When attempting to repair certain components on your MINI, you can always check our guides as a reference: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...tech_index.htm

 

I know this is an old thread but I just bought my first mini a few days ago, I'm a mechanic so I looked it over the best I could. I check everything but the coolant, the oil did not look new but did not look black and old so I know they didn't just do an oil change to it. I took the car on a good test drive and everything felt sound and ran exultant!! I bought the car it's a 06 cooper S, everything was good for the first day, the second day I washed it and let it run for a little bit. When I got in the temp light was on I drove it around the driveway to see if cool air would help and it did so I drove it around. Next day I check and the bottle was empty, I filled and check the next day and it had gone down but not as bad. Topped off one more time check the next morning and it had dropped just a hair. I put more in today so I will check again I'm hopping it was just air bubbles still releasing from how low it was, but I'm a little worried about why it was low. I'm hopping I didn't buy something that needs money dumped into it already! Thanks guys!!

 

So you are saying when you checked out the car initially you did not take note of the coolant level in the overflow?

If you did look and you lost that much coolant that sounds bad. If you did not notice it then it could have been low to begin with. You really are not likely to see any spots where the car is parked. look at the pics in this thread and have a peak while monitoring the level. Listen for gurgling nosies when you are turning if you have air in the system you know its leaking somewhere. As your oil looked fine not likely a head gasket. not sure if an intake gasket could be a possible. look at the inside of your oil fill cap. If it looks all chalky gummy it may be a clue.

 

I check everything but the coolant, it was cold and rainy but that's no excuse I know. As for the oil it looks and smells like it should, oil cap has no milky looking sludge on it, car runs and drives flawless!!! Exhaust looks and smells good! The car is a one owner car from cali so I'm thinking no kid got ahold of it and trashed it. It's all stock no intake or anything else on it. I have not herd or seen any gurgling or bubbling from any part of the cooling system, heat works great. I'm hoping its nothing bad! I can't see under the T stat to see if it is leaking but like a lot of people say it will evaporate so I don't know I'll drive it and see what happens! I'm loving the car so far tho!!!

 

Unless you are willing to start taking stuff off the top the only real way to see is from underneath. Car is so stiff that if you jack up on the drivers side rear pad you can toss a jack stand under the front end and climb under and look for drips. If it is not on the non-belt side could be water pump which is a lot more annoying to fix.


Edit Sorry I thought this was the T-stat thread (email notification LOL) you should look here
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...at-change.html

 

Thanks for the info guys! I'm going to try and put it up in the air this weekend to get a real good look under it!

 

good luck
remember as soon as you start that puppy coolant from the overflow will get pulled into the block to some extent so make sure when you are looking at the level the engine is cold. When I replaced the water pump on my suburban and was checking I thought I was loosing coolant but an hour in the driveway made it clear I was not

 

One other question I had was, iv seen talks about the exhaust in the coolant test as well. Would I still be loosing coolant if this was going on and if so, it seems as if it would be loosing it at a quick rate, from the hot exhaust fumes.

 

In my opinion you are likely looking at condensation of water vapor within the exhaust.

if it is truly coolant then it is nearly always a blown headgasket or a cracked head or block

 

Sorry iv been out of the gas engine loop, iv owned a diesel for the last 6 years and haven't paid much attention to the gas world. So is this water vapor in the exhaust normal or leading to a blown head gasket or the other stuff you said? And what would the signs be of what you are talking about?

 

Exhaust gasses being pushed into the coolant will usually cause bubbles in the overflow tank and can cause coolant to be pushed out of the tank. There will also be an oily film on the coolant surface. Coolant leaking into a combustion chamber, causing vapor in the exhaust (due to a crack or head gasket failure) has a very distinct sweet odor at the tailpipe. If, like you said, the exhaust just smells like...well...exhaust, then you're probably good. Most likely culprit is the T-stat housing. Lots of fun to replace.

Jon in SC

 

Ok thanks!! Exhaust smells like normal exhaust and all I see in the tank is coolant, nothing floating or oil sheen on top. Forgive my newness to the mini world but I see people mention the over flow tank, is that the main tank or is their a separate tank elsewhere?

 

I am not a mechanic but I am curious what are you a mechanic of?

 

I knew I'd get that, like I said before I'm more into diesels and heavy equipment. I have never dove into a gas engine but iv had my trucks engine a part before. Iv just never heard of exhaust in the coolant before so I'm simply asking a question.

 

Only one tank, offwhite and in the center of the firewall. There isn't even a cap on the radiator.

Head gaskets can fail in strange ways. On my Subaru, it would run fine for a while, then suddenly start blowing water out of the overflow tank, and sometimes the water would just disappear (i.e. out the tailpipe.) This all happened when I was several hundred miles from home, so I just stocked up on distilled water and babied it until I got home.

 

"Center of the firewall"???

 

Yes.

The firewall is the wall that separates the engine bay from the passenger compartment. It is called a firewall because it contains the spread of engine fire hopefully long enough for you to get out of the car.

open the deckled, stand in the middle of the car looking towards the passenger compartment and in the center coming out of the firewall is your coolant tank. looks like this:

 

Lol I got it, I know where the coolant reservoir is, I just have seen people talk about the over flow tank witch is usually separate from the reservoir tank. I just didn't see one in the engine compartment is all so I was just making sure I wasn't over looking it.

 

Yes, yes, I know what a firewall is. My bad for not knowing where the expansion tank is on a 1st gen. 2nd gen is front-left of engine bay. Never called a hood or bonnet a deckled though :-}>

 

Hi everyone.
I need some help diagnosing my coolant leak problem.
Planning on selling my 2004 Cooper and want to make sure that I take care of this correctly for the new owner.
- overflow tank will complete deplete after 50-60 km
- tank is the older (milky white) color. But it seems like it is in good shape; no visible cracks, etc.
- no evidence of leak is seen from looking over the engine from the top. tank, hoses, etc, all seem to be fine.
- under the car, you do see evidence of a leak, but I cannot pinpoint the location.
- when the car is running you can see air bubbles coming into the overflow tank! Just noticed this today!
I believe my next step should be to take off the plastic cover underneath the car and do a closer inspection.
- If the thermostat is the problem, can you tell from the top or from the bottom of the car?
- please take a look at the attached photos and advise.
The pics were taken from the passenger side of the car.

P.S. about 10k miles ago, I had the coolant temp sensor replaced, after engine overheating gauge would peg

Thanks so much!

P.P.S: having a hard time adding pics. You can see them in my NAM gallery or here: https://plus.google.com/photos/10801...CMGxrI-u2bKoCg

Thanks again!!

 

Yes, you need to remove the splash shield and find exactly where the leak is coming from. if you're lucky it will just be a hose or the expansion tank. If from the left side it's likely the thermostat. Hard to get visual access without removing some plumbing. Even then, probably easier to snake your hand down there and feel for something wet. If the leak is on the right side, it's likely the water pump. The pipe between the two is also plastic, and suspect...I just had to replace mine. The fact that you see bubbles in the expansion tank, while running, COULD, be a sign of a blown head gasket. After a complete cooldown...start the engine and smell the exhaust. If you get the sickly sweet smell of coolant...your head gasket is likely toast.

 

Thanks, Yakatak.
By left side, do you mean passenger side?

 

No.....Left side as you sit in the car. Also...as...we drive on the right side of the road. I always have to think about it too...

 

Exhaust smells normal. No apparent film in the overflow tank.
After topping up the tank yesterday, It is now down to MIN level. The car was only started and driven up my ramps twice, so apparantly there is a very sizable leak.

I took off the splash shield and it was contained a puddle of coolant on the left (passenger) side.



I thought the thermostat was on the right (driver's) side?

Still pretty hard to see what's going on, though.

Don't really want to replace the thermostat until I know for sure that is the problem.

 

Ha, yes! I used to work as a sound engineer and we always had to clarify STAGE right or AUDIENCE right!

Ok, so my leak is predominantly on the RIGHT side. So that means it's not the thermostat.

So now it is either water pump? hose? or...

Think I need to take it in...