Just got my R53 yesterday. (first time mini owner). Like I said in my welcome post, this car is highly modified with alot of goodies like intake, exhaust, EDC (electronic suspension dampening system), aftermarket intercooler, etc....

But I am stumped. Upon further review, I noticed a coolant leak yesterday from a coolant reservoir tank that doesn't seem to belong or was added. I have the expansion tank (the cloudy yellowish one) but I also see another one stuffed in that compartment on the left side of the firewall.

There is red hose (actually it is a hard line) connected to the bottom of this tank that eventually leads all the way up next to the intercooler. You should be able to see in my pics. Does anyone have any idea what this is for? It seems like the tech at the dealership I bought it at filled this reservoir tank with coolant and the hose leaked everywhere there was a fitting. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

dang, that intercooler is big! I would guess that the extra tank is somebody's version of a track required "catch tank". Unfortunately it is not "catching".

 

Hello Min Mex, welcome to NAM. Were in NC are you located. There is great mechanic, Dan in Thomasville who works on minis. He has a garage (GrassRoot Garage) and does great work, try giving him a call. Here is the link to his website.
http://www.grassrootsgarage.com/

 

So thats a catch can? For oil? Dang it, the tech where I bought it at filled with coolant and it leaked coolant everywhere. Do you think anything could have been damaged? I drained all the coolant out of the tank but I'm sure there is still some coolant left in the hoses

 

I doubt there is any damage.

 

Thanks. So can you school me little. Like what is this catch can for? And the red hose leading out of the intercooler on the right side goes into something under the air filter. What is this hose for? Sorry for my dumbness with these Minis.

Oh I live in Fayetteville/Fort Bragg area.

 

The catch can is used to stop oil vapor from collecting on the values which robs the engine of performance. I am not an expert on the matter and there are some threads that can inform you better than I can, or just start a thread and ask. There are many NAM members who can give beter answers than myself. Also take a look at The Tar Heel Mini Motoring club website, http://www.tarheelminis.org/. There are many of us in NC who get togther for events and discussions about minis.

 

Hmmm...it does also seem to have a red Alta performance cylinder on the right side of the motor which I think is an oil catch can. I think? Thanks for your help.

 

Anytime.

 

Looks like that fitting on the intercooler "horn" could be a water/meth injection nozzle.

In your second photo, from right to left you have:
Alta Oil Catch Can (red hoses from top)
Aftermarket tank (Water/meth injection?)
Coolant Reservoir
Power steering reservoir (with aftermarket cap)

Also it looks like there is some sort of electrical wiring going to that white tank. Yes?

Jim

 

I would agree with Jim. From left to right; OCC, Water Injection, Coolant, and PS.

Based on your description it sounds like the water injection tank was filled with coolant. Since you said it leaked, my guess is that the water injection has not worked for a while so probably no concern. However, if it is working I would not think that coolant is the best thing to be injecting into the manifold/engine but it is also not the worst thing (not much different then having a blown head gasket that leaks coolant into the cylinders).

If the water injection system is working, it is not great for the pump to be operating with no water. You might want to make sure the system is not working (such as disconnecting the power) or replace the water tank and keep it filled with water.

 

oh crap! I know nothing of injection to the intercooler other than intercooler jet sprays. How will I find out if the water injection system is working? Underneath the K&N air filter, the hose coming from this extra coolant tank leads there and into some sort of piece and then out the other end of this piece the hose continues into the horn of the intercooler. Should there be some sort of trigger or button to activate the injection? Or can it be automatic as well?

Also the coolant not only was leaking at the coolant box but everywhere the hose had a fitting, like where it is attatched to the intercooler horn and where it is attatched underneath the air filter.

 

 

Sounds like all the seals are bad.

There are various water/meth injection kits but maybe you can determine what kit is on your car so you can figure-out all the features. For example, here are a links to ones I found by doing a search:
http://www.snowperformance.net/product.php?pk=8
http://www.autoxcooper.com/devils_own.html

Since you car is heavily modified, if possible, you should track down the previous owner (if you do not already know the owner) and obtain as much info as possible about all the mods. Such as what are the mods including the vendor and product name.

If you cannot determine the owner, I suspect someone on NAM knows the car and can ID the owner.

 

Is there any harm if I just disconnect the power wires to this system? There shouldn't be right? I mean this is just something added to intercooler for more efficient horsepower. The car doesn't need this to run, right? It's just a bonus tool.

Sorry for my dumbness on this issue but thanks for everyone's input.

 

It should run without the water/meth injection but I guess that depends on how modified the car is and if it was re-programmed based on the assumption of water/meth injection.