Mini Cooper 2002 - Water Leak

[drummerboy10]

Hello,

I wonder if you guys could help.

Just had 3 new tyres and all brakes replaced for a hefty price and feel happy i've got it all done. Then driving my car this week i've noticed the Temp gauge shot up then come back down again. I topped up my Coolant, checked my oil etc and drove home from work (about 10 min drive) and the coolant had gone.

What's the best way to check for my leaks? I checked the oil and it didn't seem to have a milky colour from what i could see but i can't see any visible leaks.

On a side note and i hope it's not connected - my MPG seems to be very bad. My car is a Cooper 2002 with chilli pack and done about 60,000 but i only seem to get 240 miles out of a full tank (£70).

Thanks for your help with the above.

[mab01uk]

Place some cardboard under the car when parked overnight and see if you can spot postion or if there are any leaks next morning. Common leak points are the bottom front corners of the radiator and the thermostat housing. If the coolant level got low you may also now have an airlock which often means the heater matrix blows cold and engine overheats because proper circulation of hot coolant stops even though the header/expansion tank is full.

More cooling system problems/info here:
Solving MINI Cooling Problems.......... - Forums

[dano1987]

Sounds like you might have a similar issue to me which was a leak at the front of the radiator. Luckily I know someone who could fix the problem for me on the cheap.

[drummerboy10]

Thanks for your help and advice guys!

I done a Little investigation today. I placed some cardboard under the car and left the engine running for about 10 mins but the car seemed fine - coolant stayed at the same level, no visible leaks or anything we spots under the car and the temp gauge stayed on the half way mark. None of this has really helped in ding out where the leak is. Seems weird I only lose the coolant when driving?! Could it be a dodgy Thermostat?

As always, thanks for the advice

[Defender]

Quote: Originally Posted by drummerboy10 (original)

Thanks for your help and advice guys!
I done a Little investigation today. I placed some cardboard under the car and left the engine running for about 10 mins but the car seemed fine - coolant stayed at the same level, no visible leaks or anything we spots under the car and the temp gauge stayed on the half way mark. None of this has really helped in ding out where the leak is. Seems weird I only lose the coolant when driving?! Could it be a dodgy Thermostat?
As always, thanks for the advice

Yes it could well be the thermostat, I would take it for a drive and then park it on the cardboard, remember driving puts a far higher demand on the engine than idling on your drive?
Don't rely on the temperature gauge as it gives a very wide range of temperatures when sat at the mid point, I know this as I have a Scan GaugeII fitted which reads the temperature in degrees centigrade, and is one of the four parameters I monitor on it.
I had an intermittent cooling system issue (on a non MINI) that turned out to be a stuck thermostat, it took me some finding.

Good luck,

ATB,

Defender.