I am always having to top of my coolant at least once or twice a month is this normal?

 

Nope. You have a leak, faulty water pump, or a head gasket is going. You'd know about the head gasket from your exhaust though.

 

Take it you have an R53 Cooper S since its in your name.

Check the coolant expansion tank first for leaks. Sometimes as the seam it leaks.


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/17137529273/ES38485/



Also where you park your MINI at night check for small puddles on the floor. You might have a small leak somewhere.

Check near the thermostat housing neck on the driver side near the engine.

Neck shown in our thermostat replacement kit Genuine MINI:


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/11537596787KT/ES2587243/



#4 and #5 area in diagram




Then go to the water pump area, and so on.


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/11517520123/ES24426/



Let us know if you find anything. Hope that helps.

 

What do you mean by "topping off"? Are you filling to the line or are you filling it all the way to the top?

 

To the line and there isn't any puddles or Sign of coolant on the ground

 

Any residue around the seam on the tank?
Next most common is the thermostat....has an intergeated gasket...they leak...no puddles.
Next on older, higher mile r53, the radiators tend to start to leak where the metal center is heat crimped to the plastic ends....new aftermarket oem copies are about $85.

 

Depending on miles driven, a cup or so of coolant is pretty minor...if you stsy on top of it, and don't let the car go low and overheat.
If it was me, i might closely monitor it, and see if the leak progresses....
with higher miles, could even be a hose.....so just look around!!

 

Sorry a cup of coolant is not minor IMO. Any loss is a problem.
You should never wait. You should want to know where it is leaking and not to just monitor the loss of coolant. I would be looking for the cause. A leaking expansion tank at the seams, thermostat housing, in the oil etc... IMO the longer you wait the more you risk a bigger repair. So be proactive and find the cause and fix it.

 

Likely the items mentioned above. There was a recall on the 03s coolant tank, if it is white it is no good, if it is the color of the one pictured above, then it will likely leak.

I would guess its the thermostat gasket going out. when you shut off the car pop the hood an look at the top of the housing. Often when leaking you will find a little coolant there. Never enough drip onto the ground, but enough you will have to top off quite a bit.

Nik

 

I agree with others that it is probably the tank or thermostat housing/gasket. Look for white residue (dried coolant) around or under the recovery tank and thermostat housing. Many people do not know the thermostat housing is leaking until it gets pretty bad because the coolant tends to evaporate before it leaks on the ground and it is a little hard to see around the housing. Many times the coolant will puddle a little near the thermostat housing that you can see with a flashlight. My leaking thermostat only left a small puddle (quarter size) on the ground at night that I would see in the morning when backing out of the garage.

 

feel around to the back side of the tank .... the leak may be hiding from you. This was the second one I'd put in this car - supposedly the new one that didn't fail . . . this picture is of the back side - what's against the firewall - the front looked fine but one day I noticed the coolant level was low and went looking for the cause.



You usually won't see any signs of drips from this leak because it hits the hot heat shield under that tank and immediately cooks off - look for signs of residue on the heat shield under the tank.

This tank is EASY to replace, one bolt and two hose clamps.

 

All of the above suggestions are spot on. I will also mention that these MINI's do not like to be over filled. If they are they will puke the coolent until the desired level is found. Sometimes that level is a little lower than you think. Try leaving the level a little lower and see if it sustains itself at that amount. Also if you are not seeing any signs of leaking check your oil to be sure that you do not have a milky color which could mean a blown head gasket.
Steve

 

Everyone's suggestions is good.

I recently had the same issue. I had no coolant on the floor of my garage, but my coolant level was low. It was a leaking water pump. I could see the dried coolant on the exterior of the pump.

I would get it fixed before an overheating cause much more expensive damages.