MINI Cooper Forum banner

Coolant leak

18K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  ceiph03 
#1 ·
Hi guys,
Drove to work yesterday ok. Drive home from work - no heat (thank goodness for heated seats!) - looked last night and saw coolant tank wasn't completely empty but very low. Looked underneath car and saw bottom of gearbox and subframe wet. This morning I've had a quick look and the top of the gearbox has a pool of coolant on top.

I'm going to investigate this afternoon but wondered if anybody could point me to the likely culprit.

Cheers,
Rob.

 
See less See more
1
#3 ·
Hi Sean,
I think you're spot on.

I dried everything up and then let it idle on the drive until up to normal temp then went and had a look at the only puddle was directly below the thermostat - how much should I be looking at for replacement at an indy (I'm toying with the idea of doing it myself but the MOTs due very shortly and it's my daily driver so need it going again ASAP)
 
#4 ·
An indy would probably charge about £100 to fit it plus the part but if you watch ModMinis guide on youtube then do it yourself. The R56 is slightly different to the R50's but it's very doable even for the home mechanic. Remember to buy a new thermostat too if it doesn't come with the new housing!
 
#5 ·
Thermostat housing is a common problem for the R56 when they get more than about 6 years old. They are made of plastic and split, leaking coolant. Fortunately the overheating warning should come on before any damage is done. It will come up with a "Engine overheating, Drive carefully" and then (if you dont drive carefully) "Engine overheating Stop immediately" or something like that.
 
#6 ·
Never got any message indication from car - first real indication was the lack of heat. I have a ScanGauge wired into the car and did notice for a couple of days prior the temperature was a bit lower and more random than normal (normally ran a steady 102 C after warmup, but was running 93-102 C (I guess from coolant being low)) so it was on my 'to look at' list at weekend but it obviously went south before I got the chance...

FYI: Enquired at one of the Mini dealers and they are charging £127.91 inc vat/delivery for the thermostat (price for part only) but they are ordering them from Germany so take a couple of days to get in.

Minitech spares in Bury did the job for me - £150 all in.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nanotech
#8 ·
The coolant leaks somewhere in your system. One can be from the water pump on the passenger side, the other one can be from the thermostat fitting on the driver's side.
I would bet the one from the water pump side, the pipe connecting the water pump and the athermostat is made of plastic and easily broken. Also, it will not be easily seen from outside that is why it seems to be disappearing.

 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top