After i started coming home from work tonight i looked at the temp gauge and it read hotter than normal, i wasn't worried about it until i looked at the idiot lights and all of them were on, i figured my alternator belt snapped off and i wanted to hurry and get home because my battery gauge was low too. I didn't want to shut the car off and not start again. For about 2 miles i drove with the hood popped to try to help cool down a little. As i was pulling in to my neighborhood i looked at the temp gauge again and it was almost all the way on the H. I looked under the hood and i was right about my alt. belt, but i also have coolant leaking from somewhere around the alt. It's dripping a lot! Now, i'm not sure if it overheated because i have an electric fan and the alt belt popped off, but my question is, did it get so hot that it built up pressure and came out the hose? Will I have a big hole in one of the hoses? What should i do? Any help would be appreciated!

 

Oh man, that’s about the worse thing you could’ve done. I guess it’s too late to tell you now, but there would have been plenty of charge to restart the car; the voltage gauge was simply reading battery voltage (12V) instead of alternator voltage (14V) because the alternator wasn’t charging. Since the water pump wasn’t moving any coolant, your popped hood wouldn’t have done a thing, neither would the electric fan. Overheating a rotary can quickly cause damage that requires a full rebuild, and should never be driven without the water pump running.
Replace the belt, clean up the spilt coolant and make sure the radiator and the overflow tanks are full. Take it for a gentle drive close to home and watch the temp gauge like a hawk. If it starts to climb go straight home, check the coolant levels and look for leaks. Pray you haven’t damaged a water seal in the engine...

 

Thanks for your help Jason. I only drove it about 7 or 8 miles. Hopefully i didn't do any damage to the engine. I think i'm going to let it sit for a couple day because i'm waiting on a double alt pulley and i'm going to get my belts from MAZDA. Thanks again. Craig

 

7 or 8 miles is easily enough distance to cause damage.

 

Just an update... I checked my oil, and i didn't see any trace of coolant in it. That means everything is alright... right? Thanks

 

bump

 

so you had no belt on the water pump? or did you still have an airpump belt on? if you drove 8 miles with no belt on you will be VERY lucky if it's still ok.

PS that's what panty hose is for spare belts

 

The only belt i use is the alt. belt. I removed the air pump.

 

omg man, you drove for 7-8 miles without the water pump turning!?!?! You better just hope and pray that its not rebuild time.

 

Rotaries won't mix coolant and water when they are overheated. Do a pressure test on the cooling sysstem. If there is coolant leaking into the engine, you'll know when you start it.