23 replies to this topic

[frownies]

I bought this min recently.....And was planning to drive it from London to Kent on Saturday AFTER my local garage didi the following work..

Replaced water pump
Replaced alternator belt
New rad cap
New thermostat

As having had it for a short time there was a silly amount of water and steam coming form the overflow pipe and the rad cap was almost busting off....

Picked up from garage on sat.....parted with £275....got as far as claphma from camden....mini overheating on dial and exactly the same symptoms...Almost seriously maimed myself when rad cap blew off too.....

Now back with mechanic and he is saying cylinder heads might need 'skimming'? Don't totally blame him for not fixing as mini really needed driving before prob occured even though he had engine on for two hours at workshop it would not overheat unless driven...

Can anyone tell me what they think is wrong.....and will I be looking at a big bill.....Mechanic used to race minis so should he know the score? or now I have taken it back and he has seen overheating first hand instead of me describing it first time is it possible he will now fix it?????? Bills are mounting up for an £1800 car!!!! Help much appreciated...THANKS[font=Arial][size=2][size=4]

[Big_Adam]

i'd pop the thermo stat out and drive it. just in case the wrong temp one's been put in. also check theres not too much coolent in the rad. should just voer the wire bridge in the rad.

apart from that i got no idea. my 998 El gordo with screwed rad only ever gets toasty when i go flat out.

maybe the rads blocked?

wait till someone else smarter than me pops up. they'll help better than me.

Edited by Big_Adam, 10 September 2006 - 04:48 PM.

[frownies]

bought this min recently.....And was planning to drive it from London to Kent on Saturday AFTER my local garage didi the following work..

Replaced water pump
Replaced alternator belt
New rad cap
New thermostat

As having had it for a short time there was a silly amount of water and steam coming from the overflow pipe and the rad cap was almost busting off....

Picked up from garage on sat.....parted with £275....got as far as clapham from camden....mini overheating on dial and exactly the same symptoms...Almost seriously maimed myself when rad cap blew off too.....

Now back with mechanic and he is saying cylinder heads might need 'skimming'? Don't totally blame him for not fixing as mini really needed driving before prob occured/manifested itself even though he had engine on for two hours at workshop it would not overheat unless driven...

Can anyone tell me what they think is wrong.....and will I be looking at a big bill.....Mechanic used to race minis so should he know the score? or now I have taken it back and he has seen overheating first hand instead of me describing it first time is it possible he will now fix it?????? Bills are mounting up for an £1800 car!!!! Help much appreciated...THANKS

[bert998]

I had my head skimmed for £25, plus add another £5-10 for a head gasket

[Jordie]

blockage somewhere. Has the mechanic or yourself tried flushing the system

A tip we mini drivers used in summer was to use the heater. This acts as a extra radiator and can help in slow traffic. Open ya windows tho, or you will roast hehe.

It could be the head gasket or head, building up the pressure i suppose. Not really sure how the cooling system works to be honest.

[ANDY J]

garage didi the following work..

Replaced water pump
Replaced alternator belt
New rad cap
New thermostat

As having had it for a short time there was a silly amount of water and steam coming from the overflow pipe and the rad cap was almost busting off....

Picked up from garage on sat.....parted with £275.


> > REPLY


hi so let me get this right you paid £275 for a water pump(£20)a fan belt(£5)a rad cap(£7)and a thermostat (£4)
oh and sorry fitted (£239) id take it back and tell him he forgot to do the head gasket and then you will have change
im really sorry to say but sounds like you got ripped off

as for your prob with it over heating it sounds like the head gasket has gone a good skim new gaskets and it should be fine TAKE IT SOMEWHERE ELSE

[Jammy]

Merged your topics together. Please don't double post. It makes it very difficult for people to keep track of your problem!

Your problem could be caused by a number of things.

Since the rad cap is almost blowing off it suggests it is actually overheating which rules out a fauly sensor/sender or guage.

As far as I believe it, the cooling system should not be pressurised. Suggests it might be a blown head gasket or worse. However, first make sure the mechanic has put the right rad cap on, for a '91 I believe you should have a vented rad cap, but I'd like one of the Docs to confirm this.

Other causes of overheating:
Airlock
Blockage
Timing out
Running lean

I'd check the above four things before have the head off, gasket replaced and head skimmed (probably cost you ~£200).

And yes, £275 for the above work seems quite pricey. Going on a £50/hour labour charge. The parts should have cost about £60. It doesn't take anywhere near 4 hours to replace those parts!

Edit: You should also make sure the thermostat has been put in the right way up.
Even if it was the wrong one it shouldn't cause you engine to overheat. Don't run the engine without a thermostat as Big Adam says, you need a blanking sleeve to ensure the correct amount of coolant flows around the engine.

[Purple Tom]

If there is pressure in the cooling system then I would almost 100% say headgasket.

Sounds like its gone between a waterway and a cylinder, hence the pressurisation of the cooling system - are you loosing power at all? Is there any white smoke (steam) coming out the exhaust?

[frownies]

If there is pressure in the cooling system then I would almost 100% say headgasket.

Sounds like its gone between a waterway and a cylinder, hence the pressurisation of the cooling system - are you loosing power at all? Is there any white smoke (steam) coming out the exhaust?

No Steam from exhaust that I can see but loads from rad overflow pipe...

[Jammy]

Whats it like to drive? Any power loss? Sluggish? Is it fine along a straight but struggles up hills?

[frownies]

Whats it like to drive? Any power loss? Sluggish? Is it fine along a straight but struggles up hills?

Fine to drive, hills fine and no loss of power that I can see..It is an auto and seems good apart from this problem...Hopefully a head gasket replacement and skimming will fix it? If the mechanic knows mini's (I am a new mini owner) I would hope it would be bread and butter for him?

[Jammy]

If theres no power loss and it runs fine I very much doubt its a head problem. Running fine tends to pretty much rule out it running lean or timing issues!

I'd look more at an airlock or blockage.

If it was me and that guy had charged me £275 for that work carried out I wouldn't be taking my mini back there!

[nev_payne]

I concur - DO NOT RETURN TO GARAGE!

Have a skim through the yellow pages and see if anyone in your area is either mini specialist or classic car related. Then GET A QUOTE - if they quote you then thats what you pay them - nothing more.

[minislapper]

Why is everyone still going on about getting the head skimmed?

The overheating could be any number of things.

Following on from Jammy's comment above......If they've fitted the new pump etc, are you certain that they've bled the system properly? There could be an air lock in the system, it could have the wrong rad cap fitted, the parts might not have been fitted properly.....the list goes on.

Personally, I would find a mini friendly garage and take it there. I think you've definitely been ripped off by the other garage.

[Dan]

The cooling system should indeed be pressuirised, that's how it avoids boiling. It can run up to 18 psi on most Minis, that's quite enough to blow the cap off if you turn it and to blow steam out of the overflow. Even if the gasket has gone, skimming it as a matter of course is an over reaction by someone who has learned his trade on alloy headed cars and certainly not Minis. Cast iron heads rarely warp as a result of overheating and sometimes a gasket fails for no other reason than it's age. Certainly get the head measured for flatness but to assume it will need skimming anyway is a great way to skim your wallet. It could be the head gasket but it might not. As above, if you can't do this yourself then find a Mini friendly garage who can. The cooling system needs stripping down and reassembly. Is the fan on the right way around?