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

Here is a short video of a 2009 Mini Cooper S Clubman. When it came to the shop it has no coolant in the reservoir. Coolant flowed out on top of the transmission as fast as we poured it in, but it did still run. The customer stated that it heated up very quickly and he shut it off immediately. We were able to perform a cooling system test (see video) and you can see the coolant spraying out of a cracked thermostat housing. After replacing the thermostat housing and stabilizing the cooling system, we were able to get the vehicle running long enough to properly perform a head gasket/block test. Unfortunately this Mini Cooper failed the head gasket test and we had to recommend removal of the cylinder head for testing and inspection. The machine shop found that the cylinder head was badly warped and had to be straightened or replaced. The only thing that could have prevented this is cooling system service. As you can see in the third picture, there is a lot of build up in the cooling s ... read more

We are running into more and more cases of carbon build up in the throttle bodies and intake manifolds of VW TDIs. This is due to lack of maintenance. If you do not change you oil atthe recommended intervals and do not have a induction service performed regularly, this will most likely happen to your TDI. Oil vapor from the PCV system gets in to the intake manifold and starts building up as carbon. If it is not cleaned out regularly using a induction cleaning machine and induction cleaning chemicals soon the carbon build-up will restrict the air flow to your engine causing a hard start problem when cold, a lack of power, black smoke out the tailpipe and poor fuel economy. In some cases you may also get a Check Engine Light. If you have let your ... 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