So I started a wee project today to replace essentially the entire cooling system on my daughter's '05 Cooper S. I am replacing the radiator, fan, thermostat & housing, reservoir, and hoses. As I got into the project I ran into a few issues:

1 - the thermostat housing I bought on Amazon turned out to be the wrong one, it had a filler spout and cap - not even sure what car this is from - anyway, had to order the correct part from O'Reilly and will complete that work tomorrow - is the one with the filler cap from a base Cooper, not an S?

2 - I can't figure out how to get the hose clamps off the hoses from the reservoir where they attach to the heater splitter pipes, etc. These "clamps" are fixed metal rings, with no apparent way to release them. Any ideas on how to remove these? I'd like to replace the hoses into the reservoir as well.

3 - the new fan I bought has an extra connector on it, it has the standard connector that connects just fine to the harness in the car, but there is another socket as well, and I don't have anything to connect to it - the one marked in yellow in the attached image

. Any ideas what this might be?

Ian

 

Yes, the cap version is for the base.

 

I think the 03-04 had a extra connection. I have a a 2005 S and I changed the fan, same one as you have. Just connect the large one amd tuck the small one out of the way. Been about a year with the new one and i've had zero issues. Hope that helps some.

 

#2 above sounds like they might be crimp connectors. Pry off with a screwdriver or some such and replace with screw clamps.