View Full Version : coolant problem again
djlow1969
1st March 2014, 03:52 PM
hi think i need some help after the car going in to bmw garage to get a compression test done 189 psi -200 psi all was ok was coming back from Dundee yesterday and the temp sign came on again yellow and then red so pulled over and let it cool down then opened the expansion bottle and there was antifreeze in it and the fan was running to cool the engine down so topped up and continued on my way home just to say there was no water any where heater works as it should just to hear that gonk is getting on my nerves as i no it is something to do with the heateing i have just about had it and i am thinking of returning the car back to the dealers as i can not go far with out the hearing the gonk going off hope to hear from you soon david
jdl_1967
1st March 2014, 06:24 PM
Hi David,
Is your S an R53 or an R56?
I've had issues with my R53 JCW for over six months now, thankfully just in the process of getting it mended now.
It was losing coolant which worsened over time and eventually started to find its way into my oil.
Prior to finding coolant in my oil, I changed the expansion bottle (slight leak), the cap twice (one wasn't holding pressure and one just to be sure), the radiator fan (resistor gone), the thermostat, the thermostat housing and the heat exchanger / oil cooler.
It never overheated, ran perfectly with no loss of power and there was no steam from the exhaust. It was pressure tested 3 times by a local garage with absolutely no loss in pressure after hours of being left on the test kit.
Only when it was stripped down was a cracked head found, so a reconditioned JCW head was purchased.
There is quite a lot of information online that points towards cracked heads being more common than blown head gaskets on the R53.
If it's an R53, do you know how to access the on board diagnostic function through the dash? It can provide the exact temperature your car is running at.
I'd shy away from driving if it appears to be overheating.
John
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EcosseGP
1st March 2014, 06:24 PM
Yeah think you should get it back to the dealer. I'm sure you'll hear from John on here who had the sane issue with his MINI losing water without a leak. It turned out to be a cracked head and in getting repaired as I type it up. The car will be back better than ever no doubt but I'd get it checked sooner rather than later ...
EcosseGP
1st March 2014, 06:25 PM
^^ ah as if by magic John appeared ;)
jonnie
1st March 2014, 07:21 PM
If it's an R53, do you know how to access the on board diagnostic function through the dash? It can provide the exact temperature your car is running at.
How do you do this?
jdl_1967
1st March 2014, 07:29 PM
1. Ignition off
2. Press and hold trip reset button
3. Switch on ignition
4. Release the trip reset button
5. Press trip reset button until '19' illuminates where the trip counter / odometer is
6. After a couple of seconds it will flash 'on' 'off'
7. Press the trip reset button when it shows 'off'
8. Press the trip reset button until you get to number '7'
9. Start the car
10. It will now show the water temp in degrees C until the car is switched off
I used this continually to monitor my temp when I was having issues
Thermostat open at 94 ish
Thermostat closes at 89 ish
Low speed fan comes on at 106
High speed fan comes on at 112
Temp should not spike when you accelerate
Full details of all diagnostic functions below:
http://new.minimania.com/ECU_Reset_Procedure___R50_52_53_MINIs
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jonnie
1st March 2014, 07:48 PM
thanks jdl_1967.
mini mad andy
1st March 2014, 08:13 PM
Hi,
Don't quite understand, you said there was antifreeze in the expansion tank but you also said you topped it up, presume it was only a small amount of coolant you added.
When you had the pipe replaced about a week ago when they were replacing the coolant did they bleed the air out the engine properly? You shoud maybe try opening the bleed valve and see if air comes out of it.
It might be worth getting the thermostat checked as if it is not working properly it could be restricting the coolant flow, also worth getting the temp. sensor checked to make sure it is not giving a false reading.
The compression sounds ok, if anything a bit high but as John says above it could be a head gasket / crack issue but it might be worth checking everything else out first.
Andy
badwolf340
1st March 2014, 08:48 PM
couple of things you need to clear up....is the car using water ? is there any mixing of water and oil ?are you checking water level when cold or just when you get a warning on the dash ?
If its using water there must be a reason leak /crack/failure of part or maybe if not using water (loss) a failure of a sensor/elec fault.If following a logical route you will find the answer.
jdl_1967
1st March 2014, 08:50 PM
The compression sounds ok, if anything a bit high but as John says above it could be a head gasket / crack issue but it might be worth checking everything else out first.
Andy
As Andy says, start with the easy / cheaper things first.
R53s can be a pain to bleed.
There's also a bleed bolt on the side of the head just behind the thermostat housing that's difficult to see and even harder to reach. Long extension bit on a socket needed, it's brass coloured and can be seen glinting with a torch.
If the thermostat housing is leaking you may see coolant running down the bell housing towards the bulkhead just near to where the bell housing joins the block. It drys quickly if the engine is hot, so you need to look as the engine is running. It may only leak when you're at operating temperature too, i.e once the thermostat housing has expanded / twisted etc due to the heat.
I have a thermostat housing you can have for free if you need one. I changed mine in desperation even though there was no evidence it was leaking.
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djlow1969
1st March 2014, 09:43 PM
hi John my car is a r56 08 plate with 63000 miles
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hi there to answer your question badwolf340 the car is not using water,there is no mixing of water and oil,check when cold it only losses water when I stop and undo the cap but there is a lot of pressure here too
badwolf340
1st March 2014, 09:55 PM
hi John my car is a r56 08 plate with 63000 miles
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hi there to answer your question badwolf340 the car is not using water,there is no mixing of water and oil,check when cold it only losses water when I stop and undo the cap but there is a lot of pressure here too
high pressure would make you think head gasket ,but you have had that tested but have you had the water sniffed ?( traces of combustion gasses) or it may be a cracked head which others have spoken of ,and may get worse the more you drive car :sad: Is the heater giving out hot air or not ,as others have said ,has it been bled properly ?
djlow1969
1st March 2014, 10:05 PM
heater is working as it should hot and cold air coming out ,,,how would you bleed it as I would have thought the garage would have done that when it was in the first time as the flushed out and added new antifreeze will have a sniff in the morning
badwolf340
1st March 2014, 10:10 PM
heater is working as it should hot and cold air coming out ,,,how would you bleed it as I would have thought the garage would have done that when it was in the first time as the flushed out and added new antifreeze will have a sniff in the morning
sniff test is carried out by garage with the correct testing gear but in essence a mechanical probe sniffing the water
jdl_1967
1st March 2014, 10:42 PM
Sniff test can just use an exhaust gas analyser used in MOTs etc. it will show if thee are hydrocarbons within the coolant.
I think excess pressure can be caused by many things, such as it's running too hot, the pressure release cap isn't functioning correctly, the head gasket has gone, the head is cracked, the coolant system is clogged or the thermostat isn't opening fully.
Even though I had a cracked head, it want over pressurising the cooling system.
A certain amount of pressure is absolutely correct, once your coolant passes 100 degrees (water's boiling point at sea level), if your system was not pressurised, it would boil over once it reached 100 degrees. Conversely, if you headed up a mountain, water will boil at considerably less than 100 degrees.
I can run my engine from cold with the heater on full and the expansion cap off and it never reaches more than about 87 degrees and also never boils over. After a run it's a different story, the system will be pressurised and I risk a scold if I open the expansion bottle too quickly even when the engine has been switched off.
Sadly it isn't always easy to diagnose what's causing such problems.
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djlow1969
2nd March 2014, 08:16 PM
did a check today with my mate car computer and it came up with a code saying p0597 which heads towards the thermostat sensor,housing but i was just wanting to know where the water goes too could be a leak in the matrix heater how knows,,,when you take the expansion bottle lid off slowly there is a lot of pressure there with boiling water hope to hear from you soon yours David
mini mad andy
2nd March 2014, 10:31 PM
The expansion bottle could be meant to be pressurised, somebody with the same model of Mini could confirm. If there is a pressurised cap on the radiator then there should not be any pressure in the expansion bottle but if the pressurised cap is on the expansion bottle then it will be pressurised.
I am still a bit confused as you said in an earlier post that it is not using water but in your last post you say there could be a leak in the heater matrix.
If the diagnostic equipment is flagging up a problem with the thermostat that is worth investigating, is it a sensor problem or the thermostat not working properly. If it is not opening properly it will reduce the flow of coolant through the radiator which would obviously cause overheating.
If the pressure is excessively high then as I mentioned earlier the coolant in the cylinder head might need bleeding as an air lock there would allow the coolant that is there to boil and this would increase the pressure. The garage should have bleed the coolant but possably they did not get rid of all the air.
There is also the possability as mentioned earlier that it could be a cracked cylinder head or leaking head gasket.
djlow1969
2nd March 2014, 11:59 PM
goggle P0597 mini code
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i am going to replace the thermosta and the sensor and see what this does failing that it is going back to the dealers as i can not take it any more
Sideways Steve
3rd March 2014, 12:17 PM
Where did you buy this car from dude ? You mentioned in one of my posts a while back it was paisley but there's not a dealer in paisley ?
I'm sure I saw this car for sale at a garage near the Linwood end of paisley ?
djlow1969
3rd March 2014, 05:58 PM
thats right mate Linwood Frank Gillmore garage
Sideways Steve
4th March 2014, 02:43 PM
thats right mate Linwood Frank Gillmore garage
Yeh I saw this car on their forecourt. Have you been taking it back to them for the rectification work or to another garage ?
djlow1969
4th March 2014, 06:32 PM
talking to another garage as i stay in stirling
djlow1969
5th March 2014, 07:17 PM
car just back from garage and all seems to be ok they fitted a thermosta housing, sencor and no dash lights coming on at the moment just back from edinburgh just for a short run and the check as the traffic is bad will update if anything happens if so the car is going back
stoney
5th March 2014, 09:41 PM
car just back from garage and all seems to be ok they fitted a thermosta housing, sencor and no dash lights coming on at the moment just back from edinburgh just for a short run and the check as the traffic is bad will update if anything happens if so the car is going back
Good news lets hope it's fixed now :)
P.s your belt line went in the post the day buddy been bogged down with work
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