[Nath316]

like alot of things its the little things that count

I always check oil screenwash coolant each week

this can save yur life afterall

some people do not do this and I am not pointin fingers but they are a necessary evil(?)

[Ant FR]

i check my oil every week, but then my car really does like a drink of Oil, usually about a litre every 1000 miles, which is about the same as my mates RS4. The one that puzzles me though is the Header tank losing water, I mean how does it lose so much,

I have also noticed recently my dip stick is bloody hard to remove, so think imay need a new one.

[roland2003]

The cap has a built in pressure release valve, it gets out as steam.(very slowly over a period of time) or the tank is split around the seam and has a slow leak. These are the 2 main causes.

[MINI-Morgan]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ant FR (original)

i check my oil every week, but then my car really does like a drink of Oil, usually about a litre every 1000 miles, which is about the same as my mates RS4. The one that puzzles me though is the Header tank losing water, I mean how does it lose so much,

I have also noticed recently my dip stick is bloody hard to remove, so think imay need a new one.

How much Oil??? Mine takes a litre every 10,000miles!

[robbo mcs]

Hi,

I believe that looking after your car should be a requirement of getting a driving license. You should have to prove you can

• Correctly check and adjust tyre pressure
• Change a flat tyre
• Check oil / coolant / brake fluid levels
• Understand tyre wear eg when shown sample tyres, state which ones are OK and which are illegal

If you can't do those, you should not have a license

Thats the easy part, the hard part is implementing proper driver training as part of the license structure.

Cheers

Robbo

[Lucky Dave]

I used to check my oil every week, and it never used a drop, even when it used to do high miles.

to this day it does not drop on the dip stick between services, it just get blacker!

[PmP]

My S ran out of coolant once as fan had stopped working. I tend to check both oil and coolant regualrly at least every weekend, as I know from experience the coolant can dissappear so quickly. And the car can decide to use a little oil every now and then.

[Ant FR]

whats the best method of topping up the header tank, is it best to add a mixture of water and coolant, if so what ratio, I am always worried about doing damage to a core plug but messing up the mixture or putting wrong coolant in.

[Ant FR]

Quote: Originally Posted by MINI-Morgan (original)

How much Oil??? Mine takes a litre every 10,000miles!

But i do have a very very heavy right foot, actually thinking about it its actually nearer 1 litre every 2000 miles. And that is defo in the acceptable level if you ask me. As i said my mates RS4 uses well over a litre every 1000 miles and some RS4's use more than that. Another guy i know has an RX8 and that virtually needs a top up every time he feels the tank with petrol.

But hey least i check it, could be worse if i did'nt i suppose.

[ScottyBoy]

My MCS got serviced on the 29/9/07, i picked the car up put it in the garage and went back to work over Ireland, got home yesterday afternoon and checked everything and there was below minimum coolant about 1cm left in the bottom of the tank ( not sure how bad that is) but i went back to the dealer to see if they topped it up and the answer was

We dont DO coolant........

EDIT: That was an inspection 1 at 27000 miles