The Ace

Yep, that does it
For more than a month now, I've been having issues with my coolant and the coolant buzzer. Seemed like every time I turned off the engine, coolant would move from the radiator to the overflow and stay there. So after 4 or 5 "trips", the Low Coolant buzzer would come on. Went to Mazda two times, first time I found one hose had split, changed the thermostat, and did a compression check. Second time around I changed the cap, and compressed the cooling system again. However, the Low Coolant buzzer STILL came on

That was until last night. I picked up my gf and went for a movie (Black Hawk Down). The Low Coolant buzzer came on just before I entered the parking lot of the cineplex. Went in, saw the movie, and when I came back to the car, I saw a huge puddle of coolant below the car

Checked the radiator: almost empty (what else ) Filled with plain water (its was 3am, where could I find 4 litters of coolant ?), and when I stopped to pay for the parking time, I noticed that the car leaked very obviously Just managed to get to my house with the buzzer beeping. Today I went to check, and the radiator is empty again. Coolant seems to be leaking from a spot right below the back end of the hood, 20 or 30 cm inside from the wheel, on the driver's side. Anyone has any ideas what hose lies in that spot ?

RETed

Heater hose under the oil filter mount - it's typical this hose fails due to oil dripping off the oil filter mount from oil filter changes or bad o-rings on the oil filter mount itself.



-Ted

flubyux2

been there, done that. careful, or else youll end up w/ scraped knucklles.

$26 hose from Mazdatrix. i ordered mine w/ a new Rad cap.

btw, my hose burst when i revved it up in the driveway, squirted out like a super soaker.

good luck bud.

chris

The Ace

Thanks ReTED....

Yep that must be it....just checked the manual, and I saw the heater hose there. I had just never thought about it....and in the manual the heater hose is very obvious..how could I miss it ?

However, can the previous symptom of the car be attributed to this hose as well ? (ie coolant slowly moving from the radiator to the overflow and staying there every time I started/stopped the car ?)

I think I'll just have to replace every cooling system hose, just to be safe. However, from a search I did, I saw that someone here has done the same thing and all the 18 hoses costed something like 180$$

RETed

Coolant leaks are going to cause overheating problems.&nbsp To understand this, you'll need to understand how your cooling system works.&nbsp The system works due to pressurization - this is why your cooling system runs pressure caps.&nbsp Pressure keeps boiling in check - if you manage to boil your coolant, temps will skyrocket.&nbsp The pressure cap will overflow coolant (overpressured due to overheating), but will not suck the coolant back in since the system can easily suck AIR into the cooling system due to your (pin-hole) leak.



-Ted

The Ace

Yeah, I know how the cooling system works (rather simple anyway), but here's the thing: car did not overheat, there was pressure in the system, pressurizing the system didnt reveal any pressure leaks, so.... Maybe the engine overheated just a tad, enough to make the coolant move slowly over to the overflow tank, but not enough to register ?
I'll go down to the car and check the hoses again (rather difficult, cause I dont have anything but the factory jack
Anyway, seems like I'm due for another visit to Mazda....

Bambam7

I don't know if the heater hose will pressurize untill the thermostat opens...
Just replace the hose- It can be cracked and won't leak untill you bend the hose or it's under pressure.... You might not see it.
Just replace it.

The Ace

Probably it was stupid, but I did drive the car over to the Mazda shop, although I could see the coolant dripping down...
I went with my gf, so in case anything happened, I at least had a car to return. I couldnt verify that the heater hose is indeed the problem, but I am almost certain that it is some hose (that, or the water pump is completely wasted).
We'll just have to wait and see....

The Ace

Just called Mazda. Turns out that, besides the heater hose (which was obviously split because that was what was leaking), there is a slight crack in the thermostat housing. I have also seen that several of you guys had that problem, so I guess its not that uncommon....only thing left now is to wait for the total cost....

The Ace

Update on issue "cost": heater hose goes for 30 EUR, and the thermostat housing (the plastic one from Mazda) goes for 70 EUR. Total cost: 100 EUR plus work.

Car will be ready tomorrow, and then we'll have to wait and see....

Josepi

That's not too bad...odd how the dealers always manage to find more things wrong than what you take it in there for eh?

Be happy it's not like my 83 and eating coolant due to the motor itself.

The Ace

Thats what I thought at first....since the problem persisted and the guys at the shop couldnt find anything wrong I thought maybe I was due for a new engine...

....now I'm most likely due for a -slight- spanking from my gf because I was so depressed when we went for the movie Saturday night, and she kept telling me that it was probably something simpler -and cheaper - than a new engine. We placed a bet that if it was something simple, I would get a spanking, if it was new engine, i would do the spanking....thank god (?!?!) it was just a hose....

buttsjim

I used this site for the first time today to see what I could learn about the coolant leakage on my 87 Turbo II. I can find no external sign of leakage, except for a little coolant on the seam between the rotor housing and the intake manifold. I suspected a bad gasket, but Mazdatrix said they'd never seen that. To the poster with the internal leakage: could you give me a clue on what might be the cause of my internal leakage (the car is barely drivable, but I have to add water constantly).

Thanks

The Ace

There is no poster with "internal leakage". That would be me, IF I had an internal leak, which Thank God I dont

My problem was simply worn hoses (two of them, the return from back rotor and the heater hose), worn cap (allowed air to be sucked in), and cracked thermostat housing (cheap plastic ****). I replaced my thermostat just in case.... After all that, problem seems to have been solved ........*crosses fingers*

If you have this SPECIFIC problem (coolant not returning to radiator, and/or sudden coolant loss), then you have a small external leak somewhere. Replace the most obvious hoses just in case, and check the thermostat housing. Replace cap and maybe thermostat (pretty cheap anyway).

If, on the other hand, you can find no leaks after you do all the above (pressurize the cooling system with the heater fully on), your car continues to "eat" coolant, AND you can see blue smoke from the exhaust, then yes, you should be looking at a new motor or rebuild any time soon
This is more of an annoyance than anything else, but it does mean that a coolant passage has been corroded and coolant is leaking into the rotors....

Hope this helps some....