ok, my heater core & hose busted and now Mazda is asking $800+ to fix it. I don't think that is the end of it either because they said that is the only way they can tell if something else is wrong with it. any suggestions? all appreciated...

 

did you overheat the motor when the hose busted?

 

UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH i blew mine in my jeep replaced it and it was fine
that was a beater jeep that was roller over numerace amounts of time and this is a rotary sprots car...sorry

 

**** wait $800 thats sooo much!
if i were you i would go to a freind that is a machanic or some one you know that wont screw you and then youll know what parts you need mazda just might say blah blah blah eat *** blah blah blah and 2200$$ later youll be like uhhhhhhhhh why all this **** i just replaced it last year?

 

yup take a few saturdays and do it yourself (if you have the time). A heater core you can probably get off of ebay or the for sale section of this site and while yes it will be a pain in the *** to change it out you will be 800 dollars...possibly more, richer. As far as the heater hose you can get that from mazda trix for a descent price as well.

 

Maybe I don't understand the heater core well, but how does it bust? I can understand it cracking or getting clogged but its not something that really goes bad. Am I wrong?

 

rotormaniac121: Mine just blew, I guess it was old. My engine temp gague shot up but I killed power immediately. The engine wasn't hot or anything. does it sound like a blown engine? I have priced other heater cores and I have a few other options. Thanks. Another thing, does anyone have experience with U-haul like tow bars or anything like that? thanks

 

They go over time. It happens to all cars. Do you have coolant in the floor board? Thats usaully what happens when they go. If there is coolant in the floor board then its either a hose or the heater core, no question about it. I wouldn't take it to the dealer though. Where are you at?

 

Most people diagnose a bad heater core by coolant leakage inside the car's cabin. ON these cars, it's possible (and even common) to have leakage inside without the core actually leaking. It's actually hard to tear up one of our heatercores...most cores have a solid metal hose made right into the core (like a small metal radiator) and the hose clamps onto this pipe. Bend the pipe, and you can rupture the core itself. On our cars, the pipe adn core are seperated by a small section of rubber hose, so even if you bend the hell out of the pipe, the core is isolated from damage.

What commonly happens is that the hose busts in the engine bay, and whoever removes it bends the soft, flexible metal pipe at the firewall. The new hose is installed, but the pipe is distorted a bit, and it doesnt seal well. Water leaks out, and because the pipe runs downward into the car, it streams in and drips down, making you think you have a busted core, when you really just need to bend the pipe out in the engine bay so that it is not distored. Sometimes you have to push the hose farther up on the pipe inside the firewall, where it is not distorted. Use of real hose clamps instead of the shitty stock ones is also necessary for a good seal.
My bet is that you dont need a core at all. You probably need a hose, and someone who knows what they;'re doing to install it. Just hope you didn;'t over heat the engine when the hose burst, or the $800 bill for the heatercore will be the least of your worries.

 

I thought my heater core went out, so I replaced it. Taking the entire dash out is no fun, especially when the interior is in mint condition and you are trying very hard not to break any of the brittle plastic pieces.

Got the new heater core in and still had a leak. The core I took out looked better than the one I put in. Turned out my leak was at the hose connection at the firewall. The heater core tube that projects into the engine bay was slightly out of round. Try as I might I could not get it round enough to seal.

What finally worked was double clamping the hose, remembered that from my old days installing sprinkler systems. Use 2 clamps but reverse directions between the 2. When you tighten them down they work against each each other and help round out the heater tube. That was the only way I could get that nagging little leak to stop and I do not want to replace the core again. It's been working for 2 years now. Good luck.

 

well, Heater core is definately blown. and Mazda says I have a blown engine on my hands. I dind't let it overheat though and the block wasn't even warm when I broke down. I do have low compression though so I might get the heater core replaced or just wait and get an engine rebuild. I dunno what to do about it though

 

don't ever listen to the mazda dealership. They tell you that you have a blown engine while it very well could be a loose vacuum hose. The Mazda Dealerships know nothing about these cars. I'd be surprised if they can even check the compression properly.