I'm sitting in my car, it just overheated Boo hoo! But at least someone near by in my town has an unsecured wireless network! So at least I can post. Gotta love technology....

Matt

 

Isn't technology great!

Is it the MINI or the Mustang that's overheating?

 

It's down to a couple of possibilities (I"m at home now and have poked around...)

1) mystery coolant thief took some.... I doubt it, but it would be nice.
2) leak at a hose, small, but big enough to build up over time, and today I got lucky. This is possible... Couldn't tell in the rain in the dark.
3) Thermostat failed. Once again possible, but no way to tell until I get more into it.
4) Head gasket failed. I don't think so, but it sure would suck if that were it.

Anyway, right now I"m praying to the gods of Red-Line Synthetic that it kept most of the internals happy... It sure did get toasty...

Matt

 

Just had to replace the plastic coolant overflow. Car overheated at idle speeds but cooled to operating temps above 20mph. Also some fuse lines to the power steering pump needed work. MINI would vomit coolant on to the engine. Get it to your MINI dealer now! LEE

 

but it overheated at 40 MPH on a cold rainy night. And it's got 78,000 miles. So no Mini dealer is in its future. Unless it gets real ugly, I'm my own mechanic.

Bummer is I moved the mustang into the center of the garage to get ready for a largish job, and it's dash is all over the front seats... And the wiring isn't in one piece... And it's raining... And I have work to do tomorrow....

Grrrrr....

 

Hope you get it fixed soon, I'm sure you'll fugure it out before any of us can jump in on it.

 

well, the car runs fine, I think.... Tested the thermostat today, worked just fine....

Hoping it's a small leak on the OUTSIDE of the motor....

Matt

 

Well, this post says something. Nothing will stand in the way of a dedicated NAMer, not even sitting in his own overheating MINI.

 

I don't know if I missed something in this thread, I thought the Doc said his MINI overheated.
Why is this in OT/Autos?

 

 

I was torn where to post...

Mini overheating? Under the Bonnet?
Modded Mini overheating? Perfomance: Drivetrain?
Wireless Access? Off Topic?
Waiting for AAA? Off Topic: Autos?

I finally settled on the most significant content of my post was that while my evening had been pretty screwed, at least I could post (off topic!) from my car (off topic:autos!). So there you have it. One particular journey down a twisted mental path, on a subject that has absolutely no significance at all.

Like I said, I had time on my hands...

Matt

 

Well if you had posted this thread title anywhere else here, everyone would have just thought you picked up a new JCW part!

 

hey doc... just an FYI....

you should prolly check yer head bolts.... they tend to lift from over heating... just re TQ them... no biggie really... just time consuming.... and a nice little insurance policy...


cheers!

 

and sorry for the crappy pun.....

FWIW, the car is running with little to show for the ordeal. Now I just have to find the slow coolant leak and carry some water around (and maybe torque the head down again!)

Well, there goes the weekend.....

Matt

 

Just an FYI for those curious about trouble shooting an overheat issue http://www.troubleshooters.com/tprom...g_systems_work

I know someone who had an overheat issue on a MCS and the coolant system passed the pressure test; it turns out it was a hole in the radiator.

Here are a couple of places to look for hose leaks https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=66342

I haven’t had an overheat but yesterday I replaced a faulty surge tank cap that allowed small amounts of coolant to blow past at high rpm. The new cap has a different seal than 02 builds.

 

Most likely culprit in early MINIs is the power steering fan. MINI had an issue for a number of years where the power steering fan would get jammed up with road debris ( it is on the bottom of the engine bay facing down ). When the power steering fan fails, the radiator fan fails because it is on the same circuit. There's a five amp fuse under the hood that will be blown if this is true ( I think it's five amp ). For some reason whatever happens to the power steering fan causes the fuse to blow again . MINI has a campaign that separates the circuits for the two fans, dunno if they'll do it for you. You can repair the power steering fan yourself if you like too. This all happened to me, and it's happened to a lot of people, so that's my armchair diagnosis!

 

but thanks for the suggestion.

The radiator fan works fine, and shut off when the car had cooled.

FWIW, you can montor the car temp very accurately... Instead of using function21 in the on board computer reset procedure, use function 7. The first one is engine temp in degrees C.

Matt

 

I found that my EGT probe had self destructed, so some of the high EGTs I'd seen in the driveway were fake.... I took off the valve cover and checked the headbolts, but what's a good torque for a bolt that's spec'ed at "90 degrees PAST 30 ft-lbs"? I learned that yanking the cover off is fast and easy... Maybe time to try some of those spraypaints for plastics? Also found that one of my header collector to cat-back bolts was gone. Good thing the other is corroded! But it explains the exhaust sounds I've been having.

But I ran out of time today (work and a birthday for a niece) to change the oil, do some other misc stuff, and go for the test drive. When I have a good chunk of time, I'll pull the MFE out and dig into the hoses by the water pump. I'm guessing that's where it would be because that's the hardest place to fix a leak!

Matt

 

The first rule of troubleshooting is return to the last thing messed with. It may very well be the water pump if the last thing you did in the coolant system was remove the supercharger with water pump attached. The o-ring at the block is notorious for leaks. If that’s the case be sure to use a new one and replace the inner (second) o-ring as well. A little K-Y on the outside of the water pump’s o-ring before insertion will help prevent the o-ring from rolling back.

 

55ft lbs

 

I can vouch for this too. I had that o-ring go earlier this year on my stock MCS and it was replaced under warranty. The symptom was a slow leak after the car shut down, leaving a small puddle under the car. It slowly got worse as the weeks/months went by.

 

I did the normal clean the o-ring groove, smooth the mating surface etc... But that spot had me worried... I was hoping to find something closer to the surface though......

Today was a mixed bag. Got most of the oil change all done, despite getting a consulting call (Yea! I can buy more car parts!). That is until I heard a trickle! I'd forgotten to put the drain plug back in! Say goodbye to 5 quarts of Red-Line. Ouch! At least I'd left the drain pan in place.....

Some times I'm just an idiot. At list my bill for todays work to my client will make the $30+ to replace the oil easier to pay.....

Matt

 

Been there, done that!! Not with the MINI, though.
Jim

 

Ouch. That a bugger! Probably the most expensive diy oil flush ever...

 

Those $7.50 internet special quarts by the case juse ended up being about $12 each as I only used 7 of the 12 for lubrication......

Oh well, if that's the least of my problems life has been kind...

Matt