When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Stock Problems/IssuesDiscussions related to warranty related issues and repairs, or other problems with the OEM parts and software for MINI Clubman (R55), Cooper and Cooper S(R56), and Cabrio (R57).
I had recently noticed that my '10 MINI Clubman S (39K on the clock) was a tad low on coolant so I filled the overflow to the required level. I left it in the garage for about a week while we were out of town and when I pulled it out of the garage, I noticed a small pool of fluid that looked like it came from close to the front passenger tire.
I jacked it up and had a peek at the front of the block and there was a green drop of liquid hanging on a pulley near where the water pump is located. I was running short of time, so I put the car back on with the intention of researching this further.
I've watched a few DIY's on replacing the pump and it does seem to be a slight nuisance to access. Local MINI service department wants $780 to swap it out and a local indy quoted $585. Parts would cost approximately $200, but I read that it could take a few hours to the better part of a day to complete.
I have the Bentley manual and I don't recall it saying anything about removing motor mounts etc. to jack up the engine. But looking online, it seems that all the DIY's mention doing this. What is the best way to do it if I do decide to tackle it myself?
Before tearing into my baby, I would want to have definitive knowledge that the pump is going. Are there any other tests that I would need to do to find this out? Anything I should look for?
After reading through the DIY's on the ECS site, watching a few youtube videos on replacing the pump, I think I'm more comfortable with doing this myself. Thanks ECS for posting the links.
To get a better idea of what I am facing, I jacked the car up again and crawled back under to have a second look. I looked to see if there were any other areas that were leaking and all that I found was the weep hole on the pump dripping coolant. Once it starts leaking out the weep hole, generally how long do I have before the pump totally craps out?
What other sort of preventative maintenance should I do when I'm in the area?