13 replies to this topic

[oltonlad]

heres a guide of how to fit a thermostat blanking sleeve (i know that its straight forward but this is more for the inexperienced mini owners/noobies)

if your mini has been running a bit too warm in the hot weather then you can replace the thermostat with a blanking sleeve so that your engine runs a bit cooler as there is more flow (do not run the engine without a thermostat or blanking sleeve installed)


first of all, remove the radiator top bracket by removing the 7/16 bolts in the cowling and the 1/2 nuts on the thermostat housing





next, remove the top radiator hose



remove the thermostat housing and thermostat, get some tissue to soak some of the water out.



this is the thermostat blanking sleeve next to the old thermostat.



place the blanking sleeve into the cylinder head and fit a new gasket



rub some copper grease on the studs to prevent corrosion/difficulty removing the thermostat housing in the future



replace thermostat housing



replace radiator top bracket and top hose



top the radiator up with water/antifreeze



run the engine and check for leaks.



the job takes about 15 minutes from start to finish.

Edited by oltonlad, 26 May 2012 - 12:27 PM.

[DanFuke]

Great guide.

Guess what I'm now doing next week?

[MGBailey007]

would you take that back out in the winter?

[Midas Mk1]

Would be a good idea to flush the rad out at the same time. I put a 74 degree 'stat in before l2b, and even that just kept the 2 core rad cool with the additional electric fan.

[oltonlad]

would you take that back out in the winter?

yeah, its best to re-fit the thermostat in the winter otherwise the engine wont reach normal temperature.

[oltonlad]

Would be a good idea to flush the rad out at the same time. I put a 74 degree 'stat in before l2b, and even that just kept the 2 core rad cool with the additional electric fan.

yeah, you could flush the rad but i didn't need to as it was done when i put the new engine in.

[MGBailey007]

quick question slightly off topic i am going to get a new rad was thinking of a 2 core super cool high flow alloy rad, or a 4 core high flow, what is better?

[Midas Mk1]

Well my Minispares 'supercool' 2 core rad isnt what it says, it sits comfortably on normal when cruising, but in traffic / traffic lights it shoots up, with the need of the electric fan.
It's better than the standard 3 core, but not as much as it makes out.

Wish i'd got an alloy thermex rad now

[MGBailey007]

so you say the 2 core over the 4 core?

[Cooperman]

On my 1310 cc 'S' with quite a powerful engine I run the blanking sleeve, a standard radiator, a 6-blade export fan and an electric auxiliary manually-switched fan. Overheating is never a problem so long as I switch the aux fan on in good tiome on a hot day. In Winter ot in very cold weather I blank off the radiator and part-cover the oil cooler with baking foil.

[Aly-g]

Mini spares say to blank off the bypass hose when fitting a thermostat blanking sleeve, is this strictly necessary?
what is the best/ easiest way to do this ?

[Spider]

Mini spares say to blank off the bypass hose when fitting a thermostat blanking sleeve, is this strictly necessary?
what is the best/ easiest way to do this ?

 

No.

The Blanking Sleeve actually just about blocks off the By-pass port in the Head.

Up to you if you want to fit it or not, but for a Road car, I don't think they are a good idea.

[Tornado99]

The purpose of the thermostat is to get the car up to operating temps quickly for best performance and emmissions. It does not set the max temp of the fluid, that is related to heat output of engine vs heat shedding from rad. If you are over heating it is not due to a properly working tstat. Scale build up, passage blockages, pump issues, pressure cap leaks or lean engine mixture/timing can all contribute.

[Aly-g]

thanks for the quick reply's, after more reading up on the blanking sleeve and your comments i have decided that the idea of using a blanking sleeve is not a very good thing to do on a road car , so back to flushing and sorting the cooling system proper before the winter comes.....!

 

 

Allan