Oh dear... Coolant leak

davalav

Pro Tuner
Points
387
Location
Essex, England
Car
Mini Cooper S R56
Morning guys,

Yesterday me and a friend were doing a service, and also fitting a blank plate for the stat, and a PRT kit and also replacing the 2 temp sensors as the temp gauge seemed to be on coke! It would fluctuate massively if I had the fans on.

Bled all correctly and heaters turned hot after 5 minutes of starting the car then put the cap back on and all is well. Then took it for a 20 minute test run. Fan didn't kick in, the temp gauge doesnt work and apon inspection a coolant leak has appeared over night.

I'll attach a video of the leak.



I have wrapped the lower rad hose in tissue to see if it asborbs anything and nothing, it doesn't leak as much when driving, but when the system de pressurizes it leaks like that. The rad seems to be in good order, with no cracks, bent fins etc.

Any guidence would be great!
 
Do you know where it is leaking from or a rough idea? If your rad has a rad cap on it could be that which has failed?
Might be worth fitting an after market temp gauge as stock units can fail after time or stick. May read normal on the dash and actually be overheating.
How much coolant do you have in the resevoir? On mine it has a 2 way cap on it and if fitted on the wrong way around will push coolant out of the overflow rather than kept in the system.
Check all of the hoses for any tears or signs of leakage as it could be something as simple as that.
 
I am leaning towards a dodgy hose... I may not have tightened it properly, as a friend suggested, the hoses when have fluids travelling through them flex more. so may have budged slightly.

However, I got to work at 7.30am and then at about 10 or so, I went out and no drips! Coolant had gotton lower but only by half an inch or so. I know that the coolant drops quite rapidly over a few days with K series so have to keep it topped up.
 
Any chance you may have put too much coolant in when you changed it? That would cause it to leak from the overflow if you have one or if not from wherever is easiest to escape from.
I would monitor it closely myself and tempted to fit an aftermarket temp gauge. Not difficult to fit and worth it for the peace of mind imo.
Did you change the thermostat? Getting hot air from the blowers when on full heat? Waterpump maybe?
Many different things it could be without narrowing down the leak. Monitor closely for the next few days/weeks and see how you get on. Be worth keeping some coolant in the car just in case but like you said probably something as simple as loose hose. Check bottom hose is on properly and no signs of leaks or tears.
If you have a garage put some card board down before parking after a good run and check in the morning. Any leaks will show up easily :)
 
Any chance you may have put too much coolant in when you changed it? That would cause it to leak from the overflow if you have one or if not from wherever is easiest to escape from.

The Beast had a similar issue once upon a time and it was all my fault :embarrest:

I filled the coolant expansion bottle passed the "full" line and thought more is best, how wrong I was! The car proceeded to dump the whole contents of the expansion bottle onto the road on the journey into work, so much so that I called the AA in a panic. They checked the car over and found no fault, but the man did ask when I last checked the level, I explained what I did the previous night and then the penny dropped ;)
 
The Beast had a similar issue once upon a time and it was all my fault :embarrest:

I filled the coolant expansion bottle passed the "full" line and thought more is best, how wrong I was! The car proceeded to dump the whole contents of the expansion bottle onto the road on the journey into work, so much so that I called the AA in a panic. They checked the car over and found no fault, but the man did ask when I last checked the level, I explained what I did the previous night and then the penny dropped ;)

Easy done if not paying attention. Quite embarrassing explaining to the AA though ;)
 
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