bugman1973

well as some of you know i dont know anything about cooling systems. do we need the little rubber o-ring over the thermostat? i cant find one anywhere i have yet to go to the Mazda dealer.

djessence

Do you mean the t-stat gasket? Can probably get one at mazdatrix but the dealer is probably quicker and cheaper for that kind of thing

FirebirdSlayer666

iTrader: (3)

Yes you do, or it will either 1: leak 2: cause the thermostat to fail or 3: glue the water outlet together so you're beating it with a hammer to get it apart when you need to change it again. Number 3 happened to me when I was pulling the motor. I'd never changed the thermostat the entire time I've owned the FB, got it in October of 05 LOL. I only realized that as I was trying to beat it apart LOL

rxtasy3

iTrader: (2)

i think they all used just a gasket, but i could be wrong. maybe the later models used an O-ring. what yr u refering to?

Vashner

Some of the ones like from Duralast will come with the ring. But that's just trash as it's not used in 1st gen stat necks. As people above have said just ask for thermostat gasket (paper). Also IF the bolts do not break. Use an anti seize compound on every bolt you take off. Oh and the metal pin in the tstat needs to go up (towards rear of vehicle).

bugman1973

well i have the S4 pump on it if that helps but i thought they were just made out of different material. and the S3 neck has the little grove cut in it.

Vashner

Hum well you'll have to see what kind is in there. If it's not broken I would leave it alone (wish I could go back in time with mine). I had to replace the housing.

bugman1973

yeah its leaking with just the paper gasket on there. ive been checking the old parts catalogs

FirebirdSlayer666

iTrader: (3)

The Duralast thermostats only come with the o-ring if the vehicle calls for the o-ring. Most of the time the gasket is seperate from it anyway. I can check at work tomorrow if we stock any gaskets for it

bugman1973

ok i have it in its not leaking now but now its overheating but the system is flowing but not staying at a good temperature. its like flash heating or something i barely made it home. the only thing i havent done to the cooling system is replace the radiator or mess with the cooling jackets. new cap new thermostat new water pump.

bugman1973

ok i have it in its not leaking now but now its overheating but the system is flowing but not staying at a good temperature. its like flash heating or something i barely made it home. the only thing i havent done to the cooling system is replace the radiator or mess with the cooling jackets. new cap new thermostat new water pump.

djessence

is your fan clutch workign? And you can see the fluid flow you said?

Only other thing i could think of (that doesnt make sense) is if the rad was clogged,but it wouldnt appear to be flowing as well...

Are you losing coolant? Or its just overheating?

rotornoob

iTrader: (2)

even if the fan clutch is dead it would just make the fan engage all the time, sucks up horses but the car still stays cool iirc.... i believe some of the after market tstats are wierd. iirc there is supposed to be a hole somewhere and the after market guys dont usually put it on there. some members were just getting the aftermarket and drilling the hole in them.

djessence

I cant believe it hasnt been asked yet. What brand of t-stat are you running. Really it should be mazda or nothing. There is like 2 other brands that are actually the right design.

When it is overheating are you driving it or just sitting there (at what speeds if driving)

bugman1973

both at speeds and just sitting there but i dont do much sitting there because it is not idling. i think its a shunt heavy duty. so should i drill a hole in it then?

djessence

or get a mazda one. like 6 bucks and the dealer should have one.

bugman1973

well its like closed right now i think ill check really quick though

bugman1973

so should i try drilling a hole in the thing and if i do where do i drill it?

bugman1973

bump

gsl-se addict

iTrader: (3)

More details on the overheating, please. When did it start, when does it occur, what have you done to correct it, etc. Is this just based on the stock gauge or aftermarket gauge? How quickly does it overheat?

Fire85GSLSE

iTrader: (29)

So your saying the motor is over heating, and you have replaced the water pump, and thermostat.
What thermostat neck are you using? The S4 along with the S4 WP?

Did you flushed the motor and rad before this?
What made you change these parts? What was it doing before this change?

Is it burning rad fluid, or loosing coolant? Is the fluid in the rad to the full mark?
Did you bleed all the air out?


If it is still over heating, the fluid is full I would check two things. One...... make sure the heater core lines are not pinched (not allowing fluid to move) and second, I would try to run it with out the thermostat in it. If it over heats with out the thermostat in it, meaning a constant flow of fluid, I would think the wp was not moving the fluid, the fluid is too strong (more than a 50/50 mix), or that the rad is bad.

If you pull the T stat and it does not over heat you know then the T stat was the problem.

I highly recommend mazda's t stat but also the was a write up on using after market t stats but you needed to drill a hole ( I think a 3/16) in it so it would not shock the system and allow a little bit of circulation.


Let us know what you find out.

bliffle

The causes I've had for overheating over the years are:

1-loss of coolant from old wornout radiator (2 times)
2-loss of coolant from burst heater hose (2 times)
3-loss of coolant from oring leak to exhaust (3 times)
4-old wornout waterpump (1 time)
5-new waterpump with overtightened v-belt (1 time)

That's for rotarys. Doesn't include other cars.

Fire85GSLSE

iTrader: (29)

bugman1973
Joe,
I got your text this morning. Sorry but I have two weeks to try and finish 3-4 weeks of work. No extra free time right now.

So what have you found out with everything listed above?

Vashner

I checked several of the autozone. Proper part.. right number.. all had the ring. Had to buy the paper gasket (84 12a stock).

Let's see 15397 was the part number.

blwfly

iTrader: (4)

are you using a 160* tstat?
i got myn from blackdragon all i got was a paper gasket no oring..