Coolant leak- accumulation on top of supercharger??
Coolant leak- accumulation on top of supercharger??
05 mini cooper r53- ( supercharged 6-spd manual)
Looking for ideas on what might cause a pressurized coolant leak yielding accumulation on top of supercharger and around upper air duct when driving that might not be related to the head gasket. Fluid was running straight down onto alt. Everything else on top is dry. Coolant tank has obvious signs of loss from venting through valve (Canton tank.) Upper rad hoses quickly warm to touch, no leaks. Rad fan shroud is dry towards the inside of bay. Fluid drips from front of it, almost like its coming from between radiator and condenser. Slow steady drip at floor, tank loss aprox 1/2 after at max 65mi driven, fluid viscosity good, minimal discoloration likely from residual rust. No OBD2 codes coming up
Vehicle History:
A head gasket repair was preformed by some mechanics aprox 4 yrs- 50k mi ago after significant emulsification found in coolant reservoir. They put the car back together wrong and did some damage to the vehicle, so I have little faith in the work. Since then I have done all work myself, everything has been torqued properly. All repair listed below has been done in the past 3yrs- 30k mi. Much of the work was done with in the past 5 mo- 3k mi. I drove highway- 1k mi moving and then daily driver for the past mo. No leaks or other cooling concerns. To my knowledge the car has never overheated- I've owned since 40k mi. I still have NO obvious oil leaks, blow by or evap oil loss. All repairs have been done using OE parts except for those specified below and some Victor Reinz gaskets. Potential effecting things I have replaced:
- engine oil cooler- with corresponding hoses and gaskets
- upper and lower radiator hoses
- coolant expansion tank- canton aluminum, 30psi cap
- thermostat and gasket (x2)
- thermostat housing
- cooling system flushed x4
- valve cover gasket
- intercooler- forge
- intercooler bellows
- intercooler bellow clamps
- oil pan gasket
- oil filter housing
- engine oil cooler
- cooling fan
- radiator- csf
- radiator fan, shroud and relay
- fan relay 2
- crank sensor o- ring
- heater core
- temp sensor
- supercharger oil
- cold air intake w/ clamps- m7
- intake manifold gasket
- all gaskets through air ducts, supercharger, manifold ect. Pathway
- water pump
- water pump hose
- water pump flange, gasket and o- ring
- air duct bi- valve hose and clamps
- bypass valve o- ring
- pcv
- throttle valve o- ring
- a few other coolant hoses and plastic junctions including lower hose at firewall
The only true performance change I've made is a 15% underdrive pulley but I did swap spark plugs- ngk (dropped 1 heat cycle to jcw's), ngk spark plug wires and jcw drive belt
Is it likely that the CSF rad has a leak less than 1 yr- 8mi?
Looking for ideas on what might cause a pressurized coolant leak yielding accumulation on top of supercharger and around upper air duct when driving that might not be related to the head gasket. Fluid was running straight down onto alt. Everything else on top is dry. Coolant tank has obvious signs of loss from venting through valve (Canton tank.) Upper rad hoses quickly warm to touch, no leaks. Rad fan shroud is dry towards the inside of bay. Fluid drips from front of it, almost like its coming from between radiator and condenser. Slow steady drip at floor, tank loss aprox 1/2 after at max 65mi driven, fluid viscosity good, minimal discoloration likely from residual rust. No OBD2 codes coming up
Vehicle History:
A head gasket repair was preformed by some mechanics aprox 4 yrs- 50k mi ago after significant emulsification found in coolant reservoir. They put the car back together wrong and did some damage to the vehicle, so I have little faith in the work. Since then I have done all work myself, everything has been torqued properly. All repair listed below has been done in the past 3yrs- 30k mi. Much of the work was done with in the past 5 mo- 3k mi. I drove highway- 1k mi moving and then daily driver for the past mo. No leaks or other cooling concerns. To my knowledge the car has never overheated- I've owned since 40k mi. I still have NO obvious oil leaks, blow by or evap oil loss. All repairs have been done using OE parts except for those specified below and some Victor Reinz gaskets. Potential effecting things I have replaced:
- engine oil cooler- with corresponding hoses and gaskets
- upper and lower radiator hoses
- coolant expansion tank- canton aluminum, 30psi cap
- thermostat and gasket (x2)
- thermostat housing
- cooling system flushed x4
- valve cover gasket
- intercooler- forge
- intercooler bellows
- intercooler bellow clamps
- oil pan gasket
- oil filter housing
- engine oil cooler
- cooling fan
- radiator- csf
- radiator fan, shroud and relay
- fan relay 2
- crank sensor o- ring
- heater core
- temp sensor
- supercharger oil
- cold air intake w/ clamps- m7
- intake manifold gasket
- all gaskets through air ducts, supercharger, manifold ect. Pathway
- water pump
- water pump hose
- water pump flange, gasket and o- ring
- air duct bi- valve hose and clamps
- bypass valve o- ring
- pcv
- throttle valve o- ring
- a few other coolant hoses and plastic junctions including lower hose at firewall
The only true performance change I've made is a 15% underdrive pulley but I did swap spark plugs- ngk (dropped 1 heat cycle to jcw's), ngk spark plug wires and jcw drive belt
Is it likely that the CSF rad has a leak less than 1 yr- 8mi?
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Hedjuk
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Oct 22, 2011 08:07 PM



