6 replies to this topic

[91neon]

probably silly but im off work this week and as such have done more miles than normal. i have noticed that the coolant level keeps dropping below the fins in the rad. yet im not losing any water visibly. so my question is how often do people top up ther rads and to what point i usualy go one cm above the fins. is this too much or too little

thank you

[cooperdan]

I tend to loose abit of water when doing alot miliage in one go....?

Cant be through evaperation

[Teapot]

Just remember that topping up frequently with water dilutes the anti-freeze so eventually there won't be any. Anti-freeze, that is. (This applies mostly to compulsive topper-uppers.)

[alicetheauto]

If you run the car til its very hot, dont forget it will expand and vent from the overflow if the rad is slightly overfull. I normally fill mine up til its just over the fins, and if it drops leave it a while. If keeps moving lower than this then I know I have a problem and sort it.

[taffy1967]

Only time I had problems was when I fitted a new radiator cap. I then discovered my old cap had a rubber seal on it which the replacement did not.

So I got it exchanged for the correct type (Mini Spares assume only SPi Minis had the seal type) with the seal and my 1990 Mini Cooper Mainstream/Carb model has been fine ever since.

So if you own a 1990's 1275cc engined Mini, make sure there is a seal that comes in contact with the mouth of the radiator neck.

I've done a lot of checking and most motor factors appear to stock rad caps without a seal.

Somerford Minis supply the seals separately.

Edited by taffy1967, 27 November 2009 - 07:38 PM.

[BLUE ITALIAN JOB]

if you have a plastic container fixed to the inner wing - inside the front pass side ontop of the shock .you will need the rad cap with double seals - for the expantion tank , fitting the standard cap it will loose water , if you have the double sealed cap and the plastic tank on the shock mounting and still loosing water you could have a problem , keep an eye on the temp and check the heater is putting out its full heat ,the hose to the under wing tank has been known to split ,
if the heater starts to blow cold your water level is very low and needs tobe topped up asap .
have you tried pressure testing the cooling system/rad ,

[taffy1967]

Even the 1990 RSP Mini Cooper LE and 1990/91 Mainstream Mini Cooper needs the radiator cap with the double seal.

Unfortunately Mini Spares still haven't updated their site to feature this: -

Click Me.