Coolant leak with steam

[oldnell]

I've been having an intermittent coolant leak problem since December. My car is well out of warranty.

I've read all the posts on this forum I can find and was wondering if someone knowledgable could help me analyse the problem.

Here are the symptoms:

I occasionally see a little steam coming out the front of the bonnet when stopped at traffic lights or in traffic.

On days when I see this, the coolant drops.

Other times, the coolant is steady.

The coolant can stay steady for weeks, and then lose a header tank's worth in one go. I have been topping up with a mix of coolant and deionised water.

There is no staining beneath the header tank.

One one occasion, I have seen coolant dripping from the centre of the car when parked facing downhill. The drip seemed to come from the radiator. It was dripping on to inside of the bumper assembly.

Here are my questions.

I've seen reference to a water pump and O-ring seal. If this was faulty, would I see steam coming from under the radiator, or does this point more towards a radiator/hose leak?

Has anyone in the UK used a Mini/BMW dealer to replace a radiator out of warranty? If so, what was the cost?

What is the likely cost of a replacement water pump and O-ring seal?

I've seen someone say they were charged £90 for a pressure test. Am I right in thinking this is daylight robbery?

Does the steam indicate a leak in the radiator or higher up, or could I still get steam if it's the bottom hose or pump assembly?

If it was a leak at the top hose, could I see steam?

Thanks

[MINIMANIAUK]

A pressure test would confirm what you already know---you have a leak!!! and have had for a number of months, to continue driving with a problem that could lead to major costs when the fix could be as simple as loose hose clamp or soft hose costing only a few pounds is probably not wise.
The first thing that is required is a close inspection with a good light and check for obvious signs of leaking in pipes,joins,and around the radiator these simple checks you could do yourself,if you are not that way inclined then take the car to a garage and have them do it,they can pressure check if necessary, MINI parts on the whole are not overly expensive,and certainly cheaper than some of the other marques especially import cars.
The car has a problem ,speculating the problem is not easy remotely,speculating the cost even harder....
an overheated engine can run into £1000s and whatever part is failing requires replacement,and will cost what it costs,and will be cheaper than total failure. long term overheating within your engine will shorten its life

[oldnell]

Quote: Originally Posted by MINIMANIAUK (original)

to continue driving with a problem that could lead to major costs when the fix could be as simple as loose hose clamp or soft hose costing only a few pounds is probably not wise.

Hi Minimania

Thanks for the advice. You're right. I've booked the car in to my dealer's service department. Have a feeling I'm going to be parting with a stash of money. Might be pleasently surprised, but in 10 years of motoring I've yet to come away from any garage feeling I've been anything other than ripped off.

We'll see.

Thanks

[MINIMANIAUK]

Parting with hard earned is never pleasant!!! but that is a fact of modern cars, you cant do without them and they will go wrong....
Your perception of "getting ripped off" is quite a common one -over 85% of the general public feel the same ,more so with main dealers than independents but still an overall negative experience by most of the general public
In truth this is rarely the case ,the days of back street garages that will do anything for £20 are long gone,modern cars demand a higher level of equipment and investment and costs are going ever higher,regulations ,h&s are getting tougher , you wont see many rich garage owners!!
estate agents,property developers,lawyers ,insurance sales ,plumbers ......and a whole host of jobs have mega earnings for doing very little with absolutely no comeback

The problem with cars is that you seldom seem to gain anything -"it was ok last week ,now it isnt," "ive spent £500 and it is back to how it was last week" ..... no net gain !
£500 spent in a shop and you have something to show,...... a tele,clothes,something

Regardless of that it pays to get your car regularly serviced and inspected,and problems sorted promptly as usually when left they only get more expensive, TLC is just about as far away from what I would call regular inspection and servicing as you can get,but better than nothing.
Hope its just a hose clip ,£2.99 ,and you are pleasantly surprised

[oldmots]

Ther eare a lot of sources for a coolant leak. The only way to find it is to get in there and look for the signs, both wiith the enine cold and hot, running and not. The system does have three bleed valves, that can be loose and ooze coolant. Two are plastic, on teh upper radiator hose and th eheater hose next to the air cleaner. There is a metal screw bleeder on the metal water line under the front left corner of the valve cover.. I would definitely look at them early, as well as all hose clamps. After that, it would be a gasket or seal.

[oldnell]

Just returned from the dealer having collected my car. I now have a shiny new radiator -- there was a leak in the radiator itself.

Total cost was £309 (including 20% discount from dealer's promotional mailing), which is what I notionally had in my head as being the right price for the replacement of a radiator.

So, this is probably my first trip back from a garage feeling that they've done a good job for the right price.

Naturally, I'm slightly miffed that the radiator failed, but such is life.

Cheers

Oli