Hi everyone, My 2005 R53 has a small problem

I noticed the other night (i was stationary stuck in traffic for 20 min) my scangauge temp started rising to over 220, which i have never seen. I live in New York, outside temp was 20 degrees that night. So after watching my temp rise more to 230-240 and my high fan kicked on, I managed to get out of the street into a parking lot and right when i was shutting off my car my idiot light came on, (the temperature light). I immediately shut my car off and let it cool for a while. I drove home, temps stayed below 190 because i got onto a highway and parked it home. The next morning I went out to check the coolant level, nothing, almost bone dry. I looked under the car and I had a decent amount of coolant(almost positive it was coolant unless it has been there for some weeks without me noticing it). Anyways I filled up the resovoire and then changed the oil because with the small amount of coolant on the floor, where did all the coolant go? Thats when i see my oil so VERY creamy, milky, brownish. Sign of coolant going into the oil....

My question: From my research it sounds like it is the thermostat gasket, is there any way i can verify what it is before I both changing it?

Could it be head gasket or anything real major? how could i identify that?


I do small work, only with my cars. I am fairly familiar with the Mini doing the small repairs and mods. I am pretty confident i can fix the thermostat gasket thanks to NAMS DIY.
Basically i want any advise on what it could be if not the thermostat, if it is the thermostat advice you have for me when i perform the change. And I know coolant in oil is bad for the bearings and stuff. should i change this thermostat ASAP? I did just change the oil...

Let me know whats up guys!

 

Hi Achilless, if coolant is mixing with your engine oil then you have a MAJOR problem, its either you have a blown head gasket or cracked cylinder block (cylinder block is where the coolant circulates to cool down your engine) both problems are caused by overheating. You probably have a leak somewhere or your thermostat got stuck and didnt open, and when your engine overheated that caused it to either blow out your head gasket and worst case cracked your cylinder block. the cylinder head needs to be rebuilt if its just the gasket and if its cracked then you need a new one. goodluck and hope you get your car fixed ASAP.

 

In most cars that would indicate head gasket, but the MCS has an oil heat exchanger which can fail and give the same symptoms. Definitely not the the thermostat.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...acks-this.html

 

Yup...thermostat is not the issue...
The fact the car was running hot is HOPEFULLY the result of low coolant....
Creamy oil....ie, coolant mixed witu the oil is a major bad sign...
As stated above, sometimes a headgaskets, a failed oil cooler for a few, or even a cracked block/head possible...
change the oil...coolant is corrosive to bearings...
Next, if possible, don't drive the car..a short distance might be ok to the repair shop if you want to risk it...
Since most all the possibilites are pretty scary from a diy perpespective, i suggest you get a pro to investigate, and track down the issue...hopefully a headgasket....since mini's use conventional, short life coolant (compared to the longlife stuff common in many makes), the cooling system is often neglected .....since there is so much iron, and limited aluminium, it not as bad as it could be, but corossion does/can set in....and the headgasket is a common location....coupled with a modded car, high compression ratio....hopefully that is all it is.
Good luck!

 

oh this is bad news. thought it would be the thermostat gasket, just out of curiosity what makes you guys say its not the thermostat? From what i have read that is the common problem with the same symptoms, i have been driving the car for a week now and its been fine and temps been 170-190

What makes you guys cancel out the thermostat?

 

The thermostat in and of itself really has no way to cause coolant to get into the oil. It should be isolated from the oil.

I fear what others have said is true. You may have had a thermostat leak which then caused the engine to overheat which then caused the head to crack or warp or just blow the head gasket which causes the water/oil mixture. I think the head would crack before the block in my experience with other cars. The engine would have to get extremely hot to crack the block but frankly anything is possible.

You may have a major repair on hand. Contrary to what others suggested I would not drive the car anywhere but rather have it towed to a qualified repair facility. Whether that be a Mini dealer or other mechanic that you trust.

But it could also be the oil exchanger as one poster suggested. I would think that will be much less expensive than a head or block problem. I'm not that familiar with this aspect of the engine so I can't comment too much about the oil heat exchanger.

Sorry you have to go through hassle. It's not going to be a lot of fun.

 

Leaky thermostat gasket as said before just results in loss of coolant to the outside...
oil is some passages in the block/head, coolant in others....
You have a mix...
So the posibilites are a failed gasket, the head gasket where both of these pass, the gasket for the head is a weak spot of sorts, or a failed pice of metal in the casting/maching of the head or block...the cooler failure is a posdible option, but kinda rare, but plausable....

 

Be open to the possibility of multiple issues. If the coolant on the garage floor is indeed yours, did it blow out of the overflow from overheating, or come out somewhere else? It may be possible that a thermostat gasket, or other external leak caused the coolant level to drop to the point where the pump cavitated, and could not circulate it. From there, extreme heat could blow the head gasket (and/or warp or crack the head), causing some of the remaining coolant to find it's way into the sump.

Heat doesn't usually crack blocks (not enough antifreeze in coolant mixture does).

 

I would like to know the verdict. Mine has been acting similar lately minus the coolant and oil mixing though.

 

Ok that is what i needed to hear, like i said i have drove probably 500 miles since this has happened with no issues and everything is normal, and everyone saying that my car overheated which caused something to blow doesnt make sense to me. The highest temp my car reached was 240-245, i didnt think that was severe since the dummy light didnt turn on till the last second. If the light turned on and i drove for a minute or so maybe i could have done something but the car was shut off immediately.

So can the temps 240-245 do what you guys are suggesting? I mean my car has been at 230 in summer heat before...

But like you said black bomber, that makes more sense to me bc i did not have much coolant so thats a possability.

Also i should mention i have seen my oil milky and creamy 6 months ago when i changed it

 

I had a leaking therm in my 07 and the coolant bottle would drain almost dry within a day or two. I just kept it full until I had the therm/housing replaced. Fine now.
Ok, milky oil doesn't always indicate blow head gasket, It could be due to condensation in the motor especially if you live where the temp changes readily. I can't believe the amt of milky stuff I pull out of my oil catch can every two weeks.
Hopefully, it's nothing serious. I've found out one thing about Mini's, check fluids at least every other day. Doesn't take but a second and I feel much better.

 

Achilless - I don't want to inadvertently give you false hope. When I said head doesn't usually crack blocks, I meant that I highly doubt you could possibly have a cracked block. You still may have some internal engine issues. Remember that even though the car seems fine now, SOMETHING caused the temp to spike, and more worrysome, coolant loss. But perhaps when you say bone dry, you really mean that the reservoir was empty. That is a WHOLE lot different than the coolant system being low. That bottle could be completely empty, and you could still have enough coolant to cool the engine. Also, since your car is an R53, you not only have the thermostat to consider, but also the coolant tank itself, since R53s have a pressurized reservoir, and it is prone to cracking. drsmmons is right about condensation not necessarily being due to coolant, but perhaps environmental factors. Especially if you don't drive long distances.

 

Yes i meant the reservoir was just about bone dry. I am gonna change out the oil next week and inspect it, if it is creamy i am going to bring it to a local mechanic to find out where its coming from.

I will be watching everything closely and ill post back up what is wrong or the solution so hopefully i can help somebody else in my situation

Thanks to everyone, very helpful as always

 

I was actually gonna post on this same thing or similar to it. One cold morning I went out to start my car, 10min later came out and my car was smoking and the car was over heating. I shut the car off, opened the bonnet and low and behold all my coolant was spilling out onto the hot engine causing the smoke. Anymore I can't sit in a drive through or start my car to warm it up w/o fear of over heating.

I'm thinking maybe it needs more coolant but my inspection is coming up so I'll have Mini in Loveland look at it. But what kinda coolant does our cars take?

 

Not sure about the coolant. Mini can tell you. If you have never replaced the hoses in the car it simply could be a hose. The car is old. hoses don't last forever. If it is a hose preventive maintenance can prevent those types of things happening.

 

Gen1 s cars tend to loose coolant through 2 main ways (usually not hoses)
The coolant tank on the s is pressurized....and it tends to leak alo g the seam..
Other common spot is thermostat...the gasket fails...mini came out with a new part with a better gasket.
Also if the ps fan gets stuck on pre 2005 gen1 cars, it can blow a fuse it shares with the radiator fan...rendering both the low and the high speed portion of it inop...
02's are also getting up in age enough to see the radiarors fail...mostly where the metal part is crimped to the plastic....
Ofcourse, the water pump could have failed, the gears between it and the sc, or even the crank pully....since you were not there at the time it failed, you may need to investigate...

 

Stick with the same coolant you have in it...
The oem coolant is bmw/mini blue coolant...
it is a bit of a hybird...not like green, yellow, orange or red...
There is a few threads here listing the aftermarket version...
i think it was peak or zyerex...they make a seperate euro version...
Universal coolants are not truely universal...i would stay away...

 

If the coolant in an 02 is the same as a 07 then you can use Zerex G-05 coolant. It's blue in color also. The coolant at a dealer is about $29/gal.
Oh, and my 07 had a bad thermostat/housing leak so apparently Mini hasn't fixed it not to happen. Fortunately, that's all I've had to do, not bad at 62,500 miles (excluding things like brake pads, rotors, tires, the normal things that wear).

 

Thats the stuff!!
My bmw dealers sold it to me the oem coolant for $16 a gallon...so prices vary...

 

Hi Everyone, my 2008 mini cooper Justas threw in a check engine code last week and it was thermostat heater control circuit open, dealer told me thermostat is malfunctioning and not opening as needed. i didnt wait to cause more problem so i fixed it right away.
total costs.
Thermostat..... $86.00 includes shipping from parts.com
coolant........... $24.00 from dealer
Labor of Professional Mechanic $75.00
Total......................................$185

i suggest everyone that if you notice a problem to your car GET FIXED right away don't wait for it to cause more problem. if i didnt pay attention to my situation it could cause thousands of dollars instead of 185.00

goodluck to evryone on their cooper.