Great video. I actually have 5 minis and help support a family members too. I am experiencing on two the low coolant temp situation and the family member has a high coolant temp. He recently replaced the thermostat with a new one and it brough the temp down from the red zone to approx. 220 - 226 degrees (he also replaced his friction wheel, an often overlooked critical part of the coolant system) and now he is going to replace his water pump and pully to bring the confidence back to 100% that is cooling system is working properly. On the my two with low coolant temps, I'm just going to replace the thermostat as I've already replaced the water pump and pully's on both of them. Thanks again for an amazing video.
Thank you very much for the tutorial .I saw a pool of coolant on top of the transmission thinking that was only the gasket , I only replaced it but It leaked again but,now I know how the thermostat works , I need to replace all the piece ,thanks again
I did a couple of videos on replacing the thermostat assembly and crossover tube ( the crossover tube was the worst). Going slow and taking your time helps. Good luck
Impressive sir...🎉 Could you tell me, how to access that spring. I'd like to reduce its stiffnes So more water can flow. I live in tropical city.. it reaches 40'c on sunny traffic
@@sf7760 the whole thermostat assembly housing is sealed or welded together. The spring can only be accessible by cutting it open which destroys the assembly. Not serviceable at all which is a shame.
Great video, wonder if you could assist me with something, at 3.32 in the video there is a gold colour what looks like valve on the outside of the underside of the thermostat (not the gold part the heater part slides into), and am guessing when u push the thermostat back down that its shown at 3.54 in the video from the other side. Do you remember if this moves when u tip the part up and down at all, or even better do u still have that thermostat there to test if that part moves ? Your help would be very much appreciated. TIA.
The thermostat appears to be a solid part that slides on the heater rod. There is nothing separate externally that moves. The only thing is the bypass which is a small bearing in a cage that wobbles around when I rotate the thermostat. The whole thermostat slides on the heater rod. I should have increased the x-ray image to see what the wax chamber inside the thermostat looks like. I’ll try that and if it looks interesting, I’ll post. Btw - my install of the new thermostat assemble (another video) failed just a little beyond its 2 year warranty. It failed completely open. Oh well better open than closed. Good luck.
That is odd. I remember my old thermostat would be stuck open and I would get an error cold that the engine could not get to temperature. The replacement was closed I remember. I wonder if it was heated, if it would open and then when it cools, it would close completely. I would return new part and get another one.
Hi!really appreciate your video,I have a question I have a problem with my wife’s 2011 mini cooper clubman,the fan doesn’t turn on when it’s up to temperature,but it turns on when I turn on the ac and that works to bring down the temperature of the engine,do you think it could be the thermostat?
I think the fan is usually controlled by the computer. When the computer sees the engine temp getting too high, it turns on the fan. When the AC is switched on, that automatically causes the fan to run because it needs air to flow over the evaporator or condenser coils. Use an OBD2 reader (see my other videos) to see what the engine temp the computer is seeing. I am guessing the coolant temp sensor is faulty or the connector to coolant temp sensor is bad (see my other video on replacing the connector). Good luck
@@mcmcminicooper you might be right about the coolant sensor being faulty cause when I remove the connector to the sensor while the car is on the fan turns on and won’t stop till I plug her back up,thank you
The bleed screw never worked for me. I counted the number of turns on my old part to know how far to back out the screw without it fall out, but still no coolant out the bleed valve. It turned out to be a big air pocket in the coolant pump so basically it was turning air and no coolant flow through the system. I bought a vacuum to pull out the air. Good luck
@@josuerivera1547 I don’t know the exact temperature but I believe it’s above 200F. Another thought is my replacement thermostat assembly was faulty where it wasn’t opening at the temperature thus no coolant from the bleed.
I think when you turn the heat setting inside on high, it sends a signal to a relay that applies 12V to heat the thermostat to open. I think this is why they tell you to turn the heat on when bleeding the air from cooling system. If the thermostat was closed, the air would be trapped when bleeding the system. Good luck
On the next thermostat housing replacement, i think i would drill some holes near the thermo gate to make my jcw run cooler, i want it to run below 90°C all the way rather than stay over a boiling water temperature. Whats your thoughts?
You may get an engine code because it is not getting up to temp. My thermostat was stuck open a little and the engine was running cooler. Thus I changed the thermostat assembly. The engine light would come on because it was never getting above 100C. Btw ECS makes a metal crossover tube which is a great improvement over the plastic version. I plan on doing a review on it.
We had a Hyundai that had a tstat failure under warranty. The thermostat module looked very similar. Now I get it. But… why? My theory is that, knowing they could save $ by casting this piece out of plastic vs aluminum, and knowing that the plastic is not as resistant to heat, they devised this way of opening the thermostat to extend the life of the plastic piece, as well as give more control (possibly for emissions?) over thermostat opening by going to the electrically heated piece. 🤔🙌
Emissions is probably one of the main reasons. I’m guessing the opening temperature set at 221F (a bit high) is another reason to improve emissions but hard on the engine and plastic parts in the long run.
Why you change the thermostat? I am facing the problem that my engine cooling is not happening when it request its taking time and my engine coolant temperature went to 115 degree centigrade to the reference value 98-105 degree . This problem created vapor in the cooling system that create pressure in the system. Its happen to you the same or there some else problem
I changed it because my thermostat was stuck open. Of the two, stuck open is better than stuck closed. I would get an error code saying that my engine wasn’t reaching temperature, engine running too cool. Sounds like Overheating and not opening fully or the impeller. That is other wacky thing about minis, the water pump or impeller is not always spinning. There is a mechanism that engages it to spin when needed which can go bad.
For me, my thermostat was not closing so I got an error code that the engine could not get to temperature (too cool). I imagine for others, it would be that your engine is overheating, but that could be caused a whole bunch of other things too, such as the impeller, the electronic gear that engages the impeller, or the radiator clogged. Sorry I could be better help. good luck
It's not like the old days where you can easily pull them out and drop it into boiling water to see when they open and close. You will need a OBDII reader to read you engine temperature. They should open around 120F and when they do, the temp reading will drop. You can also force the thermostat to open by turning on your car heater, which will heat the water at your thermostat and cause it to open. Good Luck!
Did I miss speak in the video? For this assembly there are two ways to open the thermostat, when the engine normally heats up the coolant or by the heater element which heats the coolant in the assembly. The heater element gets power when the cabin heat is turned on. At least that is the way I thought.
I replaced this part because it was leaking but temperature went from 95 avg to 105 c , any idea why? I tried bleeding the air from the bleeder screw but doesn't seem to work
I did a couple videos on when I replaced mine. II had an air bubble trapped in the system but that caused it go over 122C. I also noticed the same thing with the average temp. I previously had an average lower engine temp but after the change out, I now have an average higher temp. The thermostat is rated at 121c to open which I think is high. I am guessing my old thermostat didn’t make a great seal when closed but the new one does. Minis tend to run hot. I think they do think for emissions.
Thanks for the reply, I thought I connected the wrong hoses. was quite surprised when temperature actually rise with the new part, but I m more relieve.
Thanks for the reply, I thought I connected the wrong hoses. was quite surprised when temperature actually rise with the new part, but I m more relieve.
Thanks for the reply, I thought I connected the wrong hoses. was quite surprised when temperature actually rise with the new part, but I m more relieve.
Thanks for the reply, I thought I connected the wrong hoses. was quite surprised when temperature actually rise with the new part, but I m more relieve.
@@tm5346 yes, I replaced the crossover pipe. It was a pain in the butt, people suggested changing it too because it’s made of plastic and becomes brittle over time. See my Part 2 Install video
I purchased mine on Rockauto. There is a wide selection and it took me awhile to pick one. I finally picked FACET 78927K {#7.8927K} (Standard Replacement) Includes Thermostat, Housing and Gasket; Includes Cable Info W/CABLE. They sold me on the welding process they use. It seems to work fine. The thermostat opens a little later than I would like but appears to open at the 221F or 105C temperature which it is rated for.
For these thermostats in second gen R56 Minis, they are rated at 105C or 220F. Much higher than typical thermostats. No sure why, but guessing for these engines, they perform better with emmissions at higher temperatures.
@@mcmcminicooper Well this is comforting; theres no temp gauge and i had an issue with the cooling system. Ultimately, i got a BlueDriver Bluetooth sensor to keep an eye on it.. Watched to make sure the system kicks in consistently; which it does at 221~225°F and drops below 200°F~210°F(also depends on drive mode/sport mode). But its good to know how hot its supposed tobe.
Extremely cool x-ray view! Thanks for taking the time to post that.
Excellent videos! Wow and he explains so well! Unbelievable cool once again thank you !
Cool video. Very thorough and descriptive. Xray was awesome! Wish I had an x-ray machine. Thanks for the Video!
Great video. I actually have 5 minis and help support a family members too. I am experiencing on two the low coolant temp situation and the family member has a high coolant temp. He recently replaced the thermostat with a new one and it brough the temp down from the red zone to approx. 220 - 226 degrees (he also replaced his friction wheel, an often overlooked critical part of the coolant system) and now he is going to replace his water pump and pully to bring the confidence back to 100% that is cooling system is working properly. On the my two with low coolant temps, I'm just going to replace the thermostat as I've already replaced the water pump and pully's on both of them.
Thanks again for an amazing video.
I also replaced the thermostat assembly and did two videos - removal and install. Cross over pipe is a pain! Good luck!
Thank you very much for the tutorial .I saw a pool of coolant on top of the transmission thinking that was only the gasket , I only replaced it but It leaked again but,now I know how the thermostat works , I need to replace all the piece ,thanks again
I did a couple of videos on replacing the thermostat assembly and crossover tube ( the crossover tube was the worst). Going slow and taking your time helps. Good luck
Great video exactly what I was wandering.
Wow I am working on this right m now Thank you X ray was awesome
Excellent information - thank you! 👌🏻
Thanks for the great video very informative really helped me with my mini cooper r56 thermostat was acting up
Glad it helped
Impressive sir...🎉
Could you tell me, how to access that spring.
I'd like to reduce its stiffnes
So more water can flow.
I live in tropical city.. it reaches 40'c on sunny traffic
@@sf7760 the whole thermostat assembly housing is sealed or welded together. The spring can only be accessible by cutting it open which destroys the assembly. Not serviceable at all which is a shame.
Great video, wonder if you could assist me with something, at 3.32 in the video there is a gold colour what looks like valve on the outside of the underside of the thermostat (not the gold part the heater part slides into), and am guessing when u push the thermostat back down that its shown at 3.54 in the video from the other side. Do you remember if this moves when u tip the part up and down at all, or even better do u still have that thermostat there to test if that part moves ? Your help would be very much appreciated. TIA.
The thermostat appears to be a solid part that slides on the heater rod. There is nothing separate externally that moves. The only thing is the bypass which is a small bearing in a cage that wobbles around when I rotate the thermostat. The whole thermostat slides on the heater rod. I should have increased the x-ray image to see what the wax chamber inside the thermostat looks like. I’ll try that and if it looks interesting, I’ll post. Btw - my install of the new thermostat assemble (another video) failed just a little beyond its 2 year warranty. It failed completely open. Oh well better open than closed. Good luck.
How come the thermostat i bought is in open position just like the one im replacing ?did they give me bad thermostat?
That is odd. I remember my old thermostat would be stuck open and I would get an error cold that the engine could not get to temperature. The replacement was closed I remember. I wonder if it was heated, if it would open and then when it cools, it would close completely. I would return new part and get another one.
Hi!really appreciate your video,I have a question I have a problem with my wife’s 2011 mini cooper clubman,the fan doesn’t turn on when it’s up to temperature,but it turns on when I turn on the ac and that works to bring down the temperature of the engine,do you think it could be the thermostat?
I think the fan is usually controlled by the computer. When the computer sees the engine temp getting too high, it turns on the fan. When the AC is switched on, that automatically causes the fan to run because it needs air to flow over the evaporator or condenser coils. Use an OBD2 reader (see my other videos) to see what the engine temp the computer is seeing. I am guessing the coolant temp sensor is faulty or the connector to coolant temp sensor is bad (see my other video on replacing the connector). Good luck
@@mcmcminicooper you might be right about the coolant sensor being faulty cause when I remove the connector to the sensor while the car is on the fan turns on and won’t stop till I plug her back up,thank you
Hi! Just wishing myself luck on a reply. What if I am not recieving any coolant back through the bleed screw? What could be wrong?
The bleed screw never worked for me. I counted the number of turns on my old part to know how far to back out the screw without it fall out, but still no coolant out the bleed valve. It turned out to be a big air pocket in the coolant pump so basically it was turning air and no coolant flow through the system. I bought a vacuum to pull out the air. Good luck
Thanks ! I will try the screw again! Do you know what temps the first fan comes on? Mini cooper base 2009
@@josuerivera1547 I don’t know the exact temperature but I believe it’s above 200F. Another thought is my replacement thermostat assembly was faulty where it wasn’t opening at the temperature thus no coolant from the bleed.
Very cool x-Ray👍. So the 12v you apply to open the thermostat, is that directly from the battery?
I think when you turn the heat setting inside on high, it sends a signal to a relay that applies 12V to heat the thermostat to open. I think this is why they tell you to turn the heat on when bleeding the air from cooling system. If the thermostat was closed, the air would be trapped when bleeding the system. Good luck
On the next thermostat housing replacement, i think i would drill some holes near the thermo gate to make my jcw run cooler, i want it to run below 90°C all the way rather than stay over a boiling water temperature. Whats your thoughts?
You may get an engine code because it is not getting up to temp. My thermostat was stuck open a little and the engine was running cooler. Thus I changed the thermostat assembly. The engine light would come on because it was never getting above 100C. Btw ECS makes a metal crossover tube which is a great improvement over the plastic version. I plan on doing a review on it.
It's designed to run hot
We had a Hyundai that had a tstat failure under warranty. The thermostat module looked very similar. Now I get it. But… why? My theory is that, knowing they could save $ by casting this piece out of plastic vs aluminum, and knowing that the plastic is not as resistant to heat, they devised this way of opening the thermostat to extend the life of the plastic piece, as well as give more control (possibly for emissions?) over thermostat opening by going to the electrically heated piece. 🤔🙌
Emissions is probably one of the main reasons. I’m guessing the opening temperature set at 221F (a bit high) is another reason to improve emissions but hard on the engine and plastic parts in the long run.
That explains the P0597 code. It’s not my good temperature sensor, the problem is the Fricken HEATING ELEMENT!
Why you change the thermostat? I am facing the problem that my engine cooling is not happening when it request its taking time and my engine coolant temperature went to 115 degree centigrade to the reference value 98-105 degree . This problem created vapor in the cooling system that create pressure in the system. Its happen to you the same or there some else problem
I changed it because my thermostat was stuck open. Of the two, stuck open is better than stuck closed. I would get an error code saying that my engine wasn’t reaching temperature, engine running too cool. Sounds like Overheating and not opening fully or the impeller. That is other wacky thing about minis, the water pump or impeller is not always spinning. There is a mechanism that engages it to spin when needed which can go bad.
Pls how can I tell my Thermostat is bad?
For me, my thermostat was not closing so I got an error code that the engine could not get to temperature (too cool). I imagine for others, it would be that your engine is overheating, but that could be caused a whole bunch of other things too, such as the impeller, the electronic gear that engages the impeller, or the radiator clogged. Sorry I could be better help. good luck
How can I test thermostat This very type
It's not like the old days where you can easily pull them out and drop it into boiling water to see when they open and close. You will need a OBDII reader to read you engine temperature. They should open around 120F and when they do, the temp reading will drop. You can also force the thermostat to open by turning on your car heater, which will heat the water at your thermostat and cause it to open. Good Luck!
I thought the water temperature opened the thermostat
Did I miss speak in the video? For this assembly there are two ways to open the thermostat, when the engine normally heats up the coolant or by the heater element which heats the coolant in the assembly. The heater element gets power when the cabin heat is turned on. At least that is the way I thought.
I replaced this part because it was leaking but temperature went from 95 avg to 105 c , any idea why? I tried bleeding the air from the bleeder screw but doesn't seem to work
I did a couple videos on when I replaced mine. II had an air bubble trapped in the system but that caused it go over 122C. I also noticed the same thing with the average temp. I previously had an average lower engine temp but after the change out, I now have an average higher temp. The thermostat is rated at 121c to open which I think is high. I am guessing my old thermostat didn’t make a great seal when closed but the new one does. Minis tend to run hot. I think they do think for emissions.
Thanks for the reply, I thought I connected the wrong hoses. was quite surprised when temperature actually rise with the new part, but I m more relieve.
Thanks for the reply, I thought I connected the wrong hoses. was quite surprised when temperature actually rise with the new part, but I m more relieve.
Thanks for the reply, I thought I connected the wrong hoses. was quite surprised when temperature actually rise with the new part, but I m more relieve.
Thanks for the reply, I thought I connected the wrong hoses. was quite surprised when temperature actually rise with the new part, but I m more relieve.
Again qhy do they have to make the thermostat electronic..more problems..
Life with a Mini is never boring 😬
How long did it take you to fix ur mini
A couple hours I would think if not filming and if I didn't have to do the crossover pipe or know how to do it the first time.
Did you replace pipe also
@@tm5346 yes, I replaced the crossover pipe. It was a pain in the butt, people suggested changing it too because it’s made of plastic and becomes brittle over time. See my Part 2 Install video
What brand did you buy?
I purchased mine on Rockauto. There is a wide selection and it took me awhile to pick one. I finally picked FACET 78927K {#7.8927K} (Standard Replacement) Includes Thermostat, Housing and Gasket; Includes Cable Info W/CABLE. They sold me on the welding process they use. It seems to work fine. The thermostat opens a little later than I would like but appears to open at the 221F or 105C temperature which it is rated for.
Thank you
Excellent information! 🤞I’m doing it tomorrow? Any TIPS & Don’t!
What temp does the therm react?
For these thermostats in second gen R56 Minis, they are rated at 105C or 220F. Much higher than typical thermostats. No sure why, but guessing for these engines, they perform better with emmissions at higher temperatures.
@@mcmcminicooper
Well this is comforting; theres no temp gauge and i had an issue with the cooling system.
Ultimately, i got a BlueDriver Bluetooth sensor to keep an eye on it.. Watched to make sure the system kicks in consistently; which it does at 221~225°F and drops below 200°F~210°F(also depends on drive mode/sport mode). But its good to know how hot its supposed tobe.