Hi all,

In the past week or so I've noticed a strange sound of rushing water coming from somewhere in the dash of my 2007 Mini Cooper. It seems to happen once or twice shortly after I've started the car, and doesn't seem to depend on the car being on a tilted surface or not. Is this common, or should I get the dealer to look at it?

Also since I bought the car (1 month ago, second-hand) the doors have been awful stiff. What do folks usually use to lube the hinges? I asked at my dealer's service centre and they recommended a can of BMW "door brake" lubricant, but it's $16 a can - almost what they would probably charge to do it for me. I have a can of Jig-a-Loo Teflon Plus which I'm thinking of using. Would that sound OK?

Thanks

 

Bizarre! Do let us know what that dash noise is.

I'd imagine that this ridiculously expensive door hinge lube is nothing more than white lithium grease, available for cheap at your local Home Cheapo® store.

 

Based on first-hand experience, I can almost guarantee you that the "waterfall under the dash" noise is being caused by pockets of air in your cooling system. You probably notice the noise more when you accelerate from a stop, or punch the throttle at idle.

Now the $64K question is how did the air get in there in the first place? If you've recently had your cooling system flushed or had other similar work performed the most likely culprit is improper bleeding of the system. I'm a 1st Gen guy and don't know where the bleed points are on your MINI but I'm sure you can find out relatively easy. Make sure you run the cabin heater on full blast when you bleed since it's all one happy system.

If you haven't recently had a cooling system flush or similar work, chances are the air is getting in via a flaw in the system (e.g., cracked thermostat housing, split seam in the coolant reservoir, etc.). Best get it checked out if this applies.

Good luck!

 

Actually the can was some sort of dry lube, with one of those 2mm-thick pipettes attached to the nozzle. And the parts guy said not to use oil-based lube (like moly or such grease) as it would tend to dry out.

 

Like this?

 

Yah, but BMW-branded.

 

What parts of the car need to be lubricated with this grease and how often?

I've not greased anything on my vehicle for 38,000 miles! Yikes! Everything is still turning smoothly, though.

 

My MCS has had the water in dash sound since new. Has caused no problems, I think it is coolant rushing through the heater coil. Turn the radio on and you will never hear it.