2011 Mini Cooper s coolant flush questions
 

Hi guys.
Need to do coolant flush on my mini. Got the right coolant and called two local
Places.
One told me if I want to have some gasket and filter change while they pull the pan down to drain the old coolant?
What filter and what gasket?
Can someone give me some feedback here on what they are talking about?
I was thinking of doing this myself (wetvac option to suck it out) but can't find any good instructions with pics for N18 engine and don't want messed this up.
Thanks for any info.

Filter... Gasket....?


Nope. Pull lower hose... Let-er rip.

Just make sure to use the bleed screw filling it back up.

Oh and make sure to mix the coolant with distilled water for best results.

lol.. dunno why but the guy was thinking all the time about transmission fluid change.. lol

anyhow.. got some coolant from local BMW dealer.. not sure if I am going to be able to do it on my own since all I have to lift the car are two small ramps from local auto store.. and have a feeling this wont work.
may have to end up to pay local shop to do it.

can U please explain this: "Just make sure to use the bleed screw filling it back up"

thanks

You should be able to remove the lower hose to drain the radiator coolant with some ramps. Just make sure it is cool and all the pressure is released.

When you refill the coolant, there is a bleed screw (drivers's side of engine in line with the spark plugs, down in is a plastic cross hatched screw head) that needs to be opened so the coolant will fill completely. The bleed screw needs to be turned about 3 turns to open up fully. Be careful not to go beyond that and lose the screw into the engine bay. When coolant bubbles out, close the screw down. I also did a "burp" after driving the car a bit.

Hey guys.
So I'm getting ready to do the coolant flush. Few questions:
- where is exactly the bleeding screw/nut? Anyone had a picture of it in engine area? I have 2011 MCS.
- I was told, all I need to do is unattached the lower hose from radiator and let it drain.
I was also told That its NOT necessary to do destillated water flush. I just need to drain the old coolant and fill with new one app. 1.5 gallon.

Correct?

On the t-stat housing... I'll try to get a pic.

Yes, hose.. And use distiller water. Spend the $1.50 to have me sleep at night.. Who knows what minerals/chlorine are in your water..

I'm curious to why you are changing the coolant in a 2011.

I believe the coolant should be changed every 2 years.

At some point...not sure of the year...
MINI/BMW changed the formulation of the coolant to "LONGLIFE"...they say to just replace any drained coolant after working on the system...no draining/flushing needed unless you have contaminated it....
don't know if I trust that statement..but 4-6 years seems safe as most long life list about 6 years, 150,000 miles....as opposed to "lifetime" as MINI/BMW...:eek:

To the OP

Sounds like you are over your head.....:nod::eek::roll:

you must let the air out of the system...or you have bubbles that can make the car overheat..costing you $$$$ if you blow a head gasket or warp the head....
Coolant is sold both PRE_DILUTED and PURE...last time I bought MINI/BMW coolant, it was PURE, undiluted....
So it MUST BE MIXED with water..distilled is STRONGLY recommended...
and just dropping the hose, you will get about half the coolant out...the coolant will remain in the block and the heater core...you will get ABOUT ONE HALF OF THE COOLANT OUT...
a FLUSH uses pressurized water/coolant to remove this...
a shop-Vac....lol...
The idea of dropping the hose is it is the LOWEST POINT on the car...so sediment (from using mineral laden NON_DISTILLED WATER) will come out...flushing does more..getting the stuck gunk...scale, rust, etc out.

+1, did all my fluid changes every two years.

Thank you for replay.
YES, ima getting over my head :)
Few reasons:
- I'm doing it first time in my life
- I still don't know where is that bleeding screw located
Everyone talks about it, but there is no clear pic anywhere for me to know exactly.
- what's the reason for all the DIY options if you really not getting all that coolant out?
- I got BMW FULL strength coolant

Try this pdf. (Hope it attaches... never tried it before.)

Fluids Changing
 

1. Not all coolants are the same so use the BMW blue. Too many details to explain here. Zinc and chemical additives vary you will have to trust this.

2. No coolant will last more than 50k it weakens with heat, time and contact (I know what the bottle says)!

3. I have been doing this 26 years and changing it every 30k or two years.

I have 190k on my Ford (and good bless) no water pump EVER needed in 12 years!

Flush its auto Trans every 30k, NO problems with Trans ever.

Flush brake fluids every two years or with Trans.

Synthetic in diffs. Checked one for giggles fluid (mobile one by the way) looked brand new and if my pan were new I would have re-used it! Pan was dirty.

Flush power steering with Trans and brakes. No rack problems at all! No pump problems at all............

Spark plugs- yeah. Uhemmmm. I know what the book says, look at them at 50k and tell me what you see compared to a new one and you will see due to the crappy fuels of today.

:nod:

Fluids
 

Almost forgot......Every 5 or so tanks I add one small bottle of injector cleaner or half can of seafoam. Prefer seafoam:eek:.
NO fuel pump every needed 190K today! Gummy tanks make gummy pumps make for heat= new pump.:grin:

I have been using a tool - Airlift Cooling System Leak Checker - that I got from Amazon, ~$100 and I have been very happy with the results. After draining and hooking the hose back up, this thing pulls a vacuum on the entire cooling system - via the coolant bottle top. You monitor this vacuum to check for leaks THEN hook up a tube to the tool and the evacuated cooling system sucks in the coolant from a bucket of pre-mixed coolant. No bleeding needed! It fills the entire cooling system in seconds. Be advised that you do need a compressor to operate the venturi that creates the vacuum - so if you don't have a decent compressed air supply you are out of luck. The tool is not MINI-specific [I've also used it on my F-250] and the venturi is useful other tasks as well such as vacuum bleeding the brakes.

Also, I got the coolant on Amazon as well. I believe it was Zerex G-5?

Guys I must be blind cause I don't see any bleeding screw anywhere :(

All the pics I seen so far are for NOT N18 engine. There is no visible bleeding screw in N18. Bummer.

cub4bearindiana, I've seen mine.

A thumbnail below to click on...this is the top of the thermostat housing.

Bleed screw is hard to see, usually covered by cables etc above it very close to the temp sensor.

Stand in front of the engine, look straight down from above US drivers side just to the right of the valve cover near the silver round fuel pump-ish...

Re the thumb nail pic: imagine the valve cover above the tsat housing pic and disappearing into the top lhs corner...

The cross-headed black plastic screw is the bleed screw. After 3 full turns to open it I understand it gets washed out by the coolant and drops downwards to be lost in the engine bay never to be seen again, hence the NAM advice to 'see' how far it opens when safely in the palm of your hand, before fitting.

Took some pics of the engine area. Gave up for today. 1 hr of looking for that Effin screw was plenty enough.

Here,

Just took these.

2013 n18 motor.

You are looking at the drivers side of the head.. its on top of the coolant flange area. Its a large "+" shaped plug.

http://imageshack.us/a/img534/2923/e1gl.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img710/9237/djt1.jpg

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/2923/e1gl.th.jpg
http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/9237/djt1.th.jpg

Would u believe me if I said: it is not there on 2011 MSC n18?

I think if you push that harness aside you'll be able to see it.

I'm really not trying to be an ass or jerk here lol. I moved things around. I tried take better pics. I used stronger light. There is no screw like you had in your pics.

I'm lost. Lol

Also I noticed difference to that silver housing right above your hand. Mine is different than yours. Looks like there were some changes made between 2011 and 2013 n18?

I could be wrong, but I believe its the HPFP or the vacuum pump for the brake booster. It has had a few revisions. Right now I can't look.. I'm being paged to give a bath to my 5 year old.. lol