My coolant system wasn't well maintained until about two years ago when I replaced the coolant. It had been way too long when I did that switch!

I've done a few other repairs here and there over the last 2 years that have required me to remove a coolant hose or two and I always notice the build-up of deposits on the inside of the coolant hoses. It's always made me a little uneasy, but I've never had any overheating issues, so cooling ability doesn't seem to be affected.

Nevertheless, I've been thinking about using a "radiator flush" solution next time I change the coolant. Something like this:


Have any of you used these on your MINI? Is it worth it, or could it possibly do damage to the system?

Any thoughts are much appreciated!

 

I've used the Prestone version on my 79 a couple of times

 

I used the Prestone flush just last weekend.

 

Did it work well? Remove deposits?

 

a lot of crud came out

was it more than if I just did a long fresh water flush? dunno

 

Not too much crud, but I have changed my coolant in the past as well. It did clean it out though.

Maybe a slight difference in the coolant temp after (via Scangage II)

 

Hmmm - might give it try next time around and just make sure all of it is flushed really well before doing the final fill.

 

Hi there:

Speaking of coolant flush/change, my 06 is up for coolant change again after 2 years. I am always concerned for the hoses and had asked an BMW/MINI shop to change them. The shop manager last told me it was way too soon to change mine. At this point I have 22000miles on after almost 7 years. Giving the heat generated by the S/C and the confined space under the bonnet, I would not think the hoses should be left unchanged for yet another 2 years.

What's your take? TIA.

 

I would agree with the shop. I changed a bunch of mine last year at about 8.5 years and 115k miles, and it was likely premature. I'd say you have at least 2 more years of being safe, but probably even more than that. The OEM MINI hoses are excellent quality and very long-lasting. I wouldn't get anything but OEM when you do replace them.

I suggest just taking a look at the hoses just to be sure. If something doesn't seem ideal, maybe just replace that one. My heater hoses were really messy from a power steering fluid leak I had, so it made sense to replace them. The updated hoses from MINI I installed also had more thermal protection too. Since mine is an '03, my guess is they figured out a few things and improved the design for the later years like yours.

 

I used a Peak flush at the beginning of summer. They say to leave it in for six hours of driving time. Due to scheduling, I exceeded that by a wide margin. My radiator failed a few months later. I'd say make certain the flush is compatible with these fragile aluminum radiators, and then follow directions closely.

 

Hard to know if it's the flush that caused it, or just coincidence.

Nevertheless, it's a story like that that makes me hesitant to use the stuff at all since I'm not having any overheating issues even though I know the system is not all that clean...

 

I agree that it could be coincidence. I also wish I was more careful about following the directions. The reason for my extended install of flush was simply waiting for a new thermostat to arrive (bad gasket) and not wanting to deal with the bleeding more than necessary. I put the flush in after doing the head, and didn't have the thermostat gasket on hand at the time, when I broke it on removal.