New stuff: 2002-2006 Mini Cooper R50 and R53 thermostat and waterpump

It's been a while since I've had a chance to do much here - but the flow of old tools coming into my shop and being repaired for my use hasn't really stopped.  Maybe I can get a chance to do more soon.

In the meantime here's this not-really-tool-related blurb.

My MINI's water pump is leaking.  On these supercharged Ses it's a bit of an fun time to work on (and there's some required maintenance to do to the SC while you're in there!).   So, at 86k miles, figure it's thermostat time as well.

Both the MC and MCS are pretty well known for the t-stat housings cracking and leaking, or the t-stat gasket leaking.    The factory gasket is a weak area.    I read around a bit and found that there is reportedly an improved version of this thermostat available - but no one really details how to get it.

Way Motor Works sells one, and his price is on par with the factory part: http://www.waymotorworks.com/thermostat-and-gasket-r50-r53.html

Way just never tells you what the origin of his parts are - so if you're a brand whore or trying to price shop, or just want to be able to know what's going to arrive in your box, Way makes it a bit of a challenge.   Factory part number would be 11537596787.

I bought one.  So here it is in all it's glory:

 

To answer the origin question:  It's not a OEM bmw/mini part.  So I don't know if the factory replacement has the new gasket or not.   It IS a factory part for the Chrysler Tritec engine, though.  Chrysler stamp, followed by "1886AA".   I haven't been able to cross this to an actual part number.   The other stamping is 195 (it's a 195F thermostat).

For the waterpump, I ended up getting the Gates unit - #43534 (factory part 11517520123).  For the Cooper, the gates part would be 43535. 

The Gates is a new pump - the only pump available from the factory is a rebuild.   A lot of the aftermarket pumps don't include the drive assembly for either the MC or MCS - the pump unit itself is, I believe, identical.  The gearbox on the back is the difference.  The MC is driven by a pulley off the serpentine belt, but the MCS is driven by a PTO on the back of the supercharger (another known problem area...).

On the impeller, I failed to find a water pump with a metal impeller - the Gates uses a composite one, as does the factory pump.  (not the same as the old BMW and VW plastic impellers.  Time will tell how these work out...).   The pump does come with one gasket:

Anyway - figured I was asking all of these questions when I was shopping, ended up making a few gambles since I couldn't find the details I wanted...figured I'd share them.  Hope this helps someone else.