure, and the corrosive antifreeze removed from the motor...ASAP. What you find will help you decide what to do...

 

And with 140,000 miles, a compression check might be a good idea..hard to do now...investing $$ in a weak motor with bad rings when a rebuild is needed is not smart...make sure you have a good foundation to build on....

 

My leak has slowed a little. Still there on short trips, but now usually seals up after 5-10 miles of driving.
The MINI is going in to my local MINI-friendly place in a week and a half, and if they confirm my diagnosis,
then I think I'll order a ported and polished head with an NS1 cam and have it installed a few weeks later.
BTW, only 55K on mine after almost 8 years.

 

need an opinion...replace the housing, t-stat and gasket - or just t-stat and gasket? If I had the luxury of time I could open it up, inspect and then order the parts. Just wondering if others have found the housing to be part of the problem. Thanks!

 

I'm a bit like you, don't have the time/space to pull something apart only to find I need another piece. T-stat housing is around $35 or so which puts it in the category of 'why not?' have it on hand in case you need it. I'd hate to have to do the job twice just for the sake of a $35 part. I can always earn another few $ but can never get the time back.

Eric

 

I appear to have missing coolant as well... Noticed the fans on after a little romp the other day. Just checked after reading this looks like Ill be headed to get some BMW coolant tomorrow.

 

Went to the shop, it was a thermostat housing/gasket leak after all. Gee, the one I had replaced in 2/2009 didn't last very long, did it?
Maybe it got done in when the low speed resistor went out on my radiator fan. Wasn't visible to me at the housing itself, but it
apparently was coming out the bottom and running around a lip on the top of the block to the back of the engine, and that made it
look like it was coming from the head gasket to me. So it's not a cylinder head gasket leak after all.
Good news - much cheaper repair. Bad news - I don't have an excuse to replace the head "while it's off anyway" with a better one.
Good news - that would have been even more expensive anyway.

Pyrows666, how's your's going?