The amount of precise information for a specific car, as well as general advice, coupled together made for improvement on something I've been doing for a while now. Subscribed for this!
I experienced a failed R53 transmission (R53 AISIN) cooler. I was told these fail due to Antifreeze becoming acidic. My cooling system was a nasty thick sludge and I think my transmission got a little coolant in it. R53 doesn't have a good straight pipe for those flush kits so save your $4. I used tap water and Dawn from my hose under pressure (yeah I know) to clean out sludge. I introduced water in the expansion tank's lower tube and the top radiator hose. I drained from the lower radiator hose. I ran the car a few times with low heat to circulate good and bad until the water was clear. I then ran through 4 gallons of distilled water before running 2 gallons of 50/50 Euro mix. I then changed my AT fluid 3x, changed the filter and added 1 bottle of Lucas. A scan tool is a must to get the AT fluid temp for the fluid levels. 8 hour job, mostly due to all the start/stops and waiting for the fluids to cool down.
Thanks for covering the safety issues, I was getting real worked up that you had the car on jack stands, lol. Seriously though, this is a great DIY with lots of great information. Keep up the good work and motor on!
That tapping from the clutch! You can hide it with a straight pipe exhaust! Thanks for the help! Way more ways than just one. Hope u still have ur 53 and good luck.
PGL coolant is good stuff. I believe it's one of the only coolants out there that are free of phosphates/silicates and 2EHA (a plasticizer)....AND is an extended life coolant. It's the stuff that I like to use if the OE coolant is unavailable. Unfortunately for me, it was not available locally when I was doing a coolant drain/refill, coolant tank replacement, and thermostat on my 2004 R53. Oddly enough, the local car parts store had BMW coolant in stock!
Thanks bud, lot of good tips for the next change. Didn't know about that bleeder screw at the rear of the block. Getting ready to do my LR hub bearing this week. Peace, Dave in the Adirondacks
Welcome Dave, and thanks for watching! **The bolt on the rear of the block is for draining, I wouldn't recommend unscrewing it, I heard it is some special bolt where the threads compress and make the seal and you have to replace the bolt if you unthread it. Best of luck with the hub, I have a vid on that too: th-cam.com/video/5Eyk-kuu8uY/w-d-xo.html
Water steps after the fact: Can you please explain the process to run distilled water through system after drainage? Is there something special that needs to be done; like, having something on (like the heat), or a valve on or something, or just pour distilled water until it comes out clear?
Hmm, I was hoping it would have a drain tap or something at the bottom than having to disconnect the hose. You would think it would. Will find out this weekend. Love the mini but working on it... Sigh...
Thanks! Any antifreeze designated for european vehicles will work. Even the cheap universal stuff might be fine, as that's what my car had in it before I changed it lol.
So i did some cleaning the throttle body and might as cleaned the radiator.. now i put everything back together.. put fluid on the reservoir to max but since i flushed the radiator, it heats up x.x the hoses going to the radiator not getting fluid... i oped the bleeder next to the radiator but not the one in the back... its necessary to open it? Let me know thanks
@@jakepollard8093 warm engine yes garden hose open in the reservoir for 1h every 20 minute after you come open the screw until you dont hear air out then close it then come back in 20 minute ... do it 3 4 time then put the cap on the reservoir
Hello, similar question to the one I asked in the Porsche video, as it's been about 4 years, has the Global Lifetime coolant been good in this car? Particularly, have you had to deal with any heater core leaks?
You really want to use distilled water from the store or just get premixed coolant. My cars are old so I just use well water lol, my water is pretty good, never had a problem.
So... I’ve been trying to bleed the coolant using the bleed screw that is nearest to the radiator and no coolant is coming out of it, a little bit will after a short drive but next short drive and no coolant will come out... is this because I’m not using the second bleed valve??
Good idea on having the car on the trailer. I've never heard of mini life lol. Can i say Victorian life for my car ? hahaha. I feel like mine is a little simpler on my car to replace the coolant. also is it true you can reuse the coolant if there's no dirt in it?
Thanks and hahah yea you can say Victorian life for your car. I can imagine it's a lot easier for your coolant change. As long as the coolant is kept clean and isn't past it's service life, you can put it back in. I do. lol
a DIY Car Guy Sweet ! I still have to check my coolant with a hydrometer do determine if i need to swap it out. It's almost exactly lime my red and white truck to do it since it is the same engine. 5.0 life! Also I researched these engines are made from the Windsor company that makes the same engine as the legendary 351w
I would focus on the bleeder near the thermostat, don't worry about the one on the back, it's difficult to see or access anything on the back of the engine.
How important is a coolant flush i think i could do with one but is it something that could be really harmful to my engine? it seems to run fine but my coolant is a tiny bit low and the last person to have the car had it 2 years no flush i have had it a few months no flush and the person before him i dont know but i cant see a flush in the paperwork so he could maybe done it himself and i will never know... its been at least 2 half years and my coolant looks ever so slightly rusty no foam or anything like that its not a blown head gaskit it just looks old and worn down
eh if it's pretty clean I wouldn't worry about the flush, really depends on your goals and the condition of the coolant. if there was oil in the coolant at one point for whatever reason, then I would do the flush.
It's generally the same process for any car....might have to look up specifics for yours like bleeder location...maybe it takes a different coolant or capacity, etc.
The amount of precise information for a specific car, as well as general advice, coupled together made for improvement on something I've been doing for a while now. Subscribed for this!
Thank you, that's exactly what I (mostly) try to do, it means a lot to hear it, thanks again!
Thank you for taking the time to show how to do this . I'm going to be attempting to do it in the next week or so on my 2003 r53 mini cooper s. 😊
dont know if he said it in the video but the other bleeder screw is a 8mm just in case y'all wanted to know
2024 your video is still helping people
I experienced a failed R53 transmission (R53 AISIN) cooler. I was told these fail due to Antifreeze becoming acidic. My cooling system was a nasty thick sludge and I think my transmission got a little coolant in it.
R53 doesn't have a good straight pipe for those flush kits so save your $4. I used tap water and Dawn from my hose under pressure (yeah I know) to clean out sludge. I introduced water in the expansion tank's lower tube and the top radiator hose. I drained from the lower radiator hose. I ran the car a few times with low heat to circulate good and bad until the water was clear. I then ran through 4 gallons of distilled water before running 2 gallons of 50/50 Euro mix.
I then changed my AT fluid 3x, changed the filter and added 1 bottle of Lucas. A scan tool is a must to get the AT fluid temp for the fluid levels. 8 hour job, mostly due to all the start/stops and waiting for the fluids to cool down.
Thanks for covering the safety issues, I was getting real worked up that you had the car on jack stands, lol. Seriously though, this is a great DIY with lots of great information. Keep up the good work and motor on!
haha gotta make sure people see, sometimes people really go crazy when they can't see the safety precautions on camera. Thank YoU!!
That tapping from the clutch! You can hide it with a straight pipe exhaust! Thanks for the help! Way more ways than just one. Hope u still have ur 53 and good luck.
very helpful, just aquired a 2005 cooper s r52, thanks a bunch, keep up the good work!
PGL coolant is good stuff. I believe it's one of the only coolants out there that are free of phosphates/silicates and 2EHA (a plasticizer)....AND is an extended life coolant. It's the stuff that I like to use if the OE coolant is unavailable. Unfortunately for me, it was not available locally when I was doing a coolant drain/refill, coolant tank replacement, and thermostat on my 2004 R53. Oddly enough, the local car parts store had BMW coolant in stock!
for sure, im glad they had what you needed, shipping would be expensive
Thanks dude you’ve saved me some money. I wait until the car is warm to open the lower bleeder then close that one and open the top ?
My 2002 MCS has a mechanical T-Stat. I know because I replaced it with a 180 degree one.
Thanks bud, lot of good tips for the next change. Didn't know about that bleeder screw at the rear of the block.
Getting ready to do my LR hub bearing this week.
Peace,
Dave in the Adirondacks
Welcome Dave, and thanks for watching! **The bolt on the rear of the block is for draining, I wouldn't recommend unscrewing it, I heard it is some special bolt where the threads compress and make the seal and you have to replace the bolt if you unthread it. Best of luck with the hub, I have a vid on that too: th-cam.com/video/5Eyk-kuu8uY/w-d-xo.html
Another awesome mini pooper vid!
thanks! haha
Water steps after the fact: Can you please explain the process to run distilled water through system after drainage? Is there something special that needs to be done; like, having something on (like the heat), or a valve on or something, or just pour distilled water until it comes out clear?
very good video lots of info for DIY guys Gabe.
Nice work Dude 👍😎
Thank you sir!
Not that anyone one does it, but the mini specs blue coolant
My coolant wont come out of the bleeder valves with the reservoir cap off. Only when it's on. Is my thermostat not opening?
Hmm, I was hoping it would have a drain tap or something at the bottom than having to disconnect the hose. You would think it would. Will find out this weekend.
Love the mini but working on it... Sigh...
That would be nice if it had one!
Good Coolant Skip that Watered down stuff you know you have water If your doing this. I like a 60/40 mix myself
So just to confirm. you compress air through the heater core hose that connects right to the thermostat housing?
yessir
Why did u dilute the coolant further??
can i use a water hose to flush it
Hey, great detailed video. Question the anti freeze don’t hv to be the “blue” bmw specific antifreeze? I just purchased a mini love it 😍
Thanks! Any antifreeze designated for european vehicles will work. Even the cheap universal stuff might be fine, as that's what my car had in it before I changed it lol.
"Pentosin NF" !!!
So i did some cleaning the throttle body and might as cleaned the radiator.. now i put everything back together.. put fluid on the reservoir to max but since i flushed the radiator, it heats up x.x the hoses going to the radiator not getting fluid... i oped the bleeder next to the radiator but not the one in the back... its necessary to open it? Let me know thanks
yea do the back one
Hi my friend my coolant was spitting out of my coolant tank. Might you know the reason why? Its 2004 supercharged . Help
I had the same issue, the coolant was bubbling from the mid point of the tank. Ordered another one on eBay for $30.
Blown head gasket. Warped head.
trow the garden hose in in until it come out clean and change the termostat whille you at it
Which hose did you use with the garden hose?
@@jakepollard8093 warm engine yes garden hose open in the reservoir for 1h every 20 minute after you come open the screw until you dont hear air out then close it then come back in 20 minute ... do it 3 4 time then put the cap on the reservoir
@@raymonthiboutot9709 Thanks.. but which hose on the cooper do I use? Is it the one that comes off the thermostat?
Hello, similar question to the one I asked in the Porsche video, as it's been about 4 years, has the Global Lifetime coolant been good in this car? Particularly, have you had to deal with any heater core leaks?
I didn't have any problems, but I sold this car January 2019, so not sure if anything happened after then
@@aDIYCarGuy Thanks, I'm sad to hear the car is gone after all the work you put into it. The new owner is a lucky person.
Well water will causing scaling in aluminum over a long period of time jfyi . Well water has high contents of metal vs city water usually
You really want to use distilled water from the store or just get premixed coolant. My cars are old so I just use well water lol, my water is pretty good, never had a problem.
So... I’ve been trying to bleed the coolant using the bleed screw that is nearest to the radiator and no coolant is coming out of it, a little bit will after a short drive but next short drive and no coolant will come out... is this because I’m not using the second bleed valve??
Could be, definitely try the second bleed valve near the thermostat
Good idea on having the car on the trailer. I've never heard of mini life lol. Can i say Victorian life for my car ? hahaha. I feel like mine is a little simpler on my car to replace the coolant. also is it true you can reuse the coolant if there's no dirt in it?
Thanks and hahah yea you can say Victorian life for your car. I can imagine it's a lot easier for your coolant change. As long as the coolant is kept clean and isn't past it's service life, you can put it back in. I do. lol
a DIY Car Guy Sweet ! I still have to check my coolant with a hydrometer do determine if i need to swap it out. It's almost exactly lime my red and white truck to do it since it is the same engine. 5.0 life! Also I researched these engines are made from the Windsor company that makes the same engine as the legendary 351w
Jimbo Booth nice! do you know how old the coolant is?
a DIY Car Guy not sure. 5 years old? It sat that long
i'd put new coolant in
Very helpful!!!
Can’t I just shop vac the lower hose?
You never use tap or any other water to mix with antifreeze, only distilled water folks chemistry 101
Would have been really helpful to mention at the beginning that you have to remove the air box and the thing next to it, and show how you did that :/
Thanks 😊
Where's the thermostat at
Just a quick on I can’t find the bleeder on the back of my engine I have the same engine as you
I would focus on the bleeder near the thermostat, don't worry about the one on the back, it's difficult to see or access anything on the back of the engine.
hello, quick question I haven't got the tool to reach the second bleeder is it ok to just bleed it using the one bleeder on the front?
How important is a coolant flush i think i could do with one but is it something that could be really harmful to my engine? it seems to run fine but my coolant is a tiny bit low and the last person to have the car had it 2 years no flush i have had it a few months no flush and the person before him i dont know but i cant see a flush in the paperwork so he could maybe done it himself and i will never know... its been at least 2 half years and my coolant looks ever so slightly rusty no foam or anything like that its not a blown head gaskit it just looks old and worn down
eh if it's pretty clean I wouldn't worry about the flush, really depends on your goals and the condition of the coolant. if there was oil in the coolant at one point for whatever reason, then I would do the flush.
I have 08 Mini cooper s, is it the same process?
It's generally the same process for any car....might have to look up specifics for yours like bleeder location...maybe it takes a different coolant or capacity, etc.
Fast orange is the shit
All my 05 keeps blowing steam. Do I just leave it opened
Blowing steam from where, the bleeder or the coolant tank?
@@aDIYCarGuy hi so does mine and the sponge at the top of the radiator is soaked any ideas thanks
You need to specify what year your vehicle is. These directions do not work with 2007-2013 R56 Mini Cooper S vehicles.
Looks like my 2006 S
My 2007 mini Cooper S doesn't look like your engine bay. I am so confused! :(
Mines a 1st gen and yours is a 2nd gen, newer style, different design
pregunta,lo puedes comentar en español?
How come the mini pooper sounded like a lawnmower when you moved it 😐
😁
Thank you for the video brother. I was able to replace my coolant reservour,filled and bled