Greetings, I own a 2004 Mini cooper S model and recently have been having some mechanical issues. My Mini has started to overheat quite rapidly in matter of minutes and I'm trying to debunk what's the source of the issue. I took it too a local body shop and received an estimate which was sky rocket high. Their opinion was to completely replace my whole engine due to not being able to run a full engine diagnostics. Before the trouble I did notice some lag from the super charger. Basically either the water pump needs to be replaced or potentially some service work to the supercharger. There has been a loud rattling sound that comes from the area where the supercharger is located. The engine just overheats pretty quick and there isn't any check engine lights or warning lights that come on when the vehicle is turned on. Thoughts?

 

'local body shop'? A typo maybe? At any rate, you need to take it to an independent mini mechanic. From your description, could be a lot of different problems.

 

Yeah it's a mechanic shop that have certified mechanics that work on foreign autos. I paid for $3000 grand for my mini straight out and the estimate was written $5500. I've looking into local mini specific shops and the closet one nearby is flow mini in winston salem.

 

Flow Mini is a dealer $$$. Lots of Mini independents in your area. Do a google search on 'mini cooper repair winston salem' or -

https://www.minirepairshops.com/near/winston-salem-nc/

 

On the surface, sounds like it may be a bad super charger that also. and-or a broken the blower to water pump coupler.

And yea, stay away from body shops for mechanical work..!

Mike

 

 

I would suspect the water pump as the overheating problem. It's likely that your car never had the 100k service which includes supercharger oil change (this may be your noise). In order to make that change, the supercharger needs to be removed. That requires that you put the car in FESM (front end service mode) which includes a removal of the bumper, cooling system, alternator and water pump and various other parts. It's at that time that most replace the water pump since it's already removed from the car. There are a number of videos on YouTube (especially from ModMini) that take you through the steps necessary. It's quite a bit of work but nothing a reasonably competent shade-tree mechanic can't accomplish. Good luck.