Hi there. I'm hoping for some advice about coolant/my expansion tank (apologies in advance, I'm a complete novice!). I was checking my oil yesterday and noticed the cap missing to the coolant expansion tank and there was virtually no coolant left (I've no idea how long it's been like that for!). Do I just need to top up the coolant and replace the cap? If so, does the coolant just go in the expansion tank or does it need to go somewhere else? I'm a bit confused as I thought normally coolant was in a tank with a screw top to keep the pressure whereas this is just a plastic flip cap. I've took a couple of pics so you can see the expansion tank as they seem to vary.
You have only lost the lid, top it up and forget about it. What is worrying is how you don'y know how long it's been like this for? If I was to loose my cap I could tell you that I have lost it within the last 6 days!
Looking at the image you posted of the expansion tank, I noticed your fluid is red ? I will stand corrected but the BMW coolant is Blue and mixed 50/50 with deionised or distilled water. I would be considering doing a complete coolant flush and refill. As far as the coolant level is concerned, once the system is bled, the coolant level should be on the low mark when the engine is cold, when the engine is at running temp, the coolant level should be on the upper mark, as its an R50 engine, the expansion tank cap is not pressurised The actual pressure cap in the photo is next to the red Batt cable (in the image). Pelican parts have a good DIY for changing the coolant on an R50 and R53 so its well worth reading the article. Replace the expansion tank cap and do a coolant flush is cheap insurance and will make sure there is no air trapped in the system if done correctly (Pelican parts article) and it is actually important to adhere to the 50/50 coolant mix as the engine temp is designed to run at that mixture.
It would be interesting to know if BMW also supply a red coolant, I know in Oz its blue and for the price, I choose to stick to BMW coolant as its no different in cost.
I can understand a different coolant colour in the Peugeot engine but you would think that with the Triton motor there would be some consistency, its not as if its hard to obtain a colour word wide with different suppliers. Certainly adds to confusion when there is minimal content information on a lot of containers. Main thing to take care of if your not using BMW coolant is that its nitrite and phosphate-free.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
MINI Cooper Forum
3.6M posts
159.9K members
Since 2001
Join our Mini Cooper Forums to talk about your new Mini. From reviews, mods, accessories, reliability concerns and more, this Mini Owners Club is full of info!