Coolant?

[Ginger]

Checked over my MINI ONE, just over 2,000 miles on the clock. The coolant level is just above minimum - is this normal? If so what make of coolant should I top it up with?

[Neil Curtis]

Just top it up with water until it's at a sensible level and keep an eye on it to make sure you're not losing it quickly. If you are losing it quickly, get your dealer to do a pressure test on the system.

(ha ha ha you've got an old reg number now )

nc

[Ginger]

(ha ha ha you've got an old reg number now )

nc [/b][/quote]
Cheers for that Neil, but your number will always older than mine!

Looking forward to next weekend.

[Neil Curtis]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ginger
[BCheers for that Neil, but your number will always older than mine!
[/b]

Mines verging on being a classic now. One year old on the 14th September. Just bought road tax for it!, couldn't believe it!.

ps. It's the weekend after isn't it?

nc

[Ginger]

Yup, you're right.

[Ady]

I would ask MINI what Coolant they would use, then see if you can get it cheaper somewhere else

Ady (R50)

[Sammy_Salmon]

I'm at just over 4 weeks and ~850 miles. My Cooper's coolant level has been s-l-o-w-l-y dropping. I had the dealer top it off Friday, since my appointment with them to check the system wasn't until today (Tuesday). They told me this morning that they can not see any leaks. The service manager said I'd have to add coolant 3-4 times a year to account for evaporation. What? Isn't it a closed system? I never add to my VW's coolant level, and it's 17 years old! (And no, it's not an air-cooled VW.)

Anyone else seeing SLOW coolant leaks?

[Ginger]

So does anyone know what make of coolant MINI use?

[HarryHBMCC]

At almost 7000km on my car, the coolant level seems a little lower than before but that could be the ambient temperature drop too. With a cold engine it is still above MIN in the resevoir so I'm not adding to mine just yet. If I do need to add anything I think I'll just add a bit of water -- I don't think that will dilute the coolant too much.

Oil has gone down too. Now 3/4 of the way down to MIN on the dipstick. I have a litre of Castrol Syntec 5W-30 in the boot waiting for the day it hits MIN.

Harry

[Ginger]

Hi guys,
Nice to get some views from across the pond. I've just got off the phone from the supplying dealer, in the meantime I'm going to top it up with half a litre of water (as Neil suggested).
I couldn't get a make of coolant, it's a BMW one so I'll pick some up next time I'm at the dealer. If anyone does know, it would save me the hassle of going to the dealer.
Thanks

[andrews100]

I've driven my Mini about 2000 miles thus far. About one week ago I noticed the fan started to come on after shutting the car off. I checked the fluids and discovered the coolant was dry!! I had noticed my Mini was leaving little "stains" on my driveway, but assumed it was the AC.
I feared a leak in the coolant system. I have since topped off the coolant with full strength stuff and the problem has stopped. My guess is that the factory coolant was perhaps too "weak" and boiling over the past few months. Any ideas?

[HarryHBMCC]

You should have your cooling system checked by your dealer.

My Cooper was a bit low (right on MIN with a cold engine) a little less than 4 weeks ago. Took it in, they added a little (put it up to between MIN and MAX with a warm engine), looked for obvious signs of leaks and found none so they sent me on my way after adding that little bit. Now less than 4 weeks later it is back down to right at MIN again so they're going to do a full check of it next week.

Harry

[MINIVAN]

My coolant leak was traced to an O ring seal between the water pump and engine.
See this thread as a few others have had similar problem
http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthrea...ght=WATER+PUMP

[HarryHBMCC]

Thanks for the info on the problem you had with your MCS.

Some MCS's have had the pump seal go like on yours but the water pump is placed in a completely different manner in the MC so I doubt it is the same trouble. That plus at least in my case I'm just losing a tiny bit -- most that lose the water pump seal lose all their water, not just a bit.

Harry

[Hapo]

...so it's prolly not the cap, eh...???...

...then again, that's where it looked to be leaking and the service tech said that he found no other leaks...


(...mine was down @ 500 miles and I could smell it...)