ausmini :: View topic - radiator issues.

Ok so trying to do the right thing today and flush my radiator and
stuffed the drain nut. ripped the whole thing off.
Not happy Jan.
so io had to pull the radiator out and it took me hours.
i was about to have mini rage big time.
The manual says to take the fan off but there wasnt enough room
couldnt get the bottom section of fan guard off either.
So i had to bend th blooding thing to get bottom of hose fitting free and it took ages.
So is there a easier way to do this???
and should i look at doing to water pump also whilest it out?
Its not leaking.
unit

I understand the later Rover Minis had a one piece cowl, but that it was much easier to remove the radiator and cowl as one unit - simply undo the two mouniting bolts at the bottom, move the radiator back away from the fan, and lift it out. I assume they must have a different mounting arrangement.

Can anyone enlighten me on how these were set up. And can the mounting/cowl arrangement be retro-fitted to earlier Minis?

Thanks guys.
Yeak ok Mike you must get pissed at people like me that dont know what there doing but
try and be nice.
Ok so i didnt do a search straight up. :oops:

I was mainly posting to vent my frustration of spending so much time.
That Mod looks like a good idea.
That rear bottom bolt must be impossible to get.
I still dont understand how i was meant to get it out but i did.
Will take above advice and do the water pump read somewhere here its a good idea
to get a high flow,
Not to sure about the chain sounds out of my league.
How many miles should a chain last of does this depend on time that its sitting.
also i havent taken fan out yet. was i suposed to? must need some special tool to get in
there right??
unit

sorry asking Q's that have been here before.

Author:	unit [ Sat Oct 29, 2005 7:34 pm ]
Post subject:	radiator issues.
Ok so trying to do the right thing today and flush my radiator and stuffed the drain nut. ripped the whole thing off. Not happy Jan. so io had to pull the radiator out and it took me hours. i was about to have mini rage big time. The manual says to take the fan off but there wasnt enough room couldnt get the bottom section of fan guard off either. So i had to bend th blooding thing to get bottom of hose fitting free and it took ages. So is there a easier way to do this??? and should i look at doing to water pump also whilest it out? Its not leaking. unit

Author:	justminis [ Sat Oct 29, 2005 8:34 pm ]
Post subject:
Unit wrote - So is there a easier way to do this??? I think so, see "How To" section.

Author:	aaron [ Sat Oct 29, 2005 8:40 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: radiator issues.
unit wrote: Ok so trying to do the right thing today and flush my radiator and stuffed the drain nut. ripped the whole thing off. Not happy Jan. so io had to pull the radiator out and it took me hours. i was about to have mini rage big time. The manual says to take the fan off but there wasnt enough room couldnt get the bottom section of fan guard off either. So i had to bend th blooding thing to get bottom of hose fitting free and it took ages. So is there a easier way to do this??? and should i look at doing to water pump also whilest it out? Its not leaking. unit if the rad is out, i would Reco or buy a new rad. Water pump and timing chain. rad is the only expensive part, the other are cheap and saves doing it later. Cheers Aaron

Author:	Mike [ Sun Oct 30, 2005 7:13 am ]
Post subject:
Do a search for frigin hell's sake - there was a big discussion of the best methods for rad removal just a week ago - Matt the miniman claimed you can remove the whole assembly from the engine mount in 7 minutes- I still dont believe him. BTW there are also topics on changing the chain (and most importantly taking the harmonic balancer off and inserting it into the oil seal).

Author:	gafmo [ Sun Oct 30, 2005 7:20 am ]
Post subject:
I Hear ya..not the mopst fun job on a mini..but you have only taken it out..you still have to put it backin now.. seen as you have every thing out..clean up all thos brackets and bolts so its a little easier Next time and thier will be a next time I must admit next tiime I have the Rad out I will be doing th little mode as mentiond above

ausmini https://www.ausmini.com/forums/

radiator issues. https://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12634	Page 1 of 1

Author:	drmini in aust [ Sun Oct 30, 2005 7:31 am ]
Post subject:
Once the fan is off and top 1/2 shroud, leave the bottom hose on rad- just pull it off pump. Undo bottom bracket bolts, rotate rad ~90* towards front and lift out. That's how I do it. BTW I leave off the rear bottom bolt near crank pulley... don't need it.

Author:	gafmo [ Sun Oct 30, 2005 7:34 am ]
Post subject:
and that is the worse bolt to get at on a mini..to wight Kev

Author:	Besser [ Sun Oct 30, 2005 9:15 am ]
Post subject:	your rad
If the rad is in good condition relatively, take it to a rad shop and have them remove the top and bottom tanks and flush the core out. They then refit the tanks and can braze the drain hole up. On the cheap you can solder the hole up if the thread is stuffed.

Author:	unit [ Sun Oct 30, 2005 10:51 am ]
Post subject:
Thanks guys. Yeak ok Mike you must get pissed at people like me that dont know what there doing but try and be nice. Ok so i didnt do a search straight up. I was mainly posting to vent my frustration of spending so much time. That Mod looks like a good idea. That rear bottom bolt must be impossible to get. I still dont understand how i was meant to get it out but i did. Will take above advice and do the water pump read somewhere here its a good idea to get a high flow, Not to sure about the chain sounds out of my league. How many miles should a chain last of does this depend on time that its sitting. also i havent taken fan out yet. was i suposed to? must need some special tool to get in there right?? unit sorry asking Q's that have been here before.

Author:	aaron [ Sun Oct 30, 2005 10:59 am ]
Post subject:
New cars get new belts every 60000ks so i guess a chain would be something similar. The chain isn't all that hard to do.But if your feeling uncomfortable trying don't. But it is still a good thing to change if you have it all out. God knows how many times the speedo has been clocked with the factory chain. Being a mk 2 s it'll be a double row timing chain so there won't be too much stretch but as they get old they do stretch and your timing can drift.. makes it hard to get your timing right. Maybe a some of the boys can go round and give you a hand and show you how... i ma sure it'll only cost a case of beer or two... Cheers Aaron

Author:	unit [ Sun Oct 30, 2005 11:17 am ]
Post subject:
Thanks aaron, The car only has 69000 miles on it and ill have a in the books to see when it had allot of work done 20yrs ago at 55000 mile to see if it was done. my old man may remember (doubt it though) Thanks for the heads up. Will look into that today and buy new parts this week try and sort it asap. The Cars at Castle hill so maybe if i should change it someone can help me for a fee. unit

Author:	slide [ Sun Oct 30, 2005 12:46 pm ]
Post subject:
I understand the later Rover Minis had a one piece cowl, but that it was much easier to remove the radiator and cowl as one unit - simply undo the two mouniting bolts at the bottom, move the radiator back away from the fan, and lift it out. I assume they must have a different mounting arrangement. Can anyone enlighten me on how these were set up. And can the mounting/cowl arrangement be retro-fitted to earlier Minis?

Author:	Stuwey [ Sun Oct 30, 2005 1:00 pm ]
Post subject:
For the old style rad, i can take one out in about 10 mins... Remove top bracket at the thermostat, top hose, drop the bottom hose off the rad, Looong screwdriver needed. I have the RH top engine mount, and this makes the water pump end of the hose near impossible to get to. Remove the engine mount from the subframe, jack the motor up, and then you can reach those bottom two bolts (I only use one) With a stumpy spanner, this also leaves extra room at the top to get the rad out. Rover cores had one bolt, front-to-back through the lower mount, and you can reach this throuh the grille with a long extension on your ratchet. This one takes about 2mins. Sooo much easier. Get one if you can, makes life so much easier. Less skinned knuckles, thats for sure!

Author:	drmini in aust [ Sun Oct 30, 2005 3:47 pm ]
Post subject:
slide wrote: I understand the later Rover Minis had a one piece cowl, but that it was much easier to remove the radiator and cowl as one unit - simply undo the two mouniting bolts at the bottom, move the radiator back away from the fan, and lift it out. I assume they must have a different mounting arrangement. Can anyone enlighten me on how these were set up. And can the mounting/cowl arrangement be retro-fitted to earlier Minis? Later Rover Minis had a mile of room between the rad and the inner guard.

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Author:	Mike [ Mon Oct 31, 2005 3:07 am ]
Post subject:
unit wrote: Thanks guys. Yeak ok Mike you must get pissed at people like me that dont know what there doing but try and be nice. Ok so i didnt do a search straight up. I was mainly posting to vent my frustration of spending so much time. That Mod looks like a good idea. That rear bottom bolt must be impossible to get. I still dont understand how i was meant to get it out but i did. Will take above advice and do the water pump read somewhere here its a good idea to get a high flow, Not to sure about the chain sounds out of my league. How many miles should a chain last of does this depend on time that its sitting. also i havent taken fan out yet. was i suposed to? must need some special tool to get in there right?? unit sorry asking Q's that have been here before. Mate, didnt mean to have a go, I'm not annoyed and even if I was who cares? I just meant do a search for your own good coz it sounds like you've devoured half your engine bay to get to the rad so far, whereas just 12 hours after posting Kev. and others have given you a better method - to save time and tears I spend several hours here before doing every major job for the first time, either asking questions or browsing old topics. Oh and for the bottom bolts use a ratchet spanner (those spanners with a ratcheting mechanism inside allowing for 5deg movement. A 1/2" is all you need really and its invaluable on a mini. Get an American brand like "Gearwrench" coz the Australian ones including the one starting with "Sid" are crap.