Temecula Auto Repair

Watch this short video to see what it takes to get to the coolant leak on this 2008 Mini Cooper S We had a 2008 Mini Cooper S come into the shop with a very slow coolant leak. We added dye to the cooling system, got the vehicle up to running temperature and pressurized the cooling system over night. In the morning we found the coolant was coming from behind the heat shield of the turbo. We advices the client that the front of the vehicle and the turbo shielding had to be removed to gain access and inspect the coolant leak. The client approved the dis-assembly and inspection. After dis-assembly of the Mini Cooper, we found that the gasket between the oil filter stand and the engine block was leaking coolant. It is much more common for the gasket between the oil cooler and the oil filter stand to leak. That is precisely why we add dye to the coolant before dis-assembly to ensure we pin-point the leak and get it repaired right the first time and on time. If you are looking for Mini Coope ... read more

Perform Transmission Fluid Service By ‘Severe Duty’ Change Intervalby AutoCarePro Team - Nov 18, 2014 Improved lubricants have allowed service intervals to extend for many vehicles with automatic transmissions, utilizing “lifetime fluids.” In the past, service recommendations for automatic transmissions were based on time/mileage tied to requirements of new vehicle warranties (2-3 years or 30,000 miles). Lifetime fluid recommendations are now 5-10 years or the life of the vehicle (100,000 miles) unless the vehicle is subjected to “severe duty.” The question that often comes up next: When is it appropriate to perform a fluid service? Taken directly from OEM owners’ manuals, “severe duty” has historically been defined as: • Operation o ... read more

We are running into more and more Mini Cooper S supercharger failures. The supercharger on a Mini Cooper S is belt driven and drives the water pump off the rear of the supercharger. Mini Cooper has no service interval for the replacement of the supercharger oil. We have had many Mini Cooper superchargers fail due to supercharger oil break down or supercharger rear housing leakage. To completely service the supercharger on a Mini Cooper S the water pump must be removed, The supercharger has both a front and rear oil reservoir. The water pump block access to the rear fluid reservoir fill/check hole. To remove the water pump the whole front of the vehicle has to be removed (see picture below). So this IS NOT a do-it-your self type job. We are seeing super chargers failing as early as ... read more