Hey everyone first time post for me but anyway....

Ok i have a 87 automatic nothing special but i love it anyway. I was running it a little hard (120 on the interstate wanted to see how fast i could go) and my temp gadge started going up. also my add coolent buzzer went off. so i pulled over and smoke was going everywhere. i let it cool down then i limped it to my grandparents house and chilled there for a while while it cooled off. i added coolent and water and limped it home. the temp went up and the buzzer again so i stoped but the coolent level hadent gone down any. ant one got any ideas on whats wrong??? help is appriciated. thanks

 

Check your water pump and t-stat.And bleed the cooling system also.You could have air still in it.

 

Could be many things, from dead water pump too blown coolent seals. Is there smoke coming out of the exhuast?

 

check the left-side heater hose under the oil filter area- that's usually the first thing to blow when she gets hot quick (if it hasn't been changed in a while)...was the drive home short enough that the t-stat didn't crack open?

 

No it doesnt have smoke coming out of the exaust. thank god.
It didnt ever get too hot the temp guage never got over 3/4 the way up. and its not that heater hose i just changed it about a month ago. it has always ran arroun 1/2 on the guage i dont know if thats normal or not but as soon as it got about 3/4 the way up i pulled over and shut it off.

 

1/4 is about normal for a S4, change your T-stat and flush your radiator.

 

Alright, ill do that. but what about the hole i lost coolent thing. it went way down, sucked the resavaur dry and was still low in the radiator. it was full before i left tho.
I filled it back up latter and it didnt move even after driving.
any ideas? that one boggels me

 

It sounds like you are loosing coolant somewhere.
It could be hard to find, so keep looking.
I had a crack in the back face of the water pump housing on my old 87.

Sureshot’s Overheating – check list
1) Replace the thermostat. Make sure it fits. The spring loaded disc under the stat valve must close the bypass port, or guess what?
2) Replace the radiator cap. Low pressure = steam bubbles = spit out coolant.
3) Look for leaks. (same symptoms as #2) Some can be very hard to find. You may have to pressure test it. A common failure spot is the 3/8” coolant line that runs from the top of the rear housing (under the intake runners) to the throttle body, to the BAC, to the water pump. Another one is the heater hose under the oil filter.
4) The fan clutch will slowly start slipping as it ages. The fan should pull really hard up to about 4k when the motor is hot. It should maintain about 4k as the motor revs higher. Sometimes you can get more life from it by bending outward the bi-metal strip on the front of the fan clutch. The cut-in for the series 4 fan clutch is gradual – it pulls some even when cold. The series 5 fan clutch is more on/off.

Banzaitoyota’s checklist
1.Are the Oil Cooler fins clear of debris and clean?
2.Does the Oil Cooler thermostat function properly?
3.Are the Radiator Fins clean of debris?
4.Is the Stock Bottom shroud still in place?
5.Are you running a Dual Belt Pulley on the Alt?
6.Did you install a NEW Water Pump when you installed the engine?
7.Is the bottom hose collapsing under load?
8.Did you have the Radiator and Oil Cooler cleaned and Flushed when installing the rebuild ( AS required by MOST REPUTABLE REBUILDERS)?
9. Have you verified water temps with a real gauge instead of the sock POS?
10. What ratio Coolant to Water are you running?
11. Are you running a new STOCK MAZDA OEM thermostat?
12. Mazda Rad Caps?
13. Stock Fan Shroud installed ( For those of you running stock Mechanical Fan)
14. Electric Fan users: Do you have a Shroud installed at all. Most installations only draw air directly across ~60% of the available core surface area.
15. are the stock deflectors installed around the relays forward of the Radiator Core Support?
16. If 15 is a no: Do you have an plate mounted across the support to direct air-flow?
17. Install a spring in the lower rad hose to keep it from collapsing at high RPM

 

hey check the t-stat, if not that make sure the coolant is properly bleed from the air bleeder on the radiator. If its not properly bleed the t-stat wont open and the coolant will evaporate in the radiator, making your low coolant light go out and look as if there is coolant in the resivor when you check it---conclusion, your engine will overheat if not bleed properly.