Coolant Loss

[WinkleHoff]

Hi All,

Our 2004 mini cooper suffers from continuous coolant loss. It needs topping up almost every other day and the reservoir is always empty. Also, the heater interior heater never really gets warm. When the car is stood I can never find traces of coolant leak on the ground, so suspect the loss is taking place when on the move. All very odd.

Engine temperature remains stable but as I say we top up before every journey.

Is this a common or readily identifiable fault?

Thanks in advance.

[mneame]

Common fault is the thermostat housing or the expansion tank.

[Ranger 6]

We had the hose over the gear linkage go - the linkage had worn through in the end but for ages it was weeping when hot so losing water but not dripping on the drive.

[Vince70]

Ranger 6 said:

We had the hose over the gear linkage go - the linkage had worn through in the end but for ages it was weeping when hot so losing water but not dripping on the drive.

The same thing happened to a girlfriend of mine, she went over a pothole and the linkage ended up going through a hose, that was on a 57 cooper.

[WinkleHoff]

Thanks all.

I'm not planning on fixing myself, but can imagine a scenario where a garage will carry out lots of diagnostic work at my cost. Experience with what you might call commonly encountered faults would be useful. Any recommendations for a decent independent in Surrey would be much appreciated.

Cheers.

[DarkMatter]

mneame said:

Common fault is the thermostat housing or the expansion tank.

It was the thermostat housing on our Cooper that caused us to frequently have to top up the water, though we never saw signs of water on the ground. It was a fairly straightforward job to replace it myself.

[dibblecorse]

OP, where do you live? We have had this exact same issue, thermostat housing was the cause, new thermostat and housing fitted on Tuesday, all seems good, if you are near Reading the Grosvenor on Rich field Ave are great, they specialise in BMW and Mini.

[CarsOrBikes]

Most likely thermostat housing, very common, housing with thermostat and seal from dealer is approx 54+vat, I would avoid pattern parts for thermostat parts so in this case stick to gen, and labour should be no more than 1.5hrs

[Kitey]

I'm having the same issue on my 06 mcs so I'm glad it doesn't sound too serious.
Can anyone recomend a good garage near Oxford to carry out the repair??

I took it to Halfords who checked and couldnt find a fault (no charge for this).
I have now booked it in with Oxford Mini but they can't see it for a couple of weeks and I'd rather sort it sooner than later.

Cost is not really an issue I just want the job done well.