In the beginning the little thermometer would show up on my dash and I would top off the water tank, figuring they're is a sensor in the bottle itself and it was warning me that the water level was low. Apparently that's not the case, because yesterday I put a full gallon in the car and today t used it all up and got hot again. I have not observed and water leaking, but I also have not detected any water coming out the exhaust nor is there water in the oil. Car still runs awesome, no performance problems of any kind and no "check engine lights". Has anyone else here had this situation? I'm thinking the worst, blown head gasket, warped or cracked head etc.
The only leaks I have seen (I think) are from the air con condensation near the passenger side firewall. Please tell me I am wrong and there is something in the area that's loosing coolant....
If I am into a head gasket, I will be doing it myself, I can't afford to pay someone else to do it. So if that time comes I will be looking for all the assistance I can get. Thanks

 

Make sure you use the correct coolant for the MINI. I pony up and buy it from MINI dealer, but there is a aftermarket match. Do a search on this site and you will find the names of acceptable coolants.

Also, the MINI coolant is full strength, so you need to dilute 50-50.

Now, where is the leak? OK, I just went thru this on my 09 JCW @ 118k miles. I wasn't leaving puddles on the ground and didn't see any leak looking at the top of the motor.

I put the car up on jack stands and got underneath and found dried coolant residue on the transmission housing. Above the transmission on the drivers side is the Coolant temperature sensor housing. It is below the 2 air tubes kinda next to the oil filter cap. It looks like an artificial heart with about 7 coolant hoses connecting to it. (maybe its only 5 tubes). Once I pulled the air tubes out of the way I could see coolant puddles on top of the transmission housing.

This is where my leak was coming from.

The water pump is on the passenger side down low close to the firewall. Another place to look is on the inside of the cabin. Check for wet carpet.

Any of these is less work than a head gasket.

Good luck

 

Thanks you Sir, you give me hope. I was planning on putting it on a lift at my buddy's shop before I did anything drastic. I didn't want to put $ coolant in just to have it get wasted. I will do a thorough search for leaks in the places you recommend, I just hope it didn't get to hot to warp the head or something. Of all the things this car needs it should have a damn temp gauge. What kind of high performance machine has so few gauges as this car? I will be adding a coolant gauge, a boost gauge and an oil pressure gauge in the not too distant future. Thanks for your input, my car only has 50K on the clock and I would not expect to be having this kind of trouble all ready.

 

I just got done with a similar issue. I had a significant coolant leak, and I determined it was the reservoir ($80 part). It looks like the plastic can't take the heat or something, because it just cracked at the top nipple. I bought BMW coolant (same thing) for $24 and 1 gal of distilled water for $.90.

 

Yep 50/50 with Blue coolant ( comes concentrated ) and the expansion tanks usually with age can crack at the bottom. I would check the thermostat housing for leaks also as a precaution, it pools on the transmission housing and you don't see it at first till it overflows.

Here is the thread with DIY and pats and what to look for.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...8-no-heat.html

Thermostat housing kit.






Coolant reservoir / expansion tank.



Thanks

 

My problem was in deed that @&^%**( thermostat housing. This is the first work I have had to do to the car and with my bad back getting that damn thing out and back in was a major pain. I used antifreeze that said "for all cooling systems" and it all seems to be fine. I've done a lot of pain in the *** jobs in my life but at my age and my back, this has to be in the top ten pain in the asses. I hope I never have to do that job again.
Thanks for aiming me in the right direction
Now ....what are you guys doing about gauges for your cars, any recommendations?

Thanks again

 

@KevinHogan

Yep loads of good advice on these forums.
Know exactly what you mean about not paying an arm and a leg for repairs.
Sorry to hear about you back tho'
But remember, they said to not use just any coolant......pay for the good stuff!
And then you use "good for ALL cooling systems".
Hate to hear about your back going out again when you dip into that wallet and pony up for the next possible self issue created.

Just one man's opinion, but good advice is some times hard to find, great, free, experienced advice................Priceless!

 

Kevin Hogan - You are welcome, glad I could help. If you need anythings else, let me know. The forums here are a valuable resource.

 

I just had some worries with my JCW and the cooling fan not coming on. Anyway long story, but I now use Dash Command on my iphone and an OBDII wifi reader plugged into the port under the steering wheel and to the left. Among a myriad of other useful (and not so useful) things read directly from the ECU, water temp is displayed - current and maximum achieved temp. A useful 'early warning' before the holy crap light coming on on the tacho...