I was driving along yesterday when I noticed my temp gauge starting to go up. I immediately pulled over and shut it off just as the red light started to blink. I opened the hood and of course there's no coolant at all. It was all over the top of the engine either. I called a tow truck and he said he saw on the road where it all spewed out. We looked underneath and it was all wet. It looked to me like it was more on the drivers side in the vicinity of the where the air filter sits. I didn't see any hoses off as it is really hard to see anything in there!

Is it possible I just blew a hose or could this be a whole other can of worms?

I just got my car back from a valve job 4 days ago....not sure if it would be related....

Where is the easiest place to start in your mind?

Thanks.

03 mini cooper base

Edit: I should note the car sat off for a good 45 mins while I got groceries and I drove less then 2 miles when it happened. So I wasn't doing any heavy driving.

 

Sounds like a hose did blow or was lose. The only way to know is to refill it after check all hoses and connections. Then idle it until it is warmed upto normal operating temperature. Then try bringing the RPM's up and watch for any leaks. Good luck

 

Hi Thanks for the advise.

I inspected all the hoses and found a large hose near the bottom of the radiator wasn't on right. The clamp that holds it on was about 5 inches down the hose not holding it securely. I managed to get it put back on right.

I refilled the system and did what you suggested. The coolant reservoir was bubbling. I let it run for maybe 10 minutes and then it over heated again so I of course shut it off. Nothing leaked out anywhere and the reservoir amount did not change....

I'm at a loss...would it be a bad thermostat or something?

 

I probably have to bleed the system....i'm reading into that now....

My mechanic said he had to pull the whole front end off to fix my cylinder head so i'm thinking that hose would have possibly had to been removed and never got put back on properly hence the snapring(?) makings its way 5 inches down the tube. I don't think that could have happened on its on since i couldn't slide it with my fingers. Gah:(

 

I wound up getting the car towed back to the mechanic to deal with since it was an error on his part and I don't want to make it worse. Hopefully he'll just have to bleed the system. Damn I wish I was a mechanic!! I do however understand the cooling system and it's components a lot better after this ordeal

Cheers!

 

Good move!
He can troubleshoot it....might be just a hose, or something related to the valve job.
I do know that even the just-a is a pain to bleed...my regular mechanic has a tool to help vacum bleed it....seems all mini's are a pain to deal with when the coolant system gets air in them...

 

Thanks Zippy

 

This happened to my sisters mini. The clamp holding the hose gave away. it was about a 15min fix but it sure was messy. GL let us know how you ended up

 

Got the car back today. He just had to bleed out the system and so far so good.....He took responsibility for not putting the clamp on the hose properly and fixed it with no fuss so that was at least nice.

Cheers!

 

Great news. Glad it all worked out. Good luck and motor on.

 

It's nice to hear that people still honor their work.

 

can anyone point me to a DIY for flushing and bleeding the coolent.
thanks

 

I googled your request and found this: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...g-coolant.html

 

Buzzsaw, thanks for posting that link.