[Less is more]

Hi guys just joined up, we currently have two minis R55 Cooper D clubman & R58 FJCW Coupe N14 engine
I’ve just changed the water pump, crossover pipe and revised thermostat housing and wiring (all genuine mini) as the coupe would get hot and be running cooling fan even on short journeys and we’d have not heat coming out of the heater.
It’s now all installed and running fine no leaks, no air in system (that I know of) but the lower rad pipe doesn’t seem to be getting hot, only done a short test trip, but been sat on drive for twenty minutes with heater on full heat speed 1 and still not hot, what temperature do these new thermostat open at? and how does the cooling system work on later minis? I’ve got Prestone coolant in mixed 50/50 with deionised water. We now get hot air coming from heater but no cooling fan after short journey so everything seems ok, cooling fan does work if AC turned on.
Cheers
Andy


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[George1]

I think the thermostat opens at 104C if I remember correctly. Have you opened the bleed screw down the right hand side of the engine (as you look at it)?

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[Less is more]

Engine? Or thermostat bleed screw? If thermostat then yes no air just water


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[George1]

Yes, the thermostat bleed screw.

A more complete answer from Google:

The thermostat in a Mini begins to open at 89-92° C (192° F – 198°F) and is fully open at 103° C (217° F).

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[Less is more]

The reason I ask is the bottom hose is still cool to touch after an hours driving fan came on but not for long or even at full pelt, everything seems ok just the cool hose that’s questionable
Cheers
Andy


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[CarsOrBikes]

stat is open at 103 or 4 iirc, fan on at 108.75 typically, speed two at 112, first overheat 116, red overheat 120.

when filling, even though the bleed screw might be ok, I remove the header tank and raise it (support the Q/R connector at the base) as high as possible and more air sometimes escapes, I'll also vent the bleed a bit more with it in this position usually, then I fill it mid way and drive it a mile or two, allow to cool right down overnight and correct the level before use, it usually drops an inch, sometimes more, it can also help bleeding having the left front of the car raised.

what matters is hot heater, one that is consistently hot, should get warm pretty quickly from cold start due to the bypass system and remain so on the move,

ideally look at actual data too if you have access to it while driving to monitor throttle related behaviour as well, under higher load the stat gets opened and on a motorway push it will drop to about 97 then stabilise at 103-108 cruising, all are slightly different.

I only ever use OEM coolant, for whatever reason it's pretty good at keeping the systems clean, it's hardly expensive anyway.

 

[Less is more]

stat is open at 103 or 4 iirc, fan on at 108.75 typically, speed two at 112, first overheat 116, red overheat 120.

when filling, even though the bleed screw might be ok, I remove the header tank and raise it (support the Q/R connector at the base) as high as possible and more air sometimes escapes, I'll also vent the bleed a bit more with it in this position usually, then I fill it mid way and drive it a mile or two, allow to cool right down overnight and correct the level before use, it usually drops an inch, sometimes more, it can also help bleeding having the left front of the car raised.

what matters is hot heater, one that is consistently hot, should get warm pretty quickly from cold start due to the bypass system and remain so on the move,

ideally look at actual data too if you have access to it while driving to monitor throttle related behaviour as well, under higher load the stat gets opened and on a motorway push it will drop to about 97 then stabilise at 103-108 cruising, all are slightly different.

I only ever use OEM coolant, for whatever reason it's pretty good at keeping the systems clean, it's hardly expensive anyway.

You sir are a star, managed to open sub menu and option 7 for coolant temperature fan does indeed kick in @109*c then temp drops down to about 100*c before settling @106*c
Bottom pipe is now drawing coolant through as it’s now hot suggesting everything is working fine now
Thanks again
Andy

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[KoJawn]

You sir are a star, managed to open sub menu and option 7 for coolant temperature fan does indeed kick in @109*c then temp drops down to about 100*c before settling @106*c
Bottom pipe is now drawing coolant through as it’s now hot suggesting everything is working fine now
Thanks again
Andy

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The thermostat is computer controlled, best to monitor it via an OBDII Scanner. I use OBDLink MX Bluetooth Scan Tool. The software installs on your phone and you can customize the screen's layout. I have a big temp gage on one of my layouts. Also a note in R57 the sport mode affects how the computer deals with the engine temp. On the automatic transmission with the sport button pressed the running temp is adjusted to 180°F and the suspension/steering is adjusted to be more responsive. If you have the shifter in manual/sport mode this only adjusts the shift RPMs with only this sport mode active the running temp is 223°F which is also the normal mode temp. So in a since the Auto R57 has 2 sport modes.