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My son and I changed the coolant in the 2009 Mini base (21,000 miles on the car), and was the easiest to refill/burp the air out of any vehicle I've worked on in the past.
The owners manual states this is lifetime coolant but I like to change coolant periodically on my vehicles.
It was a snap to pull the lower radiator hose off at the coupling to drain the coolant; that even sucked the water out of the surge tank as well. (The lower radiator hose connector is out in the open and clamp pliers worked great there.) Turning the heater control on with fan set to low (engine off) also allowed the heater core to empty. Filled up plastic jugs with old coolant to get an idea on exactly how much we needed to add back.
Opened the bleeder valve on the thermostat housing 3-turns, easy to get to on non-turbo ... clear shot to the valve with flat blade screwdriver.
Filled with 50/50 mix of "OE quality" antifreeze and distilled water: http://www.pentosin.net/specsheets/Pentofrost_NF.pdf
seems this is likely the stuff put in at the factory. Same nice blue color, looks like Kool-Aid, but didn't taste it. Designed for BMW/Mini. Available at many auto parts stores.
The refill was done through the surge tank filler neck, squeezing the lower radiator hose started the burping process ... but then found out the system did the burping all by itself! When fluid appeared at the thermostat bleeder valve, then closed it. We kept adding more fluid and it kept burping up air bubbles. Ended up putting in about 1-cup short of what we drained out.
We knew there was very little air in the system at that point.
Started the engine and waited for the thermostat to open then put the cap on the surge tank and drove around the block. Got back and let the engine cool down completely - later added the last cup to bring to the Max-line and heater works perfect.
Looked at the drained "old" coolant closely and it was perfectly clean - no sediment or oil. No signs of contamination at all.
Did not expect the system to self-burp all that air out so easily! Made the task simple - like that design and component placement. Only needed a little over one and a half containers of antifreeze, have a bit left-over.
Thanks for all the tips in this forum!!!
Ron
We recommend that the coolant be changed at least every 36 months, or approximately every three years. I'm not a huge fan of long-life antifreeze. One often neglected task on many cars is the maintenance of the cooling system. It's good that you keep up and maintain your cooling system. To keep your MINI operating correctly, it's important to check the level, strength, and overall condition of the coolant on a regular basis. You also need to change the coolant before it degrades to the point where it doesn't perform its job adequately. One failure mode associated with dirty coolant is known as electrolysis and if you keep up and maintain your cooling system well will help prolong the life of your MINI. Glad this forum was helpful to you and if you want more information about the cooling system, we have a great DIY article that goes over this and more. Good job on the change and hope you and your son do more work together on the MINI.
A couple of questions: You said you were able to pull the hose off "at the coupling" What coupling? Do you mean at the radiator? I saw at least one tutorial where they pulled the hose off at the radiator. However, the intercooler hose, which I can't get off, is hard against that hose connection, and the area is too tight to allow me to pull on the radiator hose, or twist it enough to loosen the connection.
Pelican parts says to put the radiator in the service position, after removing the bumper cover, etc, but they're a little vague about how to remove the bumper cover. I'll go that route if it allows a clear way to remove the lower hose, but I don't want to if I don't have to.
I'm in the midst of removing the oil filter housing, and I'm more than halfway towards saying to hell with it, and just loosening the housing and let fluids go where they will. I'll need a much bigger pan tho'.
Hi nlinesk8s,
Difference that made the task so simple is that it is non-turbo / non-supercharger.
When looking to buy a Mini we passed up on many of them that had all the extra plumbing partly because it made maintenance tasks more difficult.
Everything is in clear view without having to remove anything from engine bay.
Opened hood and could see the lower radiator coupling and clamps in clear view at bottom back of driver's side of radiator.
Went up on these homemade ramps that I made for my Camaro:
And the connector is on the lower radiator hose right at the point where it runs adjacent to the lower left corner of the radiator. Opened clamp with clamp pliers and the hose slid off coupling very easily. No spillage and all collected in drain pan, then measured to make sure we put back exactly what was drained.
Year-end vacation to Florida saw temps in mid-80's each day and engine behaved great, even with the a/c on. Drove 1,500 miles total and coolant level exactly on full-line does not look like even a drop is missing. Also did NOT notice any drop in oil level when checked at mid-point of trip.
Hopefully others with boosted plumbing in the way can give tip for easiest method to drain those configurations.
Ron
A couple of questions: You said you were able to pull the hose off "at the coupling" What coupling? Do you mean at the radiator? I saw at least one tutorial where they pulled the hose off at the radiator. However, the intercooler hose, which I can't get off, is hard against that hose connection, and the area is too tight to allow me to pull on the radiator hose, or twist it enough to loosen the connection.
Pelican parts says to put the radiator in the service position, after removing the bumper cover, etc, but they're a little vague about how to remove the bumper cover. I'll go that route if it allows a clear way to remove the lower hose, but I don't want to if I don't have to.
I'm in the midst of removing the oil filter housing, and I'm more than halfway towards saying to hell with it, and just loosening the housing and let fluids go where they will. I'll need a much bigger pan tho'.
We have a Radiator Support Service Position separate from the Coolant Change DIY that can help you with a step by step process to remove the front bumper. Let me know if you have questions after reviewing that article.
After going after the oil filter housing to get at gaskets, I really wished I'd removed the bumper and put the carrier in the service position. The few inches gained there are golden.
Pelican, do you sell a "service position kit", that has all of the plastic connectors that are going to break when you remove things? It'd be a good idea (based on my previous experience with Audi's and service positions)
Unfortunately we do not have kits, but that's a great suggestion and I'll pass it along. Most of what you'll be removing are metal fasteners. However, we have the plastic expanding rivat for the fender liner that will need to be removed to put it into service mode HERE (pictured below on the vehicle). If you review the Radiator Support Service Position article it has images of each fastener you will need to detach.
