Engine Drivetrain 1st Gen Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Coolant expansion tank options?

Since when is a coolant expansion tank "tuning?" :what:

 

Wait...... it's not?

 

She turned me into a newt!

 

I agree....the new one shouldn't have any splitting problems. Wonder if you got a new one with a new cap.

 

I'm still using my original tank, knock wood.

Either your cap is bad or could be that your engine is pressurizing the cooling system. A bad head gasket can do that. Do the easy stuff first. New tank & cap, hope that is it. :fingerscrossed:

 

Just a thought...
was the last tank overfilled? Kept filled to the right level, the tanks seem to last 4 years or so....overfilled. ..they tend to fail VERY fast.

 

Here are a few options from WMW:
Way Motor Works :: Search results

Here is an option from Mini Mania:
MINI Cooper - Radiator Reservoir Expansion Tank Aluminum Polishe

 

+5 on the RMW one.
Have one and love it. It looks great AND has an actual cap. Not that plastic BS.
No more bubbling over

 

RWM tank with a real rad cap.

All those other ones are crap even the bling forge one that should have been designed with a real rad cap but they missed the target.

 

My plastic cap is working on my oem tank. Maybe that means something is wrong with it. :confused5:

 

That plastic cap isn't a true pressure cap. Consider yourself lucky. Just make sure your coolant level is on the low side of normal in the tank. That's what I have to do at the track, which isn't optimal, otherwise I have a mess. The tank itself is fine on my car, the leaking comes from the cap.

The cap on the RMW is a functional; it'll release the pressure first and fluid second (through the neck valve, not the cap) if and only if a fairly high pressure is obtained--given the size of the RMW tank (It's a bit larger than OEM), that's unlikely to happen--maybe in extreme heat on the track, but not on a daily driver. You can hook that neck valve up to a bottle you can get from any race store--jegs for example, I got one for 15 bucks, that'll catch coolant if it does make it to the nozzle (I had to do that to pass tech). With that setup it's a expansion tank with a true overflow tank. No more coolant all over the engine bay under any circumstance.

And the tank itself it much more sturdy than the OEM one.

 

Anyone know what an RMW tank costs?

 

cct1 thanks for the explanation. I do run my coolant in the tank on the low side. Guess that is why I've not had any problems to date. When my tank breaks I'll upgrade to the RMW one.

 

They are $190.00 each coated!

 

outmotoring has one (two colors) on their site:

MINI cooper Forge Aluminum radiator overflow tank

I have the same issue-- replaced OE with another OE after 75,000 miles and the second one is beginning to seep from the seam. should have spent the money on this one the first time. lesson learned.

 

Thank you.

 

Look at the cap on the others, they are not a true pressure cap system. You don't have a regular screw on cap on your radiator do you? Why?

The problem with the OEM is not so much that it is plastic, but that if pressure builds up, there is no place for it to release.

 

Pics of the RMW tank, note the overflow in the real pressure cap neck. These are the raw aluminum ones.

 

The RMW tank sure looks like the Canton Tank P/N 80-272 that is available from many vendors for $130. The cap is P/N 81-030 for about $26.
Here are links to Summit Racing that has free shipping:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CTR-80-272/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ctr-81-030

I already posted that they are available at ipiracing:
Canton Aluminum Expansion Tanks for Mini Cooper

Jegs also has the tanks but a little more expensive.

 

Looks like and are, are two very different things...