yesterday i went out to my mini before i left to check the fluids....the fluid in the exp tank was a bit low so no biggie i replaced it and went on about my day...while my car was at minicorsa getting work done i noticed dried coolant on the frame and a very slow drip coming down....this morning i went out to my car and checked and the coolant was sitting on the Min line...and there is a small damp spot on the ground....here is the interesting part...its not coming from the t-stat or rad hoses i just replaced those with samco ones...it seems to be coming from the nest of hoses in the back of the engine bay cuz i ran my hands around back there and came up with coolant on my fingers...has anyone had the same problem and where i can i find replacement instructions for those hoses and part numbers

tks all

 

It's not the thermostat it's actually the thermostat housing, it is some crappy plastic thing that likes to break. I had the coolant showing up in the same place you mentioned and it was the thermostat housing.

What year is your MINI?

 

Yep, my money is on the housing... Replaced mine a couple months ago under warranty.

 

nope its neither....i looked at the hoses in the back and there is one with coolant around it...has anyone replaced those hoses in the back and if so how was it done....are those hoses pressurized like the rad hoses?>

 

anyone replaced the hoses in the back...any special procedure?

 

There are input and output hoses going to the heater core, I replaced one of them because it had worn through from rubbing against a power steering reservoir hose. The OEM replacement I ordered took too much time (3 months from Germany) to arrive so I found a similar shaped generic piece and cut it to fit. When you remove the expansion tank cap it releases pressure, so no problem with that, but be prepared for a coolant spill when you pull the damaged hose.

 

ive replaced the rad hoses so itll be nice not having to deal with tearing the front bay all the way apart

 

I noticed a leak under my MINI last week and parked it until my appointment yesterday. It was the stat housing. I picked it up just before they closed and now the clutch is grabbing. I don't know how this relates but I have called them. Service is closed till monday.

 

had the thermostat replaced then re-replaced a few months later under a warranty from the shop. It was overheating and that seemed to fix it. Now they say its leaking from the housing and will have to be replaced. Will I have to replace the t-stat again while doin so? Im just going to do it myself, doesnt seem to hard. I have the same grabby feeling in the clutch and its gotten progressively worse over several months. Its gotten very hard to shift correctly and everyone says to replace the clutch master and slave cylinders.

 

My clutch seems to be back to normal now. Hopefully it stays good. It was driven less than 100 miles with the leak.