I double checked my repair manual.. It should be warmed up at normal operating temp. before you begin the process of bleeding. But make sure your expansion tank is plenty full and is kept full during the bleeding process.

 

Personally, I'd just drain the entire system again and rebleed the system. At least you'll know if you did it right this time because you're unable to figure out the current issue at hand.

 

Why does it not say to warm up the engine in the instructions? Do I leave the reservoir cap on or off after warm up? Also if I were to bring the engine to normal operating temperature the coolant will shoot out once I open the cap burning myself, it states not to open when hot!

I need more detailed instructions because there's too many ways to interpret these instructions with assumptions, surely the Bentley manual has more detailed instructions?

 

Double Post

 

The reservoir cap should be off during the process. That's how I do it and the repair manual states. But if you have had it running becareful of hot coolant. If you have further problems I can give you my number to explain more!

 

I'm going to have my insurance deal with it since this is how I received it after the dealer worked on it, I'm not to happy about it all. To have the dealer tell me that what you see in the video is normal is infuriating and insulting!

More detailed instruction would have been nice, I needlessly lost coolant.

 

Systemlord, your procedure is correct with the instructions you had. But the exspansion cap should of been off at cold start up. Hope that makes some sense.

 

So I should,

1. turn on ignition and set heating control to maximum temperature.
2. Set fan to slow setting.
3. Release vent screw located on thermostat housing.
4. Let my coolant drain down the street until...what?

The above is what I did and I gain air in top of reservoir by the exact same amount of coolant lost. I traded coolant for air.

 

I think the best thing here to do is bring it back to the dealer. I think they caused the problem. You only open the bleeder every so often during the bleeding process. You don't leave it open the whole time. But during the whole process you want to keep your expansion tank at its full mark. and engine at normal operating temp. If you haven't done this before it might just be best to bring it in. Some of these can be a pita.

 

My worry is that the transmission case is very close to the thermostat housing and if they smash into it while lifting up the transmission that could cause more problems, it's easy to hit something you can't see. They could have caused damage so the DIY will have to wait. I've already contacted my insurance.

 

I drove my Mini over to "Irvine Mini" today 12 miles away from where I live and by the time I get there there is coolant leaking all over underneath the transmission. Hoses are fine and it's leaking from the thermostat housing because there is a crack that the dealer determined was impact damage which they said isn't cover under their warranty. See dealer replaced my thermostat housing 4 1/2 months ago, I told them I just spent $3200 on a new flywheel and clutch components.

They told me whoever removed the transmission hit the thermostat housing with the transmission case, so I quietly leaned over and said, "hey there dumb$$s, "you are the ones who replaced my flywheel, and all clutch components a week ago"! He made eye contact with me and that's when I told him you guys need to get your act together and that you have lost my business forever and that I would inform my NAM members of this entire experience! He walked away and disappeared, he must have been completely embarrassed.

They are incompetent, I left a message with the manager! He will be unable to make me comfortable with the techs and service persons because they both failed me earlier in the week when they said it was normal for the coolant to boil over and vent via the cap on the reservoir. They could have been 100% responsible if I had overheated my engine causing it to seize!

I think everyone there has had a transmission case dropped on their heads!

STAY AWAY FROM Irvine MINI!

 

So what's next?

 

Yikes!!!! I bought my MINI there but I definitely never had them do any of my work, just basic oil change on checkups while I had warranty. I just take it to my buddy's shop now. And I do most of the work myself now, so I know if I f'd up or not!

 

That's horrible! Ive never been impressed by my service techs here at all either. Even though one of them is a good friend. He is the only one that I feel has the mechanical skills. When they do any work on my MINI im right there next to them. I honestly have helped them more then they helped me. The only bounous is I can use the shop anytime. Which is nice when need be. Systemlord I do hope they take care of you. Hands down they should!

 

My AAA insurance who paid the labor to remove the transmission is going to have another reputable place have a look at it to further diagnose any other problems the dealer has caused do to their negligence and charge Irvine Mini for any costs incurred with the money AAA sent to the dealer. AAA insurance agent confirmed that coolant reservoirs are NOT supposed to boil under normal operating temperatures.

I crawled under the Mini and saw lots of Cool-Aid also coming from hoses close to the radiator/grill area directly about the transmission. I know that dealer must have removed the coolant tubes that snake in a U shape above the transmission, these need to be removed to access the shifting cable and shifting cable mounts.

 

Today when I took my Mini in to be looked at I drove in, popped the hood and saw that the coolant was at the top of the reservoir cap, but when I shut off the engine the coolant in the reservoir drained completely out of the reservoir into the cooling system, there was no coolant in reservoir! Then I heard this cracking sound at the thermostat housing that lasted maybe 8 seconds, at no time did my engine overheat during all this time nor did any warning lights come on to indicate overheating. There was no coolant leak detected.

This sound couldn't have been my head or block warping could it?

 

So....why are you still driving it? Has Irvine MINI not said they'd fix it yet or something?

 

I took it in today, it was a short trip and I even had a gallon of distilled water in the passenger seat just incase. Again the engine wasn't even at operating temperature by the time I got there, it was warm. The service guy I know and trust used to take care of me over at CarMax when he worked there. He's honest and even told me that if the tech caused the damage (without a doubt) Mini will pay for it. I've never heard any service guy at any dealer use those words!

The cracking sound came from the thermostat housing, I'm sure when lifting the transmission up into the engine bay, the tech had to have hit it. The thermostat housing is less than an inch from the tranny case when fully mounted.

 

ah okay. Good MINI techs are hard to come by at dealerships. At least when I had my BMW it was much easier to know the SA and his tech so they hooked it up and took care of me. Not so much MINI....but glad they're gonna fix this for you. I hope there won't be any long term stress this might have caused on your engine.

 

I guess since it didn't overheat when running and coolant full in reservoir, I don't believe it overheated after shut off since the coolant went back into the cooling loop.

 

I don't believe it, the whole problem with my cooling system misbehaving was a $40 dollar reservoir cap! It wasn't holding pressure, dealer tech took one off another car in service and it solved the problem! Also the thermostat housing was replaced free of charge because of the crack damage even though it was operating normally! So relieved, still don't know what that metal ticking sound was though, it sounds similar to an engine cooling down over the course of a few hours. I used to hear that sound on my Japanese cars after turning off the engine, it would last hours.

 

Go back and see what I said to check (the cap) .

Glad it's sorted!

 

I must have overlooked the cap statement, I thought it was just a simple plastic cap when later I found that there's a metal diaphragm built-in to the cap to vent a very small amount of steam. I didn't know that, never in my life have I had a coolant reservoir cap or radiator cap go bad on me ever.

I would like to drive my Mini now and enjoy it for 50k without problems, I just need to get ALL of the burnt thin layer of carbon out of my combustion chambers without having to remove the head so I can drive in hot weather without pre-ignition on dry, low humidity 85+ degree days.

My Mini should be ready tomorrow, anyone recommend any procedure short of removing the head to clean ALL of the thin layer of carbon covering the outer half of my pistons? What's the most evasive chemical treatment for removal of carbon in combustion chambers?

BG 44K Fuel System Cleaner has done a LOT of cleanup immediately around the spark plugs, if I install a spark plug that would increase the heat in combustion chambers you would think it would remove more carbon with the added heat.

Feedback desperately needed!

 

Yes, not too many cap failures most of the time is the reservoir that has hairline cracks at the base, Which you would be low on coolant and see the drips near between the transmission and core support.

Glad you got it sorted.

 

I don't know how well it would get rid of all of the carbon, but how about a track day? Higher combustion temperatures under load tend to clean up some buildup, plus it may be a satisfying way to recover from the last few weeks.

Have you had the intake ports/valves cleaned of carbon buildup, that can also lead to the engine running less than optimum.

Have fun,
Mike