Dear John
Since purchasing my Mini Cooper S R56 I have had problems from the word go!
It all started off with a horrible diesel like rattle at cold start up, the dealer replaced the cam tensioner under warrenty, this had no effect and the problem continued, however to replace this the high pressure cam driven fuel pump had to be removed/replaced, My second trip to the dealer was to have this replaced as it was leaking post cam tensioner replacement, at the same time I told the dealer the diesel rattle sound at cold start up was still there, BMW tech reps were called in, they said they had seen this on the early build R56 engines and to replace the engine. The engine was then replaced, everything was perfect, then after 1500 miles travelling down the motorway the radiator pipe worked its way off due to the mechanic not putting a clip back on the pipe, this led to the water exiting the engine, As I was under pressure for work purposses I had to continue my journey another 25 motorway miles, I made it to the destination where I was met by a BMW tech, they towed the car back to the dealer and gave me a courtesy car.
The dealership are now replacing the Head gasket, Plugs, Coil pack and putting the water system right.
My question is, will the cylinder head and upper bore area be ok or from your experience do you think it will have warped? Will the engine be ok after having the cylinder head gasket replaced as people have told me it will never be the same again, is this true??
Many Thanks in advance for your reply.
Dean
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 10/02/2008 at 17:53
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Knowingly driving on with no coolant will almost certainly put you outside of the warranty.
What was so important that you were prepared to trash the engine?
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If the head/block are warped, then the faces should be machined flat before re-assembly. Unless it's a cowboy outfit, it's standard practice to check for warped faces and to rectify where necessary.
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It covered by warrenty as it was the mech fault for leaving off the water pip clip, plus ive had soo much trouble with it as you can see from my post,
Had to attend a tech aircraft with 40 passengers waiting for me, it was either delay 40 passenger and send the bill onto the dealership or give it my best shot to get to the airport! In this day and age you dont expect a modern car to give so many problems and be so unreliable.
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25 miles with no water is a new engine - no question.
I'm amazed that it didn't seize solid.
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Im amazed it did 25 miles without water! Would have expected it to seize before 1 mile!
Complete new engine without doubt.
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OK thats a decent excuse - potential cost of failing to attend could be high - but its common to find people doing things like this because they didnt want to be late for the hairdresser etc.
I am surprised that they are going to cover it.
Was there any coolant left in ? I agree with the others - I would expect serious damage.
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The dealership said they have checked for warping and said its perfect, They filled the bores with petrol to see if any would weep past the pistons, the bores held the petrol which indicates there ok apparently.
It had a little bit of water in it, maybe a litre ar so. They have replaced the gasket, cylinder head bolts, spark plugs and coil pack as that had gone. And also currently carried out 2 oil changes, they intend to drop the oil again after a run once all work is complete. My only concerns now is the life expectancy of the engine as i intend to keep the car at least 5 years fingers crossed.
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Dean
They're just pulling the wool. If the pistons had picked up, it would have seized - you must have had fully synth oil in there. So just testing for piston leak-by is pointless and proves nothing.
Every component in the top of that engine needs replacing. All the gaskets, o-rings, pistons, electronic sensors, plastic manifolds, housings, cylinder head - everything. It's all been taken far beyond it's design temperature limits and thus is scrap.
This is only some old-tech Chrysler engine - not some triumph of BMW engine design that can stand being taken to red heat. [Or, coincidentally, an old Mini A-Series lump - which would have survived unscathed.]
They left the hose off and, despite the deliberate abuse, they would still lose a Small Claim for negligence; so they have no choice - a complete new engine with all the trimmings.
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Its the new BMW/PSA 1.6 Turbocharged unit, I see how it is when i get it back, if its not right it shall be going back, after all its all under 60,000 mile 3 yr warrenty.
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2006, 56 plate the R56 Cooper S model. Turbocharged not supercharged as was the R53
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We really should ask posters to put this info in the topic header......
Doesn't make any real difference though; it still needs another engine.
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Screwloose
What a brilliant idea. People could be easily persuaded and its no hardship is it ?? (Sarcasm not aimed at you but the majority of posters who can't follow the world's simplest request )
PUT THE ENGINE AND YEAR IN THE SUBJECT LINE OR ELSE !
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What a brilliant idea.
I agree. Perhaps we ought to consider posting a couple of sticky's, and also have a further mention to include year/engine details under the subject header when the question is being composed.
Somehow though, I have an inkling that most people will just ignore the request, so lets not bother with it. After all said and done, deletion is so much quicker and perhaps they won't notice their question is missing either.
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Wish I'd thought of that Dave - guess I'm out of the running now for the 2008 HJ Award for the
Best Idea.
Seriously though - Screwloose is bang on here, h contributes to most posts in Tech and without the engine year data - it can make it difficult.
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Leaving sarcasm aside, can't we just have drop-down lists or separate boxes for both engine size and year that need to be completed in order to post (like the make/model need to be)?
Or is that too much work/money for Mr Khoo?
Edited by mfarrow on 10/02/2008 at 18:07
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Or is that too much work/money for Mr Khoo?
Good idea - sorry about the sarcasm, it gets to you you know.
{tell me about it!}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 10/02/2008 at 20:58
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yeah except the OP DID include ALL that was necessary to identify the engine in his original post when he said:
"R56"
If you knew MINIs you'd know that meant the Second Gen car (and hence new BMW/Peugeot Engine).
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yeah except the OP DID include ALL that was necessary to identify the engine in his original post ....
The discussion wasn't so much about that. It was about failing to include the engine details and the year of manufacturer in the subject header.
Anyway, all in the past now (well it was)
DD.
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Sorry to the OP but I have to agree to this.
The mechanic was careless to leave things loose but knowing that the engine was overheating and to carry on driving is just plain stupid.
Let's hope the dealer doesnt get wind of your admission on this website or you will most likely end up with a bill for another new engine
Knowingly driving on with no coolant will almost certainly put you outside of the warranty.
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