How To HOW TO: R56 - Thermostat Housing + Thermostat
#26
#27
#29
thank you for the points. Can you please explain a bit more on removing the ecu wiring. I see a housing and a bunch of clips. So do I just unclip them? I am asking as i am not getting a sense of direction on how to remove and how many wires to remove. If you can give a bit more details that will help me a lot. I will be attempting that soon.
thanks
thanks
Just did this myself. To flesh out some things that I would add as someone who hasn't done this serious a job on a MINI before (and to answer a question above):
1) The ECU harness cover is clipped on with lots of plastic clips. With these, as well as the sensors, etc., I found that dental pick was a great tool to hold down the keepers and pull off the connection. The hardest were the two round pegs that go from the wire cover to the top of the thermostat. It took some fiddling to get them to release, especially since you can't see underneath. I had to use my dental pick and some pulling and swearing.
2) For those of us without the Alta mods, the equivalent is removing the air intake and the filter box. Just takes a few screws and the box pulls out of its rubber mounts.
3) Note that the clip on the thermostat housing that goes into the tube on the back of the engine (under where the filter box goes) is a V shape. Just pull up on it with the pliers and it will pull right out.
4) If you don't have the special tool for the hose clamps a small pair of pliers with an angled head (like small water pipe pliers) comes in really handy.
5) Of course, you should drain the coolant before you do anything else. I found the best place is just under the front of the car where two hoses join.
1) The ECU harness cover is clipped on with lots of plastic clips. With these, as well as the sensors, etc., I found that dental pick was a great tool to hold down the keepers and pull off the connection. The hardest were the two round pegs that go from the wire cover to the top of the thermostat. It took some fiddling to get them to release, especially since you can't see underneath. I had to use my dental pick and some pulling and swearing.
2) For those of us without the Alta mods, the equivalent is removing the air intake and the filter box. Just takes a few screws and the box pulls out of its rubber mounts.
3) Note that the clip on the thermostat housing that goes into the tube on the back of the engine (under where the filter box goes) is a V shape. Just pull up on it with the pliers and it will pull right out.
4) If you don't have the special tool for the hose clamps a small pair of pliers with an angled head (like small water pipe pliers) comes in really handy.
5) Of course, you should drain the coolant before you do anything else. I found the best place is just under the front of the car where two hoses join.
#30
First, thanks to the OP who posted this. Very helpful. Just finished doing the job on my MCS this morning and all is good. Not necessarily a hard job, just a PITA.
@ sripavan: The wiring harness is covered with a plastic cover that has about 8 or 10 little clips holding it on. Honestly, I broke a few of them, but it clips back on and stays even if you break a few of them. The plastic it is made from is pretty brittle....it's there just to shield the wires from damage. In all, I think I unplugged 4 or 5 sensor plugs (including the two on the thermostat housing). There are two on the tube from the airbox to the turbo that need to be unplugged to get that hose off (on the MCS). There was another that I do not recall which one it was and then the two on the thermostat. I would suggest that you label each of them as you remove them (I used masking tape and a sharpie) so that they can all go back on in the correct place.
Once you remove the cover from the wiring harness, you will need to clip/cut 3 or 4 zip ties holding the wires into the "channel". After doing that, you can pull all the wires out (they stay pretty much together as a unit and just lift out. Once the wires are out of the way, the whole "channel" or harness holder lifts up. There are two little round feet that "plug" into the top of the thermostat housing and one slot that clips onto the engine lift point at the top. You'll have to release that clip to lift the "channel" out from under the wires.
It sounds complicated, but it's not. You'll figure it out.
One tip that I will add to this DIY is to feed the replacement zip ties through the wire "channel" before putting it back on the car. I didn't do that, but was able to feed two or three ties in which was enough to hold the harness firmly. Just something I would probably do differently next time....but there better not be a next time!!!!
@ sripavan: The wiring harness is covered with a plastic cover that has about 8 or 10 little clips holding it on. Honestly, I broke a few of them, but it clips back on and stays even if you break a few of them. The plastic it is made from is pretty brittle....it's there just to shield the wires from damage. In all, I think I unplugged 4 or 5 sensor plugs (including the two on the thermostat housing). There are two on the tube from the airbox to the turbo that need to be unplugged to get that hose off (on the MCS). There was another that I do not recall which one it was and then the two on the thermostat. I would suggest that you label each of them as you remove them (I used masking tape and a sharpie) so that they can all go back on in the correct place.
Once you remove the cover from the wiring harness, you will need to clip/cut 3 or 4 zip ties holding the wires into the "channel". After doing that, you can pull all the wires out (they stay pretty much together as a unit and just lift out. Once the wires are out of the way, the whole "channel" or harness holder lifts up. There are two little round feet that "plug" into the top of the thermostat housing and one slot that clips onto the engine lift point at the top. You'll have to release that clip to lift the "channel" out from under the wires.
It sounds complicated, but it's not. You'll figure it out.
One tip that I will add to this DIY is to feed the replacement zip ties through the wire "channel" before putting it back on the car. I didn't do that, but was able to feed two or three ties in which was enough to hold the harness firmly. Just something I would probably do differently next time....but there better not be a next time!!!!
#31
thanks a lot for the details fastlane. I started breaking a bunch of those tabs so decided to leave them as is and just move the housing up and down as needed. Your reply adds a lot of clarification.
other than that I ran into 2 more problems.
1) the small pipe that goes to the turbo charger, seems to be held by 2 clamps. Do I need to remove both?
2) the large hose that is in the back attaching to another hose beside the intake main fold was very hard for me to remove. I was able to lift the clamp partially away. However I think the bottom half of it was still inside the slot holding the pipe. Any idea on how to proceed.
thanks a lot in advance.
other than that I ran into 2 more problems.
1) the small pipe that goes to the turbo charger, seems to be held by 2 clamps. Do I need to remove both?
2) the large hose that is in the back attaching to another hose beside the intake main fold was very hard for me to remove. I was able to lift the clamp partially away. However I think the bottom half of it was still inside the slot holding the pipe. Any idea on how to proceed.
thanks a lot in advance.
#32
thanks a lot for the details fastlane. I started breaking a bunch of those tabs so decided to leave them as is and just move the housing up and down as needed. Your reply adds a lot of clarification.
other than that I ran into 2 more problems.
1) the small pipe that goes to the turbo charger, seems to be held by 2 clamps. Do I need to remove both?
2) the large hose that is in the back attaching to another hose beside the intake main fold was very hard for me to remove. I was able to lift the clamp partially away. However I think the bottom half of it was still inside the slot holding the pipe. Any idea on how to proceed.
thanks a lot in advance.
other than that I ran into 2 more problems.
1) the small pipe that goes to the turbo charger, seems to be held by 2 clamps. Do I need to remove both?
2) the large hose that is in the back attaching to another hose beside the intake main fold was very hard for me to remove. I was able to lift the clamp partially away. However I think the bottom half of it was still inside the slot holding the pipe. Any idea on how to proceed.
thanks a lot in advance.
The other pipe you speak of is the air supply tube that draws air in from a hole near the headlight. Once you disassemble the air box and loosen the lower portion and pull it up, you can use a screwdriver and pry the sections apart and pull them out. There are four tabs around the inside of the tube that lock it together. Just jam the screwdriver in there and pry in a couple of places and do lots of wiggling and pulling....your not likely to hurt this pipe too much. After the air box and the back half is out, pull the front half from the collar at the headlight and pull the other part of the tube out.
Be aware that the brake booster vacuum tube is attached to the air supply tube with a little clip near the airbox. You will need to unclip it before taking the large tube out. Also, I unhooked this vacuum line at the top of the engine and folded it out of the way during the repair. Just press the clip and pull up. This tube is the thin one that is on top of everything else on the engine once its all assembled.
Hope that helps.
Last edited by Fastlane; 12-24-2012 at 07:10 AM.
#33
sorry I was talking about the tubes that come from the thermostat housing. The very small tube in the front and the large one in the back that attaches to another tube.
Sorry if I wasn't clear.
thank you.
Sorry if I wasn't clear.
thank you.
The small pipe you refer to must be the PCV....it goes from the crankcase on the drivers side into the turbo intake pipe just as it enters the turbo. I left it attached to the larger hose and just removed the clip on the crankcase that holds it in. Just use a screwdriver and gently pry both sides of the clip up from the bottom and it comes off....and then the hose easily just pulls off from the crankcase. Then remove the large and small hose together as one piece.
The other pipe you speak of is the air supply tube that draws air in from a hole near the headlight. Once you disassemble the air box and loosen the lower portion and pull it up, you can use a screwdriver and pry the sections apart and pull them out. There are four tabs around the inside of the tube that lock it together. Just jam the screwdriver in there and pry in a couple of places and do lots of wiggling and pulling....your not likely to hurt this pipe too much. After the air box and the back half is out, pull the front half from the collar at the headlight and pull the other part of the tube out.
Be aware that the brake booster vacuum tube is attached to the air supply tube with a little clip near the airbox. You will need to unclip it before taking the large tube out. Also, I unhooked this vacuum line at the top of the engine and folded it out of the way during the repair. Just press the clip and pull up. This tube is the thin one that is on top of everything else on the engine once its all assembled.
Hope that helps.
The other pipe you speak of is the air supply tube that draws air in from a hole near the headlight. Once you disassemble the air box and loosen the lower portion and pull it up, you can use a screwdriver and pry the sections apart and pull them out. There are four tabs around the inside of the tube that lock it together. Just jam the screwdriver in there and pry in a couple of places and do lots of wiggling and pulling....your not likely to hurt this pipe too much. After the air box and the back half is out, pull the front half from the collar at the headlight and pull the other part of the tube out.
Be aware that the brake booster vacuum tube is attached to the air supply tube with a little clip near the airbox. You will need to unclip it before taking the large tube out. Also, I unhooked this vacuum line at the top of the engine and folded it out of the way during the repair. Just press the clip and pull up. This tube is the thin one that is on top of everything else on the engine once its all assembled.
Hope that helps.
#34
When i did mine, I removed all of the hoses except for the two that you are talking about. At that point, I pulled the clip from the rear tube (it pulls straight up, not back and up like you would think....so pull it kind of up and towards the engine/intake and it will come out all the way...use pliers). then, loosen pull the hos clamp on the end of the short hose that goes to the turbo on the thermostat side only....leave the hose attached to the turbo. Then, remove the three bolts holding the thermostat on and start wiggling. The pipe will come detached from the back and pull out and the hose going to the turbo will start to come off. From there, you should be good to go. When putting on the new thermostat, put the little turbo hose on on first and then push the pipe on in the back and start putting it all back together in reverse order. Tightening the thermostat bolts will draw the two rear rigid pipes together and you can then put the clip/pin back in.
As someone mentioned above, make sure the two hoses that cross over the transmission clear the shift linkage if you have a manual....otherwise you will saw right through a hose when you shift and that would be bad.
I've had to bleed the system fo air a few times recently and have gotten pretty good at it....what I do is (as recommended) turn the car on (not started), se the heat to high temp/low fan, and start pouring in coolant. Fill slowly until the level no longer drops. Then start the car and let run....fill as the level drops. When it levels off, put the cap on and let the car warm up. If the level drops too much, shut off the car and let it cool down, then refill to the line....replace cap and start the car back up and warm up. Repeat as needed. Then to bleed, when the car has warmed up, shut it off and let it sit for a few minutes....take a long flat blade screwdriver and turn the bleed screw (on the top of the thermostat) until either air or coolant escapes. You will need to turn the screw about three revolutions before it opens....don't turn it much past that, though, or the screw will fall out.....that would be bad.
I usually carry the screwdriver with me for a day or two so that I can bleed off the air after reaching my destination....two or three times and you will get all the air out and you will be good to go.
BTW - Merry Christmas!
#35
thank you so much for your time and writeup. I will attempt it again soon.
merry Christmas to you as well.
merry Christmas to you as well.
Oh, o.k....sorry about that. I misunderstood you. I undertand now.
When i did mine, I removed all of the hoses except for the two that you are talking about. At that point, I pulled the clip from the rear tube (it pulls straight up, not back and up like you would think....so pull it kind of up and towards the engine/intake and it will come out all the way...use pliers). then, loosen pull the hos clamp on the end of the short hose that goes to the turbo on the thermostat side only....leave the hose attached to the turbo. Then, remove the three bolts holding the thermostat on and start wiggling. The pipe will come detached from the back and pull out and the hose going to the turbo will start to come off. From there, you should be good to go. When putting on the new thermostat, put the little turbo hose on on first and then push the pipe on in the back and start putting it all back together in reverse order. Tightening the thermostat bolts will draw the two rear rigid pipes together and you can then put the clip/pin back in.
As someone mentioned above, make sure the two hoses that cross over the transmission clear the shift linkage if you have a manual....otherwise you will saw right through a hose when you shift and that would be bad.
I've had to bleed the system fo air a few times recently and have gotten pretty good at it....what I do is (as recommended) turn the car on (not started), se the heat to high temp/low fan, and start pouring in coolant. Fill slowly until the level no longer drops. Then start the car and let run....fill as the level drops. When it levels off, put the cap on and let the car warm up. If the level drops too much, shut off the car and let it cool down, then refill to the line....replace cap and start the car back up and warm up. Repeat as needed. Then to bleed, when the car has warmed up, shut it off and let it sit for a few minutes....take a long flat blade screwdriver and turn the bleed screw (on the top of the thermostat) until either air or coolant escapes. You will need to turn the screw about three revolutions before it opens....don't turn it much past that, though, or the screw will fall out.....that would be bad.
I usually carry the screwdriver with me for a day or two so that I can bleed off the air after reaching my destination....two or three times and you will get all the air out and you will be good to go.
BTW - Merry Christmas!
When i did mine, I removed all of the hoses except for the two that you are talking about. At that point, I pulled the clip from the rear tube (it pulls straight up, not back and up like you would think....so pull it kind of up and towards the engine/intake and it will come out all the way...use pliers). then, loosen pull the hos clamp on the end of the short hose that goes to the turbo on the thermostat side only....leave the hose attached to the turbo. Then, remove the three bolts holding the thermostat on and start wiggling. The pipe will come detached from the back and pull out and the hose going to the turbo will start to come off. From there, you should be good to go. When putting on the new thermostat, put the little turbo hose on on first and then push the pipe on in the back and start putting it all back together in reverse order. Tightening the thermostat bolts will draw the two rear rigid pipes together and you can then put the clip/pin back in.
As someone mentioned above, make sure the two hoses that cross over the transmission clear the shift linkage if you have a manual....otherwise you will saw right through a hose when you shift and that would be bad.
I've had to bleed the system fo air a few times recently and have gotten pretty good at it....what I do is (as recommended) turn the car on (not started), se the heat to high temp/low fan, and start pouring in coolant. Fill slowly until the level no longer drops. Then start the car and let run....fill as the level drops. When it levels off, put the cap on and let the car warm up. If the level drops too much, shut off the car and let it cool down, then refill to the line....replace cap and start the car back up and warm up. Repeat as needed. Then to bleed, when the car has warmed up, shut it off and let it sit for a few minutes....take a long flat blade screwdriver and turn the bleed screw (on the top of the thermostat) until either air or coolant escapes. You will need to turn the screw about three revolutions before it opens....don't turn it much past that, though, or the screw will fall out.....that would be bad.
I usually carry the screwdriver with me for a day or two so that I can bleed off the air after reaching my destination....two or three times and you will get all the air out and you will be good to go.
BTW - Merry Christmas!
#36
#37
#38
In my case(which is a leak from the thermostat housing) I had puddle arround the same area. I wasn't sure if it was one of the pipes carrying coolant into thermostat. Hence took it to the dealer who is about 30 mins drive and after determining its the thermostat housing, bought the part from him. He charged me around $50-$60 for diagnosis. But that gave me assurance what was causing the leak. Of course be sure to fill in coolant before taking it to the dealer.
#39
Mine was the thermostat and happened right after my water pump replacement just like you. Actually, they were probably both leaking at the same time and I just didn't realize it. I agree the leak was hard to track down....same place as yours. With the thermostat being plastic (and seem to have a high rate of failure/leakage), it's more than likely the culprit.
When I get home from work today, I'll find the place where I bought it and post. I found a good deal on one....around $80 shipped as I recall.
BTW, it was much easier to replace than the water pump....definitely a DIY job. Still a bit of a pain because of having to move wires out of the way, but still not terribly difficult.
When I get home from work today, I'll find the place where I bought it and post. I found a good deal on one....around $80 shipped as I recall.
BTW, it was much easier to replace than the water pump....definitely a DIY job. Still a bit of a pain because of having to move wires out of the way, but still not terribly difficult.
#40
I am going to take another good look at it this weekend, see if I can positively identify the Thermostat housing as the leak source. It does seem to be more towards the reear of engine. When you pulled the housing off, can you see it as cracked? I am sure that none of the hoses are leaking. I ran my hands over all of them and found no wet areas.
#41
I am going to take another good look at it this weekend, see if I can positively identify the Thermostat housing as the leak source. It does seem to be more towards the reear of engine. When you pulled the housing off, can you see it as cracked? I am sure that none of the hoses are leaking. I ran my hands over all of them and found no wet areas.
Once removed, it appears that mine was either seeping from under the gasket or (more likely) was seeping out of the top through the temp sensor....or both. There were signs of coolant on top and around the area of the sensor, so that's probably the area.....you can't really see the sensor very well until the housing is removed or things are moved out of the way. My thermostat housing was not cracked, btw.
After doing the thermostat replacement, no more leaks for me.
#42
I am going to take another good look at it this weekend, see if I can positively identify the Thermostat housing as the leak source. It does seem to be more towards the reear of engine. When you pulled the housing off, can you see it as cracked? I am sure that none of the hoses are leaking. I ran my hands over all of them and found no wet areas.
#43
I finally did the Thermostat housing swap. I was surprised about how it was easier than expected. Thanks to all the help on here. I would certainly rather do that than some of the other stuff I did on my own.
I was able to remove the housing and extract it with no movement of the wiring harness, itself. I did pull off the vacuum line to wastegate for a little extra room. This frees the harness carrier to slide vertical about 1 inch. I torqued the 3 bolts to 70 in/lb. on reinstall. I guess 3 hrs taking my time.
I changed the oil at same time, since I was right there, making a mess, anyway.
It looks to me that the root cause is the rubber gasket itself that seals the housing to the block. It was flat and had no life. It would be interesting to see what a tightening of bolts would do, if you had a leak, as it might just seal itself? I have 47K mi so now that i know what is going on, if I have a future issue might see how snug they are. They came right loose with a 1/4 drive small ratchet. The housing itself looks perfectly fine. Maybe a gasket and a thermostat would be good to go?
Another marginal part by BMW/Mini. Thanks for all the advice.
I was able to remove the housing and extract it with no movement of the wiring harness, itself. I did pull off the vacuum line to wastegate for a little extra room. This frees the harness carrier to slide vertical about 1 inch. I torqued the 3 bolts to 70 in/lb. on reinstall. I guess 3 hrs taking my time.
I changed the oil at same time, since I was right there, making a mess, anyway.
It looks to me that the root cause is the rubber gasket itself that seals the housing to the block. It was flat and had no life. It would be interesting to see what a tightening of bolts would do, if you had a leak, as it might just seal itself? I have 47K mi so now that i know what is going on, if I have a future issue might see how snug they are. They came right loose with a 1/4 drive small ratchet. The housing itself looks perfectly fine. Maybe a gasket and a thermostat would be good to go?
Another marginal part by BMW/Mini. Thanks for all the advice.
#44
Coolant other than Mini's
#45
This is a great thread , if it was not so cold out and dark when I get home from work , I may have attempted this myself .
My check engine light came on last week error code P112B on my R56 2007 S 53,000 miles . It turns out I have a coolant leak . I just had my local mechanic ( Bergen County NJ ) replace the thermostat housing ( jarvick 8 )
This is a very common failure , he said if you have a leak this is most likely the place, with 8 hoses going to it . Just for a price comparison he charged $114.58 for the the thermostat housing , 3.5 hours labor ($75) $262.50 , $23.80 Cooper Anti Freeze . Total $400.88 . So if you do it yourself you can save a couple of Benjamen's .
My check engine light came on last week error code P112B on my R56 2007 S 53,000 miles . It turns out I have a coolant leak . I just had my local mechanic ( Bergen County NJ ) replace the thermostat housing ( jarvick 8 )
This is a very common failure , he said if you have a leak this is most likely the place, with 8 hoses going to it . Just for a price comparison he charged $114.58 for the the thermostat housing , 3.5 hours labor ($75) $262.50 , $23.80 Cooper Anti Freeze . Total $400.88 . So if you do it yourself you can save a couple of Benjamen's .
Last edited by Hubs; 01-31-2013 at 04:55 PM. Reason: spelling
#46
#48
I looked at parts.com and it looks to me that it's a junkyard part for about $90 shipped. They say it's "remanufactured" and the "catalog" it came from was called "collision catalog". This translates to me as a junkyard pull that got wiped off with a new shoprag. I ended up ordering an OEM part from www.oembimmerparts.com for $105 shipped.