Am I in for a big reapir cost? Possible coolant in the oil.
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Am I in for a big reapir cost? Possible coolant in the oil.
Hi all,
I have an R53 with 137K miles on it. Starting about 2 weeks ago, I noticed the fan was coming on full speed after parking the car. I always thought it was the AC or circling the parking structure to find a spot.
Three days ago, I was in a drive through and heard the fan running full speed again. Then I realized the temp gauge was all the way up and the red light was on. I immediately shut down the engine and waited for it to cool down (that's a difficult job when you're at a drive through) before driving back home. Once the engine was completely full, checked the coolant tank and it was completely empty. Filled it with water and drove it to work (~20 miles) next day. Before coming back home, checked the coolant tank and it was empty again! Took it to a local MINI mechanic and was told that it was the coolant expansion tank leaking at the seams. Got a new one installed (this is the 3rd one so far).
Today, after checking the oil level, I wanted to add some (have been doing it regularly) and saw a nice milky sludge under the oil fill cap. It's like goo in structure. Looking inside the engine through the oil fill hole, I can see that the side walls are also covered with this. Based on experience with some of the other cars I've owned, this looks like coolant in the oil, which could be from a blown head gasket or a cracked head.
After reading some threads here, it was suggested to start the car with the coolant cap open and see if there were air bubbles indicative of a blown head gasket. What I saw was (shown in the movie posted) drips from the top of the tank into the tank (if that makes sense). Are those the bubbles that everyone is referring to?
Just wanted to ask others' opinion as to what this could be while preparing myself for the repair cost. Any input is appreciated. Thanks!
I have an R53 with 137K miles on it. Starting about 2 weeks ago, I noticed the fan was coming on full speed after parking the car. I always thought it was the AC or circling the parking structure to find a spot.
Three days ago, I was in a drive through and heard the fan running full speed again. Then I realized the temp gauge was all the way up and the red light was on. I immediately shut down the engine and waited for it to cool down (that's a difficult job when you're at a drive through) before driving back home. Once the engine was completely full, checked the coolant tank and it was completely empty. Filled it with water and drove it to work (~20 miles) next day. Before coming back home, checked the coolant tank and it was empty again! Took it to a local MINI mechanic and was told that it was the coolant expansion tank leaking at the seams. Got a new one installed (this is the 3rd one so far).
Today, after checking the oil level, I wanted to add some (have been doing it regularly) and saw a nice milky sludge under the oil fill cap. It's like goo in structure. Looking inside the engine through the oil fill hole, I can see that the side walls are also covered with this. Based on experience with some of the other cars I've owned, this looks like coolant in the oil, which could be from a blown head gasket or a cracked head.
After reading some threads here, it was suggested to start the car with the coolant cap open and see if there were air bubbles indicative of a blown head gasket. What I saw was (shown in the movie posted) drips from the top of the tank into the tank (if that makes sense). Are those the bubbles that everyone is referring to?
Just wanted to ask others' opinion as to what this could be while preparing myself for the repair cost. Any input is appreciated. Thanks!