yea it seems logical to me that they would bulge a little, the cap keeps the system under pressure, and since the hoses are rubber they would bulge somewhat.

 

I found a junked 2nd gen with the level sensor. picked it up. $4. so happy. counted the threads, and put it on without snugging it too much. Started her up, waited till she started leaking, turned her off and snugged it down. Never stopped leaking. Pulled it out and the threads were all ate up. I think the rad.com rad has different threads. I need to check them out. Has anyone ever tried just putting a plug in there? I am good about checking fluids so I don't really worry about not having enough coolant in it. This is starting to be a hassle.

 

I recently changed a water pump that wasn't leaking and the thermostat. It seemed to be running fine, but apparently it wasn't. With the engine cold and the radiator cap off, I cranked the engine and watched the coolant. When the engine reaches a certain temperature, the thermostat will open, and coolant will start flowing through the upper radiator hose and through the radiator. Mine just sat there and started foaming. I replaced the water pump and the thermostat, and now when I watch the coolant, it flows like a strong river current. The engine now runs cooler. Maybe this will help.

 

When you installed the new thermostat, you put the spring part in toward the motor, right? Just checking that you didn't install it backwards...

 

mungo likes tstats.
naw, its in the right way.

 

Could be the stock temp guage. The one on my 84GSL runs hot, but I've learned that's normal. As long as it doesn't go hotter, I'm fine.

Ray

 

Checked the radiator temp with an IR temp gauge. 1/2 way up is about 210F, too hot for my liking. And it has no problem going higher than that. I'm going top pull the water pump this weekend to check iot out. I'm hoping for some kind of answer at that time, or at least, catharsis.

 

Fix your 'busted-*** problem', yet?

Let me know when you're willing to look at some likely causes.

(It's your effort, but pulling the WP would be way down my list of stuff to check.)

 

Hey sexy american girlfriend....
Thats kinda how I feel longduck but people in here seem to think thats the problem and I don't really have the experience or knowhow to argue. I'm more than open to suggestions, but their are things I don't know how to do. Timing, for example. I know how to take the bitch in to the shop, though, which might be the final solution. Like I said before, if its anything I've already looked at, it isn't it. My #1 problem right now is the gaping hole in my new rad. where my level sensor is supposed to be. Without that taken care of, there will be no diagnosis or even work done, as far as I can foresee. Has anyone ever just bought nylon stock and selftapped it in there. **** a level sensor, cavemen didn't have it on their cars and they made fire and the pyramids.

 

Well, it looks like you're trying to reel it in, so let's have a go at this;

1) If you still have the plastic bolt from your coolant level sensor, even though it's not hooked up to the wire, it will still seal that hole and allow you to do some pressure testing (just read that you said it was split, so that may not be an option). The price you were quoted for a factory replacement ($141) is too high, and the parts person was probably looking at the temperature sensor (???). The VB part is good and is a stock replacement, that may be your only way to be sure you get the right one. Once you have this, on to the others, below;

2) Big Spring in the lower radiator hose - this big spring inside of the lower hose keeps it from collapsing under suction from the intake side of the WP. If the spring is missing, it's usually not a problem, but if you have somebody rev the engine while you watch the lower rad hose and it collapses - you know how to fix it. It's a big coil spring about 1-1/2" in diameter that just slides in there before installation.

3) Fan clutch - I know you said you replaced this, but then you said you checked it. With an overheat occuring at SPEED (vs. at idle), it is usually due to a lack of cooling air being drawn through the radiator, OR because of the WP belt slipping at higher engine RPM. Since you said you have a new radiator (but then you say it looks 'screwed' and has JB Weld on it), this probably isn't the problem - if it's new. If it's an older radiator, you should take it to a radiator shop and have it rodded out and resealed. Otherwise, doublecheck your WP pulley and belts and make sure that you're not getting any slipping - this may sound like a 'squeal' when you tap the throttle from idle. Is your Airpump installed? The AP belt also helps to add traction to the WP, and when removed can cause the WP pulley not to turn at the correct RPM.

4) Thermostat - I know you're reluctant to go back to this, but if it wasn't overheating before with your 'cheap' tstat, I'd go and put the old one back in and see what happens. That will give you a clear indication of what's causing the problem. While you have the Factory Mazda tstat out, you can stick it in a pot of boiling water and make sure it opens at the correct temperature. It's not that unusual to get a factory part that's bad - it's not like they test every one before they send them out. Short of swapping it, there aren't any other easier ways to tell if it's the tstat.

Notice that all of the suggestions that I give are easier than changing a WP. Plus, if the WP is fine, and it's one of these other things, you won't have the anguish that happens after you changed the WP and it STILL overheats...

Have a look and let us know what you find. As stated in my previous post, the coolant systems on these cars can handle pretty extreme conditions and still work well as long as everything has been attended to. HTH,

 

longduck
1. I'm worried about the new rad I got from radiator.com having different threads on the level sensor housing and thats why I've ripped up two sensors putting them in. I'm stupid like that.

2. I have no idea what you're talking about.

3. Fan clutch was replaced, then checked 4200rpm....good to go. I was justifying buying a new rad even if the old one wasn't the problem by talking about how screwed it was ( the old one). That was the one with the jb weld and bent fins. New one is, well...new.

4. I'll recheck the belts. Maybe I didn't get somewthing tightened down enough and its moving causeing the belts to slip. I don't hear anything, but I ain't that good at this either.

4. Overheating with old tstat, overheating with new tested mazda tstat. Jiggle pin on top right? Somebody answer this. Haynes manual says replace as it was before.

 

Jiggle pin to the top. I like to call it the burp hole. It just lets the air out.


you can block off the Level fitting if you want to. I have had few busted ones, I think you twist the wires together to keep the alarm quiet. As long as you keep your coolent level checked you will be fine.

in #2, Some hoses have a coil spring in them, It just keeps the hose from calapsing under vacum.

Your rad should not be hotter as you get lower. the water should be cooling off as it goes down. Cool water is pulled in from the bottom and hot goes into the top.

Do you have a Front mount oil cooler?


Timming is easy to check. Get a timming light, connect it to 12V and put the sence clip on the #1 plug wire. Aim it at the lower pully and pull the triger, Look for a yellow and red mark. they line up with a pointer on the front cover.



Now this chould be a long shot. but I have had a problem with mine for a while. running too warm. I found that my voltage regulator is dead and I had 17V at the battery. I think that is why the guage gets high. Just a theory, but I am hopping that is the problem.

 

negatory on the front mounted oc good buddy. What did you use to block off the level sensor hole. I was thinking like nylon stock. Just twisting it inthere good and tight. Don't want to use a screw because of different metals heating up with different expansion rates and whatnot. My voltage readings are at normal on the gauge. I don't know why I think this would be the only gauge that actually works on the 7, so I guess I should check that.
That temp thing is interesting. I'll go recheck that.

 

I have never actually had to block one off. Always had a few more in Junk rads, I always seem to have one with the wire off it so they never work.


The rad comes up to temp slow and should never go over 212 so there should not be an expantion problem, any correct size bolt should work.

 

Something else to think about;

Whenever a radiator is rodded-out, the radiator shop always recommends flushing the engine block as well, to ensure that any crap in the block doesn't then get flushed into the new radiator and once again cause it to get gummed up. This involves removing the 14mm bolt at the bottom of the center housing on the driver's side, and then remove the upper and lower radiator hoses - this will drain all of the coolant out of the block, but I usually then remove the heater hose inlet on the driver's side (below the oil filter tower), and hook this up to a garden hose.

You'll want to let the garden hose run for about 10 minutes full blast - this will help to get the crap out of the engine block, and that may be where your constriction in the cooling system is located. Since you've already covered all of the primary cooling items (radiator, tstat, WP, etc.), might as well start focusing on the block itself. If water can't flow through the passages in the block, it won't be able to pick up heat and carry it out to the radiator.

Look at the lower radiator hose at the WP and make sure that water is coming out there as fast as the hose is putting it in. If the water from the hose isn't able to be forced through where the heater inlet is located, you have a blockage inside the block somewhere. Keep the water flowing and hope that you get it out.

Give this a shot - it sounds like you've tried just about everything else,

 

Water lines to the oil cooler are in good shape and not kinked?

 

wtf
I know you're saying. Why won't this guy give up and sell it to someone who knows what he's doing so we don't have to go to u-wrench-it to get his parts. Cause I'm tenacious! that's why. I'm like a pitbull on a set of copballs. I'm like a hippie on a bong. I'm like a dude who's only mode of transportation is an rx.
So I took it to a buddy who works at a shop (not a rotary shop) and he did a high presure coolant flush, drove it around, let it sit, and declared it to be...





wait for it










he don't know.
He didn't want to put a wp on for fear of wasting money, and he thinks its the exhaust backed up, heating up the whole engine bay and generally f'ing things up. He also mentioned the impellor shaft, but I was under the impression that that was a part of the wp, and he said it wasn't. Of course he works on boingers. I know lovintha7 posted something about it. I'm a little confused, so I'm gonna read the haynes manual for a while.
Feel free to discuss or talk about what a jackass I am. I won't hold it against you. After all, I still love my mom and dad and they haven't talked about me without the words rx7 or jackass in at least a year.

 

If you are absolutely sure you've ruled everything else out, then you might as well change the WP. A Water Pump is about $50, so it won't add a lot to you already impressive list of expenditures. As for your friend's advise, just ignore it...if he thinks "exhaust backed up, heating the engine bay" is the problem, he doesn't have a clue. Take it to someone else.

 

yes but will changing the wp do nothing if the impeller is f'd

 

The impeller IS the WP; you may be thinking about the WP Housing.

 

I mentioned what cavitation does to an impeller. When a water flows over a component fast enough, it creates a low and high pressure point. When the water reaches the low pressure, gas dissolved in the water turns back to gas. The bubbles then expand and grow. The final step in cavitation is the rapid almost instantaneous collapse of the bubble. This collapse is extremely desructive and will eventually eat at the metal to nothing. I have seen this before in another car. The impeller was virtually eaten away. If you've put in a new radiator, put in a tested thermostat, flushed out the system, and checked the lower radiator hose from collapse, then the only thing left in that system is the water pump. For exploratory purposes, buy a water pump gasket. This is cheap. Take the water pump off, and look at the impeller. Spin the shaft and make sure the impeller spins with it. I suppose corrosion could have eaten the shaft, and a torque snap could have cause the shaft to shear off. Unlikely, but not impossible. The most this can cost is a WP gasket and another 2 gallons of antifreeze. I know you wanna get this fixed. Might as well check every component to make sure. IMHO, it's worth the 10-12 bucks just to check it out. If you find a bad WP, then there's your culprit. If it's ok, then move on to the next option.

In response to your radiators.com question. I've personally installed one, and the threads for the coolant level sensor ARE correct.

PM me again if you have more questions.

 

Yaknow, glews - at first I thought you were pretty abrasive... Kinda in a argumentative sort of way; the way that ends up with people being pissed off and generally feeling that they don't like you very much.

And then I started to read more of your responses, and I started laughing. You have a witty style and that's a good thing - it's what makes us all a big, happy forum, I think. That, and you certainly are tenacious!

As lovin' says, I'd go ahead and change the WP about now. I know I said it'd be down the list of things I'd do, but hell, you're already down the list, and it's about the last thing that really CAN be done, so go ahead! I'd just bite the bullet and buy a waterpump from VB or Mazdatrix along with the gasket and then just get it done. It can only get better, simply because it can't get much worse, huh?

AFA the rotary having an 'impeller' separate from the WP, that's BS. The impeller is the part of the WP that pushes the water, and it all gets changed out with the WP replacement.

VB is selling WP's for about $44.95 right now, part # 54-410 (and yes, I do keep a virtual VB catalog in my head...) and the gasket is 53-380 for $10.95. I don't recommend changing out the HOusing to Engine gasket (53-158 at $2.95) unless it's leaking, but that would be cheap insurance to do the whole thing - they're already going to get you for shipping, anyway.

So, head on out to www.victoriabritish.com (or your local parts retailer) and pick one up. Let us know how it's going, and we'll all wait around here and talk about what a jackass you are. HTH,

 

This thread was worth all 4 pages of reading just for his responses. I was busting up at the one with the cavemen, fire, and pyramids.

I RTV'd my '80's water-pump-housing-to-engine mating surface with no ill effects, other than the less than aesthetically pleasing to some orange bulging at the seams. It's probably not necessary to replace the gasket at all, assuming you do not let that housing slide out on the mounting studs at all. If it does (mine did), you can bet the gasket didn't care much for it. If you do go the cautious route, make absolutely sure you don't lose the shims on the two housing studs that do not have the gasket as a buffer. The link below shows the gaskets necessary, as well as the shims.

http://www.mazdatrix.com/b9wpumps.htm

Keep working on the 7--love your threads.

 

I gotta rock and roll today, fellas so we'll see if I can't get some **** done later in the day, after it cools off. God, its so hot. Milk was a bad choice.

 

just took a look at the wp. Moe is just a little confused because he talked to some guys at mazda. I tell you what, for my money, you can not find bigger idiots than the ones at a mazda dealership. It's like they have completetly forgotten what it was that made mazda NOT part of mitsubishi. If you took a 68 GTO to a pontiac dealership, the first thing out of their mouths wouldn't be: "we need to get you out of that POS and into a brand new GTO. What, you don't like plastic?" I hate our mazda dealership.
Anyway, Moe's putting it on for cheap. I know, I should be doing it myself, but I got other stuff to do and like I said, my kidneys hurt.