02 Cooper S Coolant Leak Near Front Bumper
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02 Cooper S Coolant Leak Near Front Bumper
Bought an 02 Cooper S last night. Drove it home and everything went perfect until I got to my driveway (48 interstate miles). Then it changed its mind about how much coolant it wanted to have and decided to dump it. Hoping for input on where to start looking. Checked upper radiator hose, thermostat housing, and expansion tank. Found one hose that had a clamp left off, installed a clamp but that wasn't the issue. Took a short video:
its pouring down off the bottom of the radiator once the engine warms up. Not the start off I was looking for, but a start none the less.
2nd Gear
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If you've checked the upper and lower hoses, and didn't find any holes there, I would assume that the actually radiator is leaking probably somewhere in the fins matrix. You would know until you pull the front end off and look at the fins and try to pressurize and test for leaks with everything open.
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I couldn't see it leaking from up higher, but really tough to see. Wasn't sure if this looked characteristic of any of the common leak points. I appreciate the replies. I'll check the lower hose connections again
The coolant looks real good; even might be recently replaced... Again, it’s possible someone did a half-assed repair (Gooped on silicone? JB Weld? Electrical tape? Who knows?) on said crack, which lasted the ride home before popping off. If that's the case, you're lucky you were able to get home before all the coolant dumped somewhere along the freeway ride home...
Last edited by AoxoMoxoA; Mar 13, 2019 at 05:46 PM.
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Judging from the video, the coolant appears to be pouring out at a fairly good clip. The hose connections on these radiators are plastic, so it's entirely possible that some ham-fisted hack was a little rough trying to get the lower hose off and cracked the nipple. If that's the case here, I'm not sure it's repairable, so you'll need to source a replacement radiator.
The coolant looks real good; even might be recently replaced... It's entirely possible that someone did a half-assed repair (Gooped on silicone? JB Weld? Electrical tape? Who knows?) on said crack, which lasted the ride home before popping off. If that's the case, you're lucky you were able to get home before all the coolant dumped somewhere along the freeway ride home...
The coolant looks real good; even might be recently replaced... It's entirely possible that someone did a half-assed repair (Gooped on silicone? JB Weld? Electrical tape? Who knows?) on said crack, which lasted the ride home before popping off. If that's the case, you're lucky you were able to get home before all the coolant dumped somewhere along the freeway ride home...
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From: Fort Worth, TX
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A couple years ago my son's '02 developed a leak low on the drivers side at the joint between the metal core and the plastic end cap on the radiator. Had to replace the radiator. Its not so hard. Should be some videos on youtube if you decide to do yourself. Just make sure to bleed the system of air after filling.
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Thanks again to everyone for their response. I ended up towing the car over to a trusted mechanic. He found that someone had done some sloppy work and multiple coolant lines did not have the clamps placed back on properly, supercharger elbow had not been tightened properly, etc. Almost all wrapped up and will be back home Friday. Really looking forward to learning from this community and again I appreciate the feedback.
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