So I have question my mini was low on antifreeze and I put some in it but I was watching the expansion tank and it was barely brining back any antifreeze and when I turned it off it was still low. Could it be a leak and maybe stupid question but what circulates the antifreeze threw I was thinking its not circulating very good and causing the problem

 

You may want to change the thermostat, housing, and gasket. I had the same problem with my R50 twice now...the first time I changed everything...the second time all I did was change the gasket and torque everything to specs. I've also got an R53 but have not had any problems yet...it's only got a little over 22,000 miles on it but the gaskets are made of a silicone and/or rubber material that seems to deteriorate which can cause leaks. This is a pretty inexpensive repair and pretty easy to do...at least it was on my R50.

 

Hello and welcome to the thread.

Information is key, you did not provide model/year?

 

Thankyou and sorry it's a 2003 mini cooper s

 

GEN1 S has a problem with expansion tanks cracking at the seam ... if this happens on the back side you may not see it. Look for residue of coolant cooking off on the heat shield below the expansion tank. They said they redesigned this once early on but I still find myself replacing for folks over and over. Not a crazy expensive part and a snap to replace ...



there are nice looking alloy replacements too ... but you can buy 5 plastic ones for what they cost ....

 

Do you see any coolant on anything? Yes, inspect the coolant tank, but also get under your MINI and inspect the thermostat and water pump areas. Any other symptoms other than your coolant being low? Poor maintenance of the cooling system can also result in the build-up of corrosion elements in both the radiator and heater core, creating clogs and leaks that decrease cooling performance. So, first see if you can track down where your coolant is going and go from there. We have a lot of coolant type articles that can help you below, under water cooling:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...tech_index.htm

Let me know if you have any questions.