MINI Cooper MINI Cooper specs
MINI Cooper MINI Cooper Forums MINI Cooper Pictures
Mark Forums Read MINI Cooper radio MINI Cooper latest news
 

Go Back   North American Motoring > 1st Generation MINIs > Stock Problems/Issues
Sign in using an external account
Register Forgot Password?

Welcome to North American Motoring !
Welcome to North American Motoring,

You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, at no cost, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!


» Latest Main Topics
Go to first new post Hello - Great site!
3 Replies, 35 Views
Advertisement

Reply
 
 
 
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
  #1  
Old 08-24-2004, 01:51 AM
darkfact darkfact is offline
2nd Gear
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 53
Gallery
Coolant reservoir...

Was checking the coolant level in the reservior tank and noticed an odd gel type substance floating in the tank. I was able to pick it out, and it almost had a greasy texture to it. Looked sorta like a snotball. (Didn't even have the mildly sweet smell that antifreeze has?) Maybe this is a dumb question, but I'm not quite sure what it is or why it was in the coolant tank??
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 08-24-2004, 03:19 AM
lotsie lotsie is offline
Banned
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 15,383
Gallery
A snot ball you say?Now how did that get in there
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 08-24-2004, 09:27 AM
LilOleCar's Avatar
LilOleCar LilOleCar is offline
2nd Gear
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 116
Gallery
Quote:
Originally Posted by darkfact
Was checking the coolant level in the reservior tank and noticed an odd gel type substance floating in the tank. I was able to pick it out, and it almost had a greasy texture to it. Looked sorta like a snotball. (Didn't even have the mildly sweet smell that antifreeze has?) Maybe this is a dumb question, but I'm not quite sure what it is or why it was in the coolant tank??
I recommend you don't sneeze when the cap is off, or at least direct it away from your engine compartment. The only wierdness I've ever seen from my car was on my old '87 Accord. The block was iron, the head was aluminium, and one day it overheated. Head warped, head gasket blew, and oil got into the coolant. Looked more like someone had dumped hazardous waste into my radiator, though, was dark and soapy. Hope that's not it!
-Cor.
__________________
Twisties ahead! DSC off! Downshifting in progress! Time to have fun.

2003 MCS DS/B JCW
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 08-24-2004, 02:25 PM
darkfact darkfact is offline
2nd Gear
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 53
Gallery
Yeah, that sounds about right. Maybe I should stop farting also?? Who knows what will happen... Kinda funny. Out off all the cars I've owned, I've never seen any greasy gel substance in the coolant tank. It's way too thick to be oil and almost seems like a grease of some sort. I may just run it by the dealer and see if they know?
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 08-30-2004, 11:13 AM
ElonCooper ElonCooper is offline
3rd Gear
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 267
Gallery
Obviously that doesn't sound right. If they have a reason for it, we would all love to hear what it is. Also, at the very least, they should flush your coolant system to make sure this has not gummed up any coolant passages or water pump.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 08-30-2004, 10:08 PM
darkfact darkfact is offline
2nd Gear
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 53
Gallery
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElonCooper
Obviously that doesn't sound right. If they have a reason for it, we would all love to hear what it is. Also, at the very least, they should flush your coolant system to make sure this has not gummed up any coolant passages or water pump.

Yeah, that's kinda what I was thinking too. I'm gonna call this week and check. The only thing I thought it could maybe be was a grease/lubricant in the water pump.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 08-31-2004, 06:49 PM
jimz68 jimz68 is offline
6th Gear
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 1,983
Gallery
Quote:
Originally Posted by lot15
A snot ball you say?Now how did that get in there
Since the MINI is German engineered, wouldn't that be a "schnot-ball" ?

Sorry.......
Jim
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 09-01-2004, 12:05 AM
darkfact darkfact is offline
2nd Gear
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 53
Gallery
Schnott-ball it is! I called the dealer and the service advisor wasn't sure about the grease ball in the coolant tank. She was going to check w/ a dealer rep. and see if he/she had heard about any similar cases? She was going to let me know ASAP if it was a possible problem. I'm guessing it's probably from the water pump, but we'll see.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 09-01-2004, 12:52 AM
lotsie lotsie is offline
Banned
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 15,383
Gallery
Can you scoop it out,save it in a baggie,and see if any more show up?
Could not hurt your MINI not having that schnott- ball running around
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 09-02-2004, 09:27 PM
Ryephile Ryephile is offline
The Technophile
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Metro-Detroit
Posts: 8,293
Send a message via AIM to Ryephile Send a message via Yahoo to Ryephile
Gallery
At least is wasn't a hairball
__________________

Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 09-06-2004, 09:34 PM
bodinski bodinski is offline
5th Gear
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 607
Gallery
Lots of people have had discoloured or just plain funky coolant-related issues. My pretty blue coolant began looking like pondwater so the dealer changed it under warranty. It's green now and thus far is funk-free.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 09-11-2004, 10:07 PM
LtlLnor LtlLnor is offline
1st Gear
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 17
Gallery
Count me in, my 04/04 MCS had the gel/grease/snot ball floating in the coolant tank today also. I used a pincher tool to get it out of the bottle. It was a little bit less than a teaspoon size glob of gel type substance just like darkfact found. Color is kind of clear or like vaseline (texture is a little different though).

Darkfact, were you ever given a story about what it was? Grease from water pump etc. Other folks might want to be taking a flashlight and checking their coolant bottles for this stuff. If MINI USA is reading, perhaps they could share what this could be. If it's not suppose to be there, I may need to have dealer BG flush the coolant system.
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 09-12-2004, 09:48 AM
darkfact darkfact is offline
2nd Gear
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 53
Gallery
Quote:
Originally Posted by LtlLnor
Count me in, my 04/04 MCS had the gel/grease/snot ball floating in the coolant tank today also. I used a pincher tool to get it out of the bottle. It was a little bit less than a teaspoon size glob of gel type substance just like darkfact found. Color is kind of clear or like vaseline (texture is a little different though).

Darkfact, were you ever given a story about what it was? Grease from water pump etc. Other folks might want to be taking a flashlight and checking their coolant bottles for this stuff. If MINI USA is reading, perhaps they could share what this could be. If it's not suppose to be there, I may need to have dealer BG flush the coolant system.

I was never told what the greaseball actually is. I mentioned it to the dealer and they were going to check it out and call me back if it was something to worry about. Never heard back from them so I guess it's nothing to worry about? Kinda strange though. The water pump is the only place I figured it would come from??
Reply With Quote
Old 09-12-2004, 09:48 AM
 
 
 
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

Forum Jump


MINI CooperMINI Cooper PrivacyMINI Cooper Terms of UseMINI Cooper Guidelines MINI Cooper Advertising The North American MINI Cooper Community
  MINI Cooper news, forums, FAQs, and reviews for enthusiasts and owners of the North American MINI Cooper
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:44 AM.
 Copyright © 2002-2008 North American Motoring. All Rights Reserved.     Powered by vBulletin and vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.

All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:44 AM.


Powered by vBulletin and vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.
North American Motoring is an independently operated web site supporting MINI owners and enthusiastsworldwide. As such it has no official relationship with MINI USA, BMW AG, or BMW of North America.All original artwork and design is Copyright © 2002-2004 North American Motoring.
Admin Account Passwords

Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2