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One morning I found coolant on the garage floor from my '06 r53, and it was the water pump...even though it never acted overheated or anything like that. it drove ok, but I ended up replacing the pump.
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wmwny Well-Known Member
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Hissing and steaming are never good sights and sounds under a hood of a car. A quick repair by you or a shop will save you big time as these little cars do not take to kindly to overheating.
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Welcome!
Coolant leaks are very common on MINIs, at least on 2nd gen MINIs like yours and mine. The water pump gasket is one of the coolant leaks my 2007 CS had.IIRC, that was the leak my MINI had the day I bought it.
I never got a CEL from a leak in my MINI, but if the coolant level gets low enough, you will get an overheating warning light.
Eventually, your overflow tank will fail, too, but at least that is a ten-minute DIY fix.
You can expect some oil leaks in your future, too. What can I say, MINIs leak.
CD -
Thanks for the replies everyone. I tried replicating the issue again and was not successful. I have it up on stands now with the wheel well removed to try to get a better look. Rented a pressure tester but of course none of the caps fit, not even the bmw one. One thing I found interesting is that the coolant in the reservoir is blue, but what is leaking is green. Also not much coolant was missing from the reservoir. As much as I hate to do it this might be one for the shop as nothing is jumping out at me as obvious.
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The coolant should be Pentosin blue. I suppose it is possible that the engine is full of Prestone, and the reservoir with Pentosin, but it seems like they would get mixed before long.
If the water pump gasket is leaking, it should drain the reservoir pretty quickly while at driving temperatures.
Not sure what to think.
CD -
There's obvious coolant on the friction wheel and components below. Is there a bleeder screw in the area? Should I be looking at the turbo components? I have an appt at the local independent shop tomorrow, I'd just rather not have to do that route.
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I tend to doubt it is related to the turbo cooling.
If it isn't obvious where it is leaking, you probably won't know without a pressure test.
Besides, if the coolant in the engine is green, it is the wrong stuff. You should flush it and fill it, anyway.
CD -
Make sure to set your controls so that your compressor doesn't run if you have a leak. If it is not fully charged, you can damage your compressor if it runs without refrigerant.
CD