well, sorta just once. it didn't even reach all the way top of the temp gauge, and I shut it off. here's the story:

I was driving out in the country, not too hard on the throttle, till I came up behind this silly girl doing 1 mile an hour in a 55, grew impatient and passed her. almost immediately thereafter, I had my windshield misted by coolant. I was very very close to my destination, and just decided to coast. Temp gauge started creeping up and got about 3/4 to full hot (90 n/a gxl) and I just turned the car off, coasted to the side of the road. popped hood, and added three crystal gyser waterbottles full of water. Had gf pick me up, went swimming had dinner, went back roughly three hours later, added enough water to fill the radiator. started it, checked for leaks. Found none. let it sit there and idle for maybe 5 minutes, didn't pass halfway mark which is normal operating temperature as far as I know. drive it the 2 miles to my gf's house with no issues, even slightly accelerated, still no issues. got to her house, popped hood, check oil, it was pretty low BUT I HAVE BEEN ADDING OIL SWEAR TO GOD. went got oil, in her car, came back added roughly one quart, and drianed some waater, added actual coolant/antifreeze. drove it home, smoothly, which was about another 15 miles. again, no issues. soooo......

I am kinda doubting there was any actual damage, but I am also pretty sure that my thermostat is shot becuase when I looked under the hood, the overflow tank was just... there... wasn't crazy hot, wasn't even really that warm. not sure how to check the water pump, but I do also need a new alternator because all my damn warning lights were on, and my volts were at like.. 10.

So I am going to go to mazda in tracy tomorrow, buy a brand new fancy thermostat, and get some zoom zoom stickers damnitt. and do a full on oil change. try and find cheap alum. radiator, cuz it hit 108 ******* degrees here... wtf...


any objections, advice, thoughts are welcome and encouraged. thanks guys.

 

Basically, do you guys think my car is ok? Any way to tell if something was internally damaged without pulling **** apart?

 

So your saying that your windshield got misted while driving with the temp guage around the halfway mark and THEN rose to the 3/4 mark? Maybe a Bad radiator cap the released pressure too early?

 

That's exactly what I am saying... It was really confusing at first to be honest, I really freaked out cuz I had coolant getting lightly misted onto my windshield, yet no gauges read anything wrong at all. I was like... orly? wtf mate? then it started to jump temp, and I killed it. It was ***** hot today in Motown huh?

 

You may have lucked out; hopefully there wasn't too much damage and it cooled down without warping any housings or cracking any irons. I wouldn't drive it again until you find out why it overheated and get it fixed. Thermostat and radiator cap are the two most easy / obvious culprits. I'd give a look at the water pump and consider the condition of the radiator and fan as well.

 

I didnt go out much today, Tinkered a little in the garage trying to put my engine harnesses in but it was too hot to even do that. lol I agree, check the water pump and see if its working, take the belts off and see how if theres any play in the shaft or how it spins (gotta remember that if it spins TOO freely isnt a good thing either.) Check thermostat to see if its stuck (or replace it like you mentioned, lol) and maybe do a radiator flush just for peace of mind. What is the condition of your fan clutch? everything seem to be operating correctly with that?

If you need it, I have a stock radiator, fan and fan clutch and i think even water pump Id let you take off my hands for cheap. Hit me up if you need any help I am off tomorrow. Pm me if you want I can send you my number.

 

Thanks for the input guys. It was also pretty low on oil, guess they eat more oil than I thought, I have added roughly a half quart in about 2,000 miles, but I romp a lot. sdo I added a bit of 5=30 to get me home, tomorrow I do oil change with 20w50....right?

 

You definitely need to get your radiator cap replaced...in fact, I'd put money on that fixing your problem.

 

+1

i would think that if you coolant mist on your windshield the cap would be the best place to start.

you said you found a leak. but did you fix it? check all hoses. start with the smaller solutions and work your way up.

 

Did I say there was a leak? I'm sorry... there wasn't actually... I was hellllllaaaa tired when I wrote that up last night lol. Bought a new thermostat, and new radiator cap from dealership, just for peace of mind. Oil change with 20w50, and full coolant flush is on the to do list today.

 

i read your original post wrong. my mistake. you said you found "none" i guess my selective reading got to me.

 

eh, it happens lol. I bought a thermostat and radiator cap from the dealer... just cuz lol. Wanna find a very very cheap alum. rad....

 

If your thermostat has a jiggle pin, place the thermostat in the housing so that it is near the top to allow air bubbles to pass.

When you flush your coolant, don't forget to place the heater on hot (to open the water valve) so that you flush that too.

I see you're replacing the cap and thermostat with a dealer one, and that's good.

edit: hope this helps a bit - https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ght=thermostat

 

I am just very unhappy with the radiator... no drain screw at the bottom? wtf.... Do I REALLY have to unbolt it and tip it upside down....

now, to click that link that was just posted so I can just find the answer to my question lol

 

That was actually a great writeup! thanks!