Hi,

A few times every week I hear a liquid swooshing and swirling around in the dash-area / front section of my JCW when I first start going. I'm assuming this is normal, but am curious as to what it is - can anyone offer some insight? Much appreciated.

Attached is a pic of my rig that I snapped with my BBerry.

 

hey, this happens in my JCW if it's any help...I have no idea what it is.

 

no frig'n idea ... never heard it. Now curious.

 

It is air in the cooling system.

It needs to be bleed.

 

Nice painted fenders, how did you do that?

 

@bford100:

Thanks!

I actually opted for the factory installed aero kit vs. the JCW aero kit. The factory kit comes with the painted fenders, and it was cheaper!

 

Have you checked your coolant level? I know I have a prev. gen, however, I found that that noise was showing up whenever my coolant levels were low.

Hope this helps somewhat!

-Chase

 

@chaseabryant:

thanks for your reply. I haven't checked the coolant level. I'm a novice at best when it comes to cars - how hard is it to do?

 

Under the hood is a coolent reservoire tank (as should be diagrammed in the owern's manual). The tank should have a MAX and MIN line. You should be between the two lines when the car is parked on level ground.

 

It is wait i've said with 100% sure!

 

By any chance do you have the NAV system?

I kept hearing this sound that could be described as fluid but couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. My wife on the other hand knew what it was immediately. My noise is caused by the NAV DVD seeking as the map refreshes. JL

 

But the OP said "first get going", which I took as when he first started moving, but there is some ambiguity there. I often hear what you are describing too when I push the FOB in but don't start the engine so the car's still quiet.

 

@da laws:

I do not have the Nav (unfortunately). The sound I hear is seemingly for a brief period after I start the car and am driving along.

 

i hear a water sounding noise for when i start the car. and it sounds like i have a supercharger when i start it

 

I get the same noise occasionally. I figured it's the tank that catches water from the AC evaporator but I don't really know.

 

I'm dealing with this same sound at the moment. It started about 2-3 weeks ago, but alarm bells go off for me when I heard this. Usually what this sound indicates is that you have air in the cooling system due to low coolant levels. The sound you hear is the coolant rushing through the heater core, located behind the dash, as the water pump pushes it through. This is why you first hear it when you take off since the water pump spins up faster when you increase engine RPM. With no air in the system, you don't hear the whooshing sound.

I had this exact problem years ago with a GMC S-15 pick-up. Turned out my coolant overflow tank had a crack and coolant was slowly leaking. It ended up costing me a head gasket because I let it go for too long and didn't know any better.

Currently, my 2006 R50 has a slow leak due to a cracked thermostat housing or leaking thermostat. I had been topping up the coolant as needed about once a month, but recently it has been leaking more. It must have lost just enough to get some air in the system but not cause any overheating.

I'm just about to go lay in my driveway and start draining the cooling system and get started on replacing the thermostat and housing. Definitely keep a close eye on your coolant levels and check for any leaks in the mornings before you leave for work. Mine only leaked as the system cooled down overnight.

 

I had a dodge intrepid that had a similar problem, turned out that when I had it in for service the tech had taken the A/C drain hose for the condenser coil and put it up so it wouldn't drip in him when we was working under it. Try this, run your A/c for a while, then park it in your driveway or in your garage. See if it is "making water", is there a puddle under the car? If so the this isn't the problem, but if it isn't you may have a plugged drain line. Even if it cold where you are you may have had your A/C on via the defrosters. Kinda important because if you don't get the water out you can get mold in your vent system. It may be worth a try, good luck!

 

doesnt the turbo run coolent through it after the engine is shut down to cool it down. i remember it does this for up to 5 minutes after shut down. but i could be mistaken.

 

I've had this happen twice during the life of my MINI...a sound like a small waterfall happening behind the dash during acceleration from a cold stop.

Both times, the culprit was air in the cooling system sloshing through the cabin heater core, exactly as brad_c-ville describes.

If you've recently had the cooling system flushed (my most recent experience), the tech may not have been careful about bleeding the system properly. I think they sometimes get in a hurry and don't allow the engine to come up to full operating temperature, or they fail to operate the heater during the process.

If you haven't messed with the cooling system lately, it might be the sign of a leak in the system somewhere (my first experience -- split seam on the coolant reservoir, a common problem in 1st Gen). Best to get it checked out.

 

Wow. I have this exact same problem -- it sounds like liquid sloshing around just behind the dashboard. I will check my coolant levels and let you know, thanks!

 

Same problem as Brad c-ville, with the same model.

The sloshing noise I found was something wrong with thermostat housing.

Took it back and was covered under warranty.

The service guys knew what it was straight away, and sloshing noise was gone afterwards.

Mine overheated once while it was broken, its always interesting to see the temp gauge go off the end and steam come out of the bonnet.

 

In my approx. 8000 miles with the car, I've only heard this once a few weeks ago. I thought maybe it was the wiper wash being pressured to the rear window (and my wiper level is very low; thought the rear window water traveled back into the front tank). Dunno if that's so. ... with that, I wouldn't call it a "problem" ... is it?

 

Temp gage? What temp gage? I don't even know which idiot light to look for in this thing if it overheats.

09 jcw
05 mcs

 

Our company signed off on 2 JCW horizon blue, due Feb 2010, and looking at the interior, its very sparse, I like seeing a oil and temp guage, lets me know when the car is up to temp.

Leaning on the right foot while the car is cold cant be terribly good.

I'll miss my gauges, current car is a 06 checkmate with chrono pack.

 

Hey guys, I have this exact same problem, and my coolant keeps dropping. Thanks for starting this thread, and the info in it! Car's going in in two odd weeks