Hot Stuff! Jun 22, 2008
We stopped a few times to add coolant and made it home without pegging the needle.
We took the Mini for a little drive last weekend, and while at a stoplight the guy in the next lane gave us some bad news: Our car was dropping coolant. The temperature gauge looked normal, but we still did a quick U-turn to head home. As soon as we finished the turn, the gauge started to climb. We stopped a few times to add coolant and made it home without pegging the needle.
We pressure tested the system the next day and found that the upper radiator hose was a tiny bit loose. So in addition to losing coolant, our system wasn't fully pressurized.
We have new radiator hose clamps to install, and while we're at it we'll take a look at the whole system--fresh hoses and coolant plus a new thermostat. We'll also replace the 7-lb. radiator cap with the 13-lb. one specified in the owners manual. (An online Italian to English translation site helped us with that one.)
Parts Are on the Way Jul 2, 2008
Hopefully the parts will be here and on the car within two weeks.
New cooling system parts for the Mini are on the way. Even though it looks like we just needed to tighten a hose clamp, we decided to give the system some attention. Our order includes both the upper and lower hoses plus a new radiator cap and thermostat.
It's not related to the cooling system, but we also ordered a new gear shift boot. Ours is pretty much gone, allowing hot air from the engine compartment to enter the passenger compartment. The little fake leather boot someone installed really doesn't block the hot air.
Hopefully the parts will be here and on the car within two weeks.
A Mini Mini Update Aug 5, 2008
The Mini got a little bit of love today. The offending hose clamp was replaced with a new one, while the oil was changed. (Since the engine got hot during the overheating episode, we figured the oil change was good, cheap insurance.) Then we took the car for a little drive, and right now it's on display in our office.