1994
Right let me start. I drove the Mini about 15 miles of country lanes. Not really hammering it, then stopped to drop my 2 passengers off & left the engine running for about 10 minutes while i said my goodbyes. Jumped back in & drove the 25 miles back towards home. Thought i'd take the lanes again just for the sheer fun of it. Got back to the city (the last 8 or so miles from home) & noticed while sitting at the traffic lights the red battery warning light had come on in the dash & also some steam coming from under the bonnet. I turned my spot lights off & the stereo. Carried on driving & kept my eye on the temperature guage. All seemed fine. Got to within 2 miles of home & the steam really started pouring out now! to the point of being embarrassing. Suddenly the temperature guage flies up & i pull over & turn everything off. Popped the bonnet & left it for 30 minutes to cool off. Went the shop & brought a bottle of Evian. Popped the lid on the radiator & it looked empty of water. Poured the Evian in (about a litre out of a 2 litre bottle filled it up) & drove the last couple of miles home trouble free. So the question is........why did that happen? i know having driven Mini's & VW campers & ridden Lambretta's & Vespa's for years i should really be mechanically literate at least but to be honest its only now (my late 30's) that ive actually started thinking "i'd like to be able to fix that myself" So here i am. Willing to learn. Help me out.
Edited by Jim the Grin, 21 November 2010 - 07:41 PM.
