2009, R56, N14. Just purchased car. It has some issues. I believe this car had a history of overheating. I want to rule out a cracked Engine Block. Where should I start looking?

 

What are the issues? Will it run? Maybe start with a compression check, followed by a cooling system pressure check. Those two checks should help you figure out the next steps.

I would find it hard to believe the block would crack without some other issue coming up first, but I'm not an expert.

 

The prior owner of this car did some interesting repairs

Coolant Pump outlet

pipe to Thermostat

 

WoW

 

Nik, I bought this car at the auction. I was allowed to run the car and do a cursory inspection. It ran great at idle, revved nicely and ran good at higher RPM. On the way home it overheated (of course). After I stopped crying and the car cooled off I changed the oil (which turned black from burning up) ran the car again to get it up to operating temperature and did a compression check. All the cylinders were between 128 - 142 PSI. I did some intel on the car by taking the VIN to the only MINI Dealer in the area and got a print-out. The car needs a "Gasket, Cylinder Head Cover - Replace" I'm assuming that means a Head Gasket, "Replace Vacuum Pump," "Seal, Crankshaft (Front), Replace", "Coolant pipe between Thermostat and Water Pump," "Pump, Coolant - Replace,"

Somebody attempted to glue the coolant pipe into the Coolant Pump see photos... Hence overheating....

I've got the engine out of the car and plan to pull the head and have it gone through, swap the Coolant Pump, Vacuum Pump, Drive Belt, Timing Chain (plastic guide has chunks missing, probably in crank case or oil pump sump screen, we'll see), Reseal the Crank, Replace Cylinder Head Gasket.

I'm just worried about the viability of the Engine Block; hope it's not cracked. I'm in the process of inspecting the block but don't really know what to look for other than the obvious. I did look at the freeze plugs, they're okay....

Something I really need are detailed, step-by-step instructions (not Eric the Car Guy on YouTube) on how to remove and replace Cylinder Head, Timing Chain, and some of the other stuff I need to do...

Thanks for your time,
Jeff

 

Dude that sucks, I did that crossover pipe install myself, might have taken a few hours, but wasn’t too bad. Send me a pm with your email address, you’ll thank me once you get the email.

 

My interpretation is "Gasket, Cylinder Head Cover" would be the valve cover gasket, not head gasket. But, if you already have the head off...

Make sure you get all new bolts for everything you remove from the head and timing chain, including crank bolt, cam bolts, etc. All those are torque-to-yield for single use.

Check your PM inbox...

 

Will do. Appreciated.
Jeff

 

Most repair procedures can be found in the latest version of the Bentley Service Manual. Not a lot of info on engine or tranny internals --- pistons, rods, etc, but head removal and torque sequence / specs are there.

If new to Mini's and you're a DIY'r, you'll need an illustrated parts list --- https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/select

BMW has a few of the common repair procedures here --- https://bmwrepairguide.com/category/mini-r56/ if N14 isn't mentioned in the title (timing chain replacement), any differences are usually pretty easy to figure out.

Have fun ---

 

Thanks Jason, Nik & "oldbrokenwind"
You really opened some doors for me today. I was really concerned about my chances of success getting my car back on the road. These resources are fantastic and exactly what I need. So glad I found North American Motoring- I was recommended to come here by Mini Mania.
Gratefully,
Jeff

 

Hello Everyone,

I'm Jeff, the guy who started this "Cracked Engine Block" thread.... Since I purchased my 2009 Cooper S (in September, 2021) I've had the engine out, on a stand, replaced both crank seals, oil pump, vacuum pump, thermostat housing, oil filter housing, coolant crossover tube, water pump, alternator, tensioner, belt, timing chain "cassette," flywheel, crank sprocket, cylinder head cover and 20 or 30 other parts that just don't come to mind. Right after I yanked the engine I decided to get the cylinder head overhauled by a guy here in Tucson (Joe, Tucson Cylinder Head Service.) He replaced the valve stems, cleaned up the head said he pressure checked the head and (after he relieved me of around $500) returned to me a gleaming and beautiful cylinder head. I reassembled the engine and... long story short, the car ran like ****. So, I towed the car up to the Penske Mini dealership in Tempe, AZ. They identified a leaking valve (in the closed position) failing compression check numbers and failing leak-down numbers and told me the head was f----d. So, a year and a couple months later i'm at the final stages of pulling said head and one of the head bolts is blocked by the VANOS solenoid. Pulling the VANOS solenoid was VERY difficult. It took a pry bar to get it off the head. After i finally got the damn thing out I inspected it and found the filaments contaminated with grit. The grit was causing the VANOS solenoid to seize in position. What happened is, Joe (Tucson Cylinder Head Service) media-blasted my head and never properly flushed out the grit. Moral of the story: NEVER sand blast your head! If you do, make damn sure it's flushed properly. My cylinder head is going to be fine, I've got it in a reputable machine shop now and the owner filled me in on what happened when the grit contaminated the VANOS solenoid.

Check your VANOS solenoid if your car is running rough, EVERYTHING ends up in that thing. Come to think of it, I'd better look at my oil filter (another SumBitch job). Good luck everybody.

Oh, By the way, Joe went out of business a couple months ago so i have no recourse other than to bad mouth him on this platform.

Jeff