Hi Guys,
So my issue is i noticed my radiator hose had some residue so i removed the clamps and the hoses (a lot of coolant fell out) and cleaned them as i inspected for a leak but these wasnt one. I put new hose clamps i got from home depot. I filled up the radiator with some water for the time being because i didnt know which coolant to use yet. This was about a month ago. Just last week i saw the same residue on the hose and some on the new clamps too! Checked and squeezed the hoses for leaks and still nothing! And on Saturday my car began to overheat every time i would stop at a red light. I had to go above 40mph so it could cool down. I felt bad for my radiator fan because it sounded like it was working its *** off to try to keep the engine cool. So today i went and bought some Coolant called Peak's 50/50 Antifreeze. Poured it into the radiator and left it halfway before reaching the top and closed the cap. I ran the engine for 10-15min and checked on the temp. It was fine and i felt relieved. So i begin to drive my car around the block and as i hit 30mph the temp starts rising again and the fan tries to cool down the engine again. So i slow down and the temp drops for about 5 seconds, stabilizes and then rises again. I have no idea what is going on. I spoke to my manager today and he said it may be the thermostat and that it is not opening? Any thoughts guys? Please help me out.

 

Sounds like it needs to be bleed.....
It will overheat if it has an airbubble in it....

Also is the radiator fan working?
I bet no...the PS fan can sieze, and when it does, it blows a 5 amp fuse that depowers the radiator fan...on later production 2005 this is not true, but pre 1-2005 cars yes....
So it WOULD overheat if you are not moving....
Gotta fix the PS fan...change the fuse....
Intern step, might be clean the PS fan, lube it...chance the fan...unplugging it for a day or two might be OK....if you just change the fuse, the PS fan will blow the fuse again....
And repeted overheating usually blows a head gasket........

 

Indeed it is working. I've seen it blow cool air because when i open up the hood i look at the fan and its spinning well. Along with the cool air blowing into my face. It cant be the fan right?

 

Thanks for the help by the way

 

Blown head gasket my friend...check every cylinder compression.

 

Way too fast to go jump to that conclusion..

Follow zippy's suggestion about 1) properly bleeding the system 2) don't use random coolant - peak is like the cheapest stuff at autozone. I would tend to think something with coolant and airflow too as overheating stops when you get moving ie: low speed fan not working combined with air bubble AND use of non compatible coolant. As for diagnosis of a head gasket issue: is the oil milky color? Is there white smoke out the exhaust? Those are signs of a blown head gasket..not just overheating.

 

Yup...
Hopefully it is just a bubble in the cooling system....
So many cars are neglected....folks do oil changes, but forget coolant....
Maybe you hav e a leaking thermostat gasket, hose or radiator....system went low...got a bubble...and bam!! It DOES NOT SELF BLEED....
ONE MORE QUESTION....do you have much heat?

 

Okay guys! So found some coolant leak on the face of the radiator. Right at the mid left side of it. And both mt dad and i belive that may be the problem. I looked inside the expansion tank and its empty! So could it be i need a new radiator? And by saying much heat what do you mean?

 

No milky oil or white smoke out of the exhaust. The thing is the 2005 R50 manual doesnt show what coolant to use. I was thinking of calling a close by mini dealer. Would they know? As i stated before i did see a fresh coolant stain in the front of the radiator.

 

Did your car appear to be leaking antifreeze before you messed with hose? Was it overheating before you changed the hose clamps?

If not, I would make sure it's full, and make sure you bleed it.

This is from Pelican Tech article:

R50 Cooper: There are a few differences in the coolant fill procedure for the R50 Cooper. Unlike the supercharged cars, the coolant is added to the car at the thermostat neck on the engine. Before you start to fill the engine, loosen the vent screw in the plastic coupler piece coming from the lower radiator hose as well as the vent screw in the distribution pipe on the rear of the thermostat housing. Also turn the ignition of the car on (don�t start it just yet) and set the heater controls to the maximum level with the fan on low. This will open the lines going to the heater core inside the car.

Because of the position of the thermostat under the filler neck, adding coolant to the R50 can be a little difficult. What will help considerably is a filling kit that works off gravity. This kit (Lisle 24610) allows you to attach a large reservoir to the filler neck using a series of adapters. Once attached, pour the coolant into the reservoir and let gravity do the rest. You�ll want to fill the engine until you start to see coolant coming out of both vent screws. Once you see this, close both of the screws. Keep filling the reservoir until it no longer drain into the filler neck. Now remove the reservoir and close the vent screws.

With the vent screws closed, continue to fill the engine until the coolant level reaches the inner ring of the filler neck. Now put the pressure cap back on the filler neck and fill the overflow tank on the rear bulkhead to the MAX mark. Now start the engine and let it idle. You�ll want to keep an eye of the coolant level at the overflow tank. Top off the coolant in the tank until the car fully warms up and the coolant level drops.

 

Actually it was indeed after i changed the hose clamps that my car began to overheat. But i only changed it because there seemed to be a leak already and the hoses coming from the radiator were stained with dry antifreeze. It was only after i changed my clamps that my cooper was overheating more frequently.

 

Here is what I would do...
It sounds like you may have made a bubble when you did the hose clamps...or if it went low from a leak...
I would clean the radiator off...a bit of water and a hose....
Next fill and bleed the system...
BMW/mini coolant (it is blue) is preferred, but most any long life coolant should be fine....
Fill and bleed as above...do it 2 or 3 times....honest...it will take that many times...
Drive it a bit...keep a eys on the level...if you add coolant...
Start looking for stains....the radiator might be bad...but only about a $100 item if so (rockauto.com has some cheap OEM copies, same brands as the local auto places for less)...they do crack on the sides where the tubes are heatbonded to the plastic endtanks...about 10 years is common....

 

Cool advice man thank you. One last question. I have Peaks in there. Should i flush out that coolant too? The thing is that i fill it and it gets empty again every time i run my car and it heats up. Not right away but all in a couple of hours.

 

Okay guys quick update!:

So i wanted to locate the 2 vent screws on the hoses and i just unscrewed them to see how i have to do it and on the one closest to the radiator i heard a tsssss as if i was opening a sprite bottle. Could this mean there was air in there? Also that is where the residue from the coolany keeps appearing.

 

Yes - that is pressurized air. Opening that valve on a properly bled car should result in coolant coming out not air. Keep bleeding and driving...

As for coolant - the local mini dealer will tell you to use mini coolant - it's barely more than the autoZone coolant.

 

I want to thank everyone that helped me out. I bled out the system and took it for a drive. Temperature was stabilizing and once i got off i checked the levels on the overflow tank and made sure it was little over half and the radiator's filler neck was too hot so ill check it later. But seriously thank you all. I am grateful for all the help in getting another mini back on the road!

 

Except the guy who told you it was the head gasket - don't thank that guy....

 

Newbie here. What is the PS fan? I'm having overheating issues also and it isn't a coolant leak.

 

Its the power steering fan. Its underneath the power steering pump

 

 

The first and most simple thing you can do and should do (and i learned this from this thread. Everybody helped me out) is check to see if your heater is working. If you do not feel hot air blow out at its highest setting, check the vent screws (2). One is located just right above the serpentine belt (for r50s 02-06). The other should be between the engine and the battery. Easy to spot. They have a philips(cross) drive. Open and listen for any air releasing. If so, you would need to bleed the system. Where you just get yourself a gallon of the same coolant you have in your mini already. Turn your car to acc in the ignition (dont turn it on) to where you can use your heater and turn it to the hottest setting and the highest velocity. Open the radiator cap and open the vent screws to where the threads on the screws are just hanging on. You should hear air coming out and some coolant along with it. You will start to notice bubbles come out. Keep pouring in coolant to the radiator until the amount of bubbles are reduced to either slim or none. Then close up the screws and top off your radiator. If that doesnt solve the problem, i recommend you go to autozone and get the pressure test tool. Pressure test your cooling system and carefully check for leaks if your see pressure dropping from whats recommended written on the cap. Hope that helps dude! I know how frustrating and overheating car can be. Even to this day, whenever i hear my radiator fan turn on while im at a drive thru, i get paranoid.

 

Where's the best place to buy a power steering pump fan?

 

I don't think this is the issue, but I'm still going to do it just to make sure. Thanks!