HELP!! What is wrong with my car?!!

[sharkyparky]

I have a Bmw mini cooper, 04 plate and it has suddenly gone wrong!!
It has started to overheat really badly, every 2 mins, even though the coolant level is full to the correct mark. Also the heater is just blowing out cold air.
What is wrong with i? What can I do?

[TWR]

Hi, how often do you check the coolant? if every whenever you feel like it your problem could be lack of water causing an air lock in the system, With the engine cold, open up your bonnet, check your coolant for antifreeze & streghth, top up, replace cap, check there are no leaks, start the car up put the heater on hot & leave for app 5mins, check that the Elctric cooling fan is working. if all that fails, get the car compression tested.

[Matth354]

Once all other threads have been checked I would get it to garage for a coolant sniffer test sounds like a compression to water head gasket leak. This normally happens if a head gasket has been damaged.

Could check yourself but depending on the damage this may not do it either but it costs nothing to check.

Check from cold.

Open water reservoir cap and top up to the top "ensure you have the means to remove water once this test has been done".

Set blower on hot and on fan 1.

Start engine "no throttle just tick over"

Look at the water at the top of the bottle if it slowly bubbles but constant within 30 seconds. Smell the air bubbles is there a petrol or exhausty smell if so then. Either head gasket or head is cracked or warped.

Sometimes compression checks wont pick this up too well as the leak is when the piston is being fired down the pressure is greater than the compression of the piston coming up. Compression checks look for the piston coming up?

Thanks Matt

[simonruss]

should have bought a REAL MINI COOPER!!!!!!