One problem after the other

N

Nictrix

Elite
 Paisley
Never really liked the mini but now am starting to really hate it.
One thing after the other at the moment and am sitting on possibly 2 more issues.
Just had the oil leak fixed which was apparently some sort of crankcase plug??
Now have the engine management light on caused by the MAF sensor.
Cant get to the sensor as it is under the airbox and attached to the side of the intake manifold, can only see 2 torx screws and unsure where else it is held on.
Cant find ANY info online as all info shows a different airbox,maf layout from the one on our car. The other ones online show the MAF sensor clearly in a different location and it is easily accessible.
Looks like I may need to take the whole intake manifold off to access but some of these bolts are blind so not easy.
Other issue started today with coolant dripping from under the car.
No idea where it is coming from as there doesnt appear to be any leaks from any of the pipes and the rad is dry on the outside with no wet patches anywhere. There is some water on the top of the gearbox to the side of the engine under the thermostat housing but doesnt appear to be coming from there.
Hope its not the head gasket thats gone but with my luck it probably will be.
Could the coolant loss in the engine bay trigger the fault with the MAF sensor?
 
I think your referring to the MAP sensor thats on the side of the manifold.
If so you can get them off in situ,they are fiddly but they can be done.

As for coolant leak,water pump isnt uncommon on the mini....

Not the condensation from AC causing a puddle ?
 
Thanks for this, I have obviously been looking on the net for the wrong thing.
Do you know how many bolts holds this sensor in place?
I can clearly see 2 torx bolts but with these loosened it feels like its still tightly held in place.

There was too much water for it to be from the aircon, also it hasnt been switched on for a while and the coolant level dropped.
Is the waterpump near the thermostat housing as this might make sense where the water might be coming from.
 
Yea.... front of engine so against the OS inner wing..
The pump can be accessed under the wing with the wheel off and the inner wing panel out of way.

The MAF sensor has 2 bolys holding it,they can be quite tight on the seal..
 
coolant leak will be thermostat housing.its a plastic piece of s**t..........much like the rest of the mini , I dont understand why anyone buys a Mini, its no BMW...... a true triumph of marketing over engineering
 
A friends Mini developed a coolant leak and it was thermostat housing had a crack in it. At least the real Mini had a metal thermostat housing and about the only thing on the engine that was easy to get at :lol:
 
Looking at MAP sensors online it seems I was trying to take off the whole housing that the sensor is bolted to.
The housing has a flap inside it and it seemed quite dusty, I wouldnt mind taking it off and cleaning it out.
Those were the 2 torx screws that I could see.
Anybody know how to get the housing off the intake manifold?
Sorry in advance for asking on here but I am finding it difficult to find any info about this anywhere.
Still cant find any pics online that show this housing, seems it is different from the norm.
 
Finally found a pic of what I had been trying to take off, it was the throttle body, so not what I was looking for at all although it did look like it could do with a clean. Found a pic that shows 3 screws holding it on so no wonder it still seemed tight, I could only find 2.
Z4M2006, any chance you could tell me where on the manifold the map sensor is?
I have had the airbox off and the pipe down to the throttle body off which gave me quite good access to see most of the intake manifold but did not see any wires connecting to anything on the intake manifold.
Apologies for my ignorance with any of this, show me a bike and I can strip it with my eyes shut but under the bonnet of a car is quite confusing to me.
 
Just to finish this off, well done to all who guessed the thermostat housing, it was cracked and it seems (fingers crossed) thats what was causing the engine management light to come on.
 
Never rains but it pours.
All fixed for a few hours then the fan came on on start up followed by engine management light again.
Fan was on when cold off when hot. The sensor on the thermostat housing was swapped back to the original and the fan is now working as it should.
Then just a few miles after picking it up again the engine management light is back on.
Seems like its a lambda sensor this time.
Tune in next week for the next installment.
 
Z4M-2006 said:
I hope the next instalment starts with..........."For sale!"......
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I need to keep it for another 2 years...... if it lasts that long.
To be fair it has been a good car and has never let us down.
It also seems to be the problems we have had are mostly all common faults, so really should be prepared for them.
 
My understanding of them as a used buy out of warranty is along the lines of a Alfa Romeo
Can be fine for many years then with the first fault its a house of cards type scenario with one thing after another followed at some point with the inevitable "For Sale" sign Z4M-20006 suggests
I wouldnt want one in the household that wasn't factory warrantied :cry:
 
mr wilks said:
My understanding of them as a used buy out of warranty is along the lines of a Alfa Romeo
Can be fine for many years then with the first fault its a house of cards type scenario with one thing after another followed at some point with the inevitable "For Sale" sign Z4M-20006 suggests
I wouldnt want one in the household that wasn't factory warrantied :cry:
Click to expand...

I wouldn't want the S version with the turbo engine & direct injection but the na cooper doesn't suffer from the same maladies & seems to be a reliable car that's still fun to drive.
Regards
 
Smartbear said:
mr wilks said:
My understanding of them as a used buy out of warranty is along the lines of a Alfa Romeo
Can be fine for many years then with the first fault its a house of cards type scenario with one thing after another followed at some point with the inevitable "For Sale" sign Z4M-20006 suggests
I wouldnt want one in the household that wasn't factory warrantied :cry:
Click to expand...

I wouldn't want the S version with the turbo engine & direct injection but the na cooper doesn't suffer from the same maladies & seems to be a reliable car that's still fun to drive.
Regards
Click to expand...
Fingers crossed that's the case with the cooper...

only reason I've extended the DS3 warranty - engines worries :cry:
 
Just to finally draw a line under this, its finally fixed.
The engine management light kept coming on even after the lambda sensor was changed.
I left it with them over the break to get it sorted once and for all.
The garage got an auto electrician to look at it in case there was a problem somewhere with the wiring.
All they could find was a fault still with the lambda sensor.
The replacement sensor was replaced with a Bosch sensor and it seems to finally have cured the light on the dash and also lumpy running when cold.
Best part of all this, no charge.
No for sale sign hanging on it yet.
Hopefully see out the next 2 years with no more problems.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom