whenever i let my car sit parked for more than a minute the temp gauge goes almost to the halfway mark. it never went much above the 2nd bar before. i'm also getting a strange squealing noise coming from below the water pump, im not sure if it is the water pump or not since there water is still flowing through the engine fairly well.

i changed the T-stat and put on new belts, then removed the belts and started the car. it was still making the noise even tho the water pump wasnt spinning?

i'm not getting any white smoke out the exhaust to show a water seal problem and the car runs fine and pull strong asside from overheating.

it does cool down when i get moving, and the clutchfan is a-ok.

and just to double check, the t-stat goes into the engine with the spring towards the block, correct?

what the hell is going on!! hehe

 

I had the same problem and it went away after I just changed the water pump, thermostat, radiator (hose and sensor), and belts...

 

it squealed without the belts?
look for debris caught behind the crank pully or ghost belts haunting your engine bay.. it is halloween.

aside from that, maybe its not a squeal you're hearing... can you compare it to something?

 

If it does this only while sitting I'd be looking at the fan clutch.

 

yes it was making the noise without the belts on. weirdness...

it was still running hot when i was moving, well not nearly as hot as at idle, but once i got moving it would drop down to 1/4 or so on the stock gauge where normally it isnt that high.

i will try swapping the clutch fan off my SE and see what happens, but this one seems to have no play in it. logically it should be working.

 

it's very likely that the rad isn't flowing as it should.

 

wikle your pully on the water pump, maybe the bearing in the water pump is shot, when mine was gone it squelled but the belt was also getting damaged adn shooting littl rubber ***** so it wasnt hard to figure out i needed a new one.

 

Perhaps the squeaking is not related to the overheat.

And, yes, somehow coolant is not going through your system correctly. Radiator, hoses, T-stat, anything in the loop.

 

Get a piece of PVC pipe. Put it near where you suspect the noise and then hold it in your fist so that your ear goes on one end of your fist, PVC goes in the other end (in case it catches something you won't harpoon the side of your head.) Listen all over the motor until you find the actual source of the squeak. Works great for isolating them pesky squeaks and noises.

 

yeah, thats how i found it wasnt the belts in the first place actually

 

ya im not sure if the squealing is related but it seemed to appear around the same time the overheating did.

the only changes ive done lately is install wiring to my sub amp, cant see how that would effect things other than make the alt work a little harder, but with the belts completely off that doesnt explain this.....

anyways. i started it up about a hour ago, dumped the timing down a bit (even tho it was spot on beforehand, checked not 5 days ago) and it seems to be ok now.

however its been doing this the past few days kind of off and on, so maybe i just lucked out this try. its almost like a part of the coolant system isnt working all the time, just sometimes, so far its not the t-stat or belts.... so i guess water pump is the next to replace.

only other thing i can think of is the oil pump. also my OMP is blocked off and i use pre-mix for that aspect of the engine.

 

If the belt is sufficiently tight on the water pump, then I'd bet on a broken water pump or clogged radiator......or maybe a faulty thermostat.

 

Hopefully you used a Mazda thermostat and not an aftermarket.

 

I think that's my problem. I used a stupid aftermarket thermostat.

 

aftermarket or not it doesnt make sense that it would doing this with the old t-stat and the new one..

maybe i will try gutting my old thermostat and see what happens. then if thats a no go looks like i'll get a new waterpump and spray some compressed air behind the crank there to see if i have any dirt/grime stuck making that noise.

also how dangerous is running the temp nearly half way on the stock gauge? what actual temp. does that equal out to be? i need to still be able to drive this car to get parts and such since its the only one i have insured currently.

 

i removed the thermostat all-together and the car stays cold now. actually too cold, even after 10 minutes of driving it is in between the first 2 bars on the temp gauge. i guess i will try a mazda OEM thermostat afterall....

also ordered a new water pump even though im not sure i need one, its extra insurance for the future.

 

Probably the aftermarket T-stat. Just to be safe I replaced the aftermarket t-stats I found with OEMs from mazdatrix. What the heck, they only cost $12 compared to $9.

I don't take chances with overheating, since that's the worst thing that can happen to a rotary.

B

 

think i'll be ok driving without a t-stat for a week or two? temps arent getting too too cold here these days, around 10c or 50f