So my Dad changed my oil the other day and we noticed that the coolant in the MINI's overflow tank is basically nonexsistent. I am going on a roadtrip on Friday and want to refill it before then. Is there any special coolant that I need? I used to be a VW owner and I had to buy special coolant for that, just wondering if it is the same for the MINI. I looked in the owners manual and didn't see anything...help would be appreciated since I don't feel like driving all the way to the dealer to buy coolant if I don't have to.

 

Buy some Water Wetter!

 

When I had to add coolant to my MCS, I went to the local BMW (Non-MINI) dealer for BMW coolant just to assure fluid / internal component compatability. The service parts guy verified its use with MINIs.

Like expected, it cost. Like expected, the 1.6L doesn't use much at a 50/50 mix ratio.

SMKKVK

 

Thanks for the advice. Is Water Wetter a brand of coolant??

 

I paid a whopping $18.00 for a gallon of "special" blue-colored MINI Coolant at the dealership....$18!!!!!! I asked if it was pre-mixed (50/50 water-to-coolant ratio), the guy said "uh huh, yes it is." Well, he was wrong. The container states right on it, clear as day that it is 100% coolant, which requires a 50/50 mix with water before adding to the coolant reservoir.

-boognish

 

FYI WaterWetter

http://www.redlineoil.com/products.htm

WaterWetter®
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Red Line WaterWetter® is designed to provide improved metal wetting and excellent corrosion inhibition when added to plain water or a glycol coolant. The most poorly maintained system in an automobile is usually the cooling system. Maintenance is quite simple and only required once each year, but most vehicle owners never routinely change the coolant or replenish the corrosion inhibitors which are required for trouble-free operation. Proper cooling system maintenance is very critical for most modern engines which utilize more aluminum. Aluminum has a very high corrosion potential, even higher than zinc, which is very widely used as a sacrificial anode. The only property which enables aluminum to be used in a cooling system is that it will form protective films under the proper conditions which will prevent the uncontrolled corrosive attack of acids or bases. Poor aluminum corrosion inhibition will cause the dissolution of aluminum at the heat rejection surfaces, weakening the cooling system walls and water pump casing and weakening the head gasket mating surfaces. These corrosion products will then form deposits on the lower temperature surfaces such as in radiator tubes which have very poor heat transfer properties, causing a significant reduction in the cooling ability of the entire system. Red Line WaterWetter® will provide the proper corrosion inhibition for all cooling system metals, including aluminum, cast iron, steel, copper, brass, and lead.

Water has twice the heat transfer capability when compared to 50% glycol antifreeze/coolant in water. Most passenger automobiles have a cooling system designed to reject sufficient heat under normal operating conditions using a 50/50 glycol solution in water. However, in racing applications, the use of water and WaterWetter® will enable the use of smaller radiator systems, which means less frontal drag, and it will also reduce cylinder head temperatures, even when compared to water alone, which means more spark advance may be used to improve engine torque.

BENEFIT SUMMARY
Doubles the wetting ability of water
Improves heat transfer
Reduces cylinder head temperatures
May allow more spark advance for increased torque
Reduces rust, corrosion and electrolysis of all metals
Provides long term corrosion protection
Cleans and lubricates water pump seals
Prevents foaming
Reduces cavitation corrosion
Complexes with hard water to reduce scale

 

So can I basically just go to the local autoparts store and buy "blue" coolant??

 

>>So can I basically just go to the local autoparts store and buy "blue" coolant??


yes



R.E.

 

Does it have to be blue? I was low so I used some coolant I had at home and it was green.

 

>>Does it have to be blue? I was low so I used some coolant I had at home and it was green.

Somewhere in the manual (you'll have to check--don't have it handy) it has an advisory that MINI is incompatible with a certain chemical. (It said something like make sure to use phosphate-free coolant only. Only I can't recall which compound was the offender.)

Usually with coolant, they make them different colors as a visual reminder of which type it is. The color itself isn't significant. (For example, the orange coolant in auto part stores doesn't get along well with the green.)

WATER WETTER is NOT an anti-freeze, but a coolant only. It works great, provides lubrication for the water pump, and will reduce the operating temp. on a highly stressed engine over comparable water/coolant mix.

BUT!!! Your block will freeze if you're counting on this for anti-freeze protection. I used to use it on a track bike in the Summer and saw about a 10-15 deg. drop over water/glycol on my bike.

(Oh, and you're right. The MINI coolant needs to be mixed.)

--Jeff

 

So, after all is said and done. What antifreeze/coolant is campatible in an mcs? My tank was found empty and I mixed up 50/50 of Prestone. I'm getting ready to flush and redo the system what should I be using? And please don't tell me blue, green etc. I live in Florida and my just resort to the Water Wetter I used in my race bikes. A brand name would be great as long as it doesn't start with the initials BMW.
Thanks
Craig





03 MCS,BK/BK, alta cai, alta diverter, Borla race, pilo, denso, magnacor

 

I too was wondering what Mini uses for coolant...it's not listed in the guide book. There are two types that are common...LongLife good for 5+ years and lesser lived type. These two are generally not mixable so you do need to know what's in the engine before topping up. Most readily available brands of coolant are phosphate free (both long life & otherwise) so that's not a problem. In a pinch, if you just need a top up, use distilled water (readily available at a good price from your local grocery store...just make absolutely sure it's distilled...not mineral, spring or sparkling water!!).

BTW, when making up antifreeze solutions (50/50 is normal) always use distilled...never tap water. Tap water has minerals that will form scale deposits inside the cooling passges of the engine...just like inside a tea kettle.

The cooltant type in the engine is something we all need to get straight...too bad they didn't disclose it in the owners manual!

Re. Water Wetter...all this stuff does is make the water...wetter! It does this by lowering the surface tension of pure water. Dish soap achieves the same thing (though you don't want to put it in your engine!). The idea here is that more water will be in contact with the metal surfaces of the cooling system, thus heat transfer goes up. The product label used to state something to the effect of being more effective when used in pure water and that increasing concentraions of antifreeze in the system reduces the effect of the water wetter (basically because coolant also lowers the surface tension of the fluid compared to pure water). Water wetter has no anti-corrosion properties and no freeze/boil-over protection. It's basically only needed for race engines running straight water in know climate conditions.

Mike.

 

The following is pasted from an old post of mine; people were asking if the MINI
coolant was G12 or not, and whether the green Prestone Low Tox coolant was
ok for the MINI:

My wife's car is a 2001 VW Cabrio; it needs G12 spec coolant (pink). This is an
ethylene glycol base with diethelene glycol, sebacic acid, sodium hydroxide, water,
corrosion inhibitors, defoamer, and dyes added. If mixed with non g12 spec, it
turns brown and gunky.

The MINI coolant is not g12, but needs to be to be free of silica, phosphate, nitrate
and amines. One brand said to be compatible is zerex extreme life.
Prestone says their 5/150 extended life meets the criteria, but the low toxicity
propylene glycol formulation does not. I asked them and they replied:


Thanks very much for your inquiry. The Prestone Extended Life Antifreeze is amine, nitrate, phophate and silicate free.
The Prestone Low Tox, however, is not silicate and phosphate free.

 

>>So can I basically just go to the local autoparts store and buy "blue" coolant??
NO, not just any blue coolant. BMW antifreeze happens to be blue, but it is also phosphate free. This is extremely important, as phosphate free coolant doesn't eat aluminum. Regular off the shelf coolant eventually will. Yes, you can temporarily use the green stuff to top it off, but drain it asap and refill with 50/50 bmw/mini antifreeze and water.

 

I just bought a jug of this stuff too. Give the parts man $20 and get back enough change to buy a candy bar.

I was mildly suprised, as MINI oil is quite reasonably priced for a synthetic.

My car was just in for service about 2 months back, and I guess they didn't check my coolant level. I'm not seeing any drips around the coolant bottle seam, and the rest of the car seems OK.

 

Since we're talking coolant, I have a question. I had my coolant turn brown & gunky (like so many others'), so the dealer flushed the system. The coolant they used to refill it was green instead of the usual blue. Has anyone else seen a dealer use green? Just curious.

 

here's the ingredients on the bmw antifreeze I got when my MINI had its
8500 mile oil service (and brown coolant flush&replace, and v37 flash).
part#82141467704

Ethylene Glycol
Diethylene Glycol
Sebacic Acid
Sodium Hydroxide
2-Ethylhexanoic Acid
Corrosion Inhibitors
Defoamers
Silicates
Dyes (blue)

it's said to be free of nitrites or phosphates.
Interestingly, this is almost identical to the VW/Audi G12 spec (orange) stuff
(#ZVW 237 G12)

Ethylene Glycol
Diethylene Glycol
Sebacic Acid
Sodium Hydroxide
Water
Corrosion Inhibitors
Defoamer
Dyes (orange)

I know that if you mix G12 with regular green antifreeze, it precipitates out
into a brown mess....I'm going to stick with the BMW antifreeze, since reliable
info on compatability with other fluids seems to be lacking.

 

I have a bottle of Subaru coolant which is the non-corrosive type for aluminum
engines. I use that with 50% distilled water and my MCS's been good for the
last 3k miles or so. :smile: It's green in color too. I have a rex so I bought a bottle
at Subaru several months ago.

 

Go to NAPA, buy anti freeze. Put it in...foreddabout it........dealerships sell anything with a brand at a huge mark up, cuz of why. cuz of the fact that people buy it that's why......

 

>>Go to NAPA, buy anti freeze. Put it in...foreddabout it........dealerships sell anything with a brand at a huge mark up, cuz of why. cuz of the fact that people buy it that's why......

You can do this if you want, but I've read many tails of BMW engines being DESTROYED from using non-BMW coolant. How? Because cheap coolant will cause corrosion inside the passages and clog things up. Conversely, engines run exlusively with BMW coolant often look like new with over 100K miles on them.

I had this same discussion with M3 owners... you'd think somebody who buys an M3 wouldn't be so damn cheap... $20 insurance sounds cheap to me. Coolant is one thing I buy exclusively at the dealer for BMWs and VWs. So you might save a couple of bucks buying something cheaper at Pep Boys that might be compatible... is it really worth it?

Also - I would not use Water Wetter in a street car under ANY circumstances. Modern cars are designed to run at a specific temperature - usually around 200 degrees F. If you do something to the cooling system to make it run cooler, you are asking for problems. The ECU is looking for a specific temperature range. If it doesn't see it, it starts doing things to make the car run hotter. This doesn't sound like a good thing.

_________________
In a dimly lit service garage in Hell, condemned mechanics are forced to constantly diagnose the electrical system in a BMW E36 3-series in a futile attempt to shut off the CEL.

 

IanF: I question your knowledge about Water Wetter. Yes it does allow a better transfer of heat but, if you have a 200 degree thermostat, your temp isn't going to be 190 degrees, it will be 200 (after normal warm-up of course)> it also has addatives to reduce corrosion, etc. I have been using Water Wetter in my street cars (96 Accord 100K+ miles, 99 Accord v6 57K miles, 92 Intrepid 90K miles, 2002 CR-V 40K miles, Dodge 1500 truck, etc) never a problem with engines or cooling systems.

 

>>IanF: I question your knowledge about Water Wetter. Yes it does allow a better transfer of heat but, if you have a 200 degree thermostat, your temp isn't going to be 190 degrees, it will be 200 (after normal warm-up of course)> it also has addatives to reduce corrosion, etc. I have been using Water Wetter in my street cars (96 Accord 100K+ miles, 99 Accord v6 57K miles, 92 Intrepid 90K miles, 2002 CR-V 40K miles, Dodge 1500 truck, etc) never a problem with engines or cooling systems.

Fine for you. Glad you like it. I wouldn't use it. That is all.