2 replies to this topic

[Neilos]

Hey,

When my mini has warmed up and i turn on my fan and heater, it stinks. Ive taken the top off the radiator and smelt the water and it stinks bigtime because i think its gone stail or something!...

...How easy is it to drain the cooling water from the radiator and refil? Is there any quick and easy way to do this? Has anyone else had the same problem?


...Oh yeah, and how easy is it to replace the radiator? Can you do it easily enough with the engine in place?

Thanks!

[Turbo Nick]

easiet way to drain the cooling system is to pop off the bottom hose on the radiator. You'll need a long flat blade screwdriver to undo the jubilee clip and smallish hands to take off the pipe.

once you've dropped all the coolant your best bet would be to back flush the system by sticking the hosepipe in and running the water the opposite way to normal untill it flows out clear, just keep the pressure down else it may do more harm than good.

Replacing the rad is quite easy. undo the top hose, undo the mounting bolts from where it attatches to the stat housing then there's one long bolt in the bottom of it which you'll need to remove the grille for. might be a bit of wriggling it about depending what cowling is on it but definately not an engine out job.

[Garagiste]

As Bud says - though a very long screwdriver is needed - I ended up taking my rad off in order to remove the bottom hose! More details in the FAQ section.
Unless your heater matrix is leaking into the car though, I can't see manky water being the cause of the smell as it's supposed to be sealed and under pressure? You sure you haven't got a dead bird or a dog's egg stuck under there?