I've got a 2004 R53 with 51K miles which has not had any cooling system problems with the stock system to date. I've changed coolant a couple times.

Yesterday, I noticed some white deposits on the plastic coolant tank (the one near the firewall) streaking down from the center/horizontal tank seam. If there has been coolant loss, it must be minor as the level in the tank seems unchanged. I know these tanks have been problematic and have been revised a few times and that splitting at the tank seam is often the problem. Is this something to monitor further or just do a preventative tank replacement? If if go stock, am I getting an improved part that is likely to be reliable or should I go aftermarket?

- Mark

 

I'd replace it if it's leaking. A guy in my local Mini club had his split open, leaving him on the side of the road. A hundred bucks versus an overheated engine is a no brainer. I wouldn't buy another oem one, no matter if they fixed it, I wouldn't take a chance. Go for a Forge or any other aftermarket ones.

 

Just replace it....quick and easy....comes with a new cap...if it has coolant residue on the seams, it HAS GONE BAD ALREADY....!(unless it overflowed from being too full).....it is only a matter of time before it gets worse....
You could spend $250 or so, and get s fancy polished aluminum one.....
But once it is leaking....you are not going to see it get better... And if/when your car goes low on coolant and overheats, bad things happen....another thought too....even if the seam is only a pinhole in size....it means the pressure is not building in the cooling system as it should....and this psi helps to increase the boiling temp of the coolant....

 

IF you never want to worry about it again get a Forge tank made out of Aluminum.

 

Here it is for $159.99
http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-coop...flow_tank.html

 

The Canton or RMW tanks w/ real functional pressure caps are among the better options around. OE cap is only rated 16psi. If your fan is shut, it's highly likely for the cap to leak.

 

Forge is fine for the daily driver (if it's a direct fit; if it's from outmotoring I'd bet it is, but I'd double check with Aaron to be sure), if you're going to the track, do yourself a favor and get the RMW one--they made it so it's a direct fit, with a true pressure cap, and pressure vent on the top for a true overflow tank (rather than just an expansion tank,like the forge), it's the way to go for high temps.

There are other tanks similar in appearance to the RMW tank, but they don't fit without adapting them (I believe the Canton is one that needs adapting to fit)--the generic tanks you can find anywhere don't have the right angle for everything to fit and clear without modification; the RMW one has already taken care of that.

 

If it is a white tank I believe there is a recall on them.

Nik

 

The plastic tanks fail all the time, and the new plastic tanks don't seem to be much better as I've seen 2 replaced in the last 8 months fail again.
We have a great Aluminum tank that is a perfect replacement.
http://www.waymotorworks.com/polishe...-tank-r53.html

 

I have yet to have any issues with with Forge tank with the stock cap and I take the car to the track. If you don't notice your car overheating, I believe there's a problem 18'' behind the steering wheel!

 

HA!

I've been running the forge with the stock cap for at least 300,000 miles. Has never been a problem.

Nik

 

That's good, but it's an expansion tank, not a overflow tank, like the RMW (or Canton). Me, I'd rather have a true over flow tank if I'm on the track, with a true pressure cap and a nipple valve at the neck for safety.

I don't know what the forge cap is rated as, but I've leaked fluid on the stock cap, it's a much cleaner solution with a true pressure valve, and a nipple at the neck for overflow--which admittedly most likely will never happen, but that goes back to having a true pressure cap.

 

One could always get the Forge modified to fit a pressure cap. Pretty sure the price of the cap and neck would cost less than a new tank and the results would be the same. Personally, if I had problems with my Forge, that's what I would do, because the RMW/Canton looks awful (no matter how well they works).

 

Thanks for everyone's replies and suggestions. I ordered a new OEM stock tank mainly to save costs - I anticipate selling the car in a couple years and if the original lasted ten, an improved stock part should last a couple.

- Mark

 

The cap would be doable, and worth it, I think stanton makes them. Probably would be enough for most people.

The neck would not--that's a pressurized nipple on the neck, not just a simple drainage plug, plus tapping it, welding it, and making sure it's leakproof, just not worth it. You'd be better off buying the other tank.

I've had coolant leak through the cap, not the resevoir, which is why I prefer having an overflow tank; it's a mess to clean up. That being said, most of these replacement expansion tanks have larger volumes (not sure on the Forge but I'm assuming it does), so that makes it less likely to happen (as long as you don't overfill). I'd still put the stanton pressure cap on though, just for piece of mind, that would probably be enough for the track. I wouldn't even bother with the cap though if the car is just street driven, the forge alone should be plenty.

 

I hope you will not be disappointed with the new OEM plastic tank. We just bought a brand new one from the local BMW/Mini dealer and the seam started leaking and spitting coolant before the engine even reached running temperature. Returned it two hours after we bought it. Maybe this was part of a bad batch but we are now looking into the aluminum option.

 

Here's the Canton w/ a real cap: looks & works great!

 

Agreed, I have a RMW tank myself. Did you choose not to run an overflow hose?

 

Yeah, I wouldn't hang about on this repair. I had a leak on the seam of my OEM tank, waited a few weeks, started notice a mall (few drops) leak on the floor, topped up, but a couple of days later had the tank fail catastrophically. The hot coolant made it to the serpentine belt and snapped it. Required a tow and ended up a few hundred bucks... Lucky considering. I wasn't there at the time but my wife pulled over quickly enough once the temp spiked to avoid engine damage.

The annoying thing is I had a RMW tank sitting at home and I was going to put it in this weekend! At least it's in now and looks great!

 

''

#2 replacement for this car .. finally replaced with Forge . . .

 

Ouch! Glad to hear nothing too serious happened.

 

That's my buddy's engine bay. He's still searching for a nice bent hose or tube to fit. Doesn't really overflow there on normal use.

 

Where did you locate this Canton Tank. It looks like the RMW. How does it compare in cost. The RMW is very pricey.

 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ct...i/model/cooper is one place for the Canton. You might want to check on fitment issues, others have had problems, although i can't speak to that personally; there are a lot of threads about the various tank choices.

 

I installed the Canton on my R52 last spring. It was tight but it fit. I feel good about recommending it.