i found a coolent leak, in the picture, i believe that line goes from the coolent fillup side(the opposite from windshield wiper fluid) to the bottom of the ast., i found where,but i would like to know what you guys think on going about fixing this. (i moved it there just for the picture purpose)

 

Go to mazda and get a replacement hose.

 

It goes to the top of the ast, it goes from the AST to the overflow tank when the pressure in the system exceeds the pressure on your ast cap. It is under very little pressure. I have never seen one leak there before.

 

i had a small leak the exact place a 1 1/2 yrs ago. i just used screwed 2 small hose clamps onto it. replacing the hose would be better though

 

Unless that is a big hole, it's probably not your leak. The Symptoms of a small hole there would be low coolant in the engine and an overflowing coolant reservoir. This would be because on cool-down, the engine will suck air in through that hole into the engine instead of coolant from the reservoir. When the engine is warm and coolant is flowing from the engine, there is so little pressure in the line that coolant is probably just as likely to go into the reservoir (it is downhill) than out any small hole in the line.

 

whell it is from there but i noticed it when i turn the car off, also if i squeeze the rad hose i hear air and some coolent squirts out of the area... anyone know what the hose is called? and how much it would be?

 

i put a clamp on it for now but im calling malloy 2morrow.. next time i drive it and shut down lets see if it leaks

 

There is more pressure in that little line than people think. When it get old it can leak a fair amount of fluid and even blow apart and spew hot water/steam everywhere.

Replacing the lines with fresh ones or clamping the ends will solve the problem.

 

Actually, there isn't any pressure in that hose. It simply feeds the overflow tank. In order for there to be pressure, there would have to be something on the other end of the hose .............. which there is not. Since there isn't any pressure, it cannot blow apart. It can rot, and fall to pieces, but it won't "blow apart".

If the ends of the hose are frayed, the hose should be replaced, not just clamped.


To the original poster:

Are you sure that hose is leaking, and that you are not simply losing coolant from the overflow tank? Start the car with the airbox removed, and watch to see where it leaks from. If you see the overflow tank overflowing, it may be a symptom of bad coolant seals. Be sure that nothing can fall into the intake pipes before you start the car.

 

Like I said, most people would be surprised at how much pressure there can be.

Think of it like a garden hose, what happens when you turn it on? I can tell you from personal experience that it can blow apart at the junction and spew steaming hot water all over the place. Happen to me at the track in paddock. Its purpose is to vent hot fluid and gases to the over flow tank. Do you think when it hits .9 bar in pressure it just trickles out? Damn thing looked like a snake that just got run over. Nearly sprayed me in the face when I opened the hood.

In his picture, the ends don’t look frayed, nor did he mention that they were. They tend to get stiff just like every other piece of rubber in the engine bay. Once it looses it’s elasticity it tends to leak. Putting hose clamps on mine fixed it for that day and I replace them when I returned home.

 

If you didn't cut the hose and place some kind of tube in there just what exactly is the clamp clamping ? If when squeezing the radiator hose you exceed the pressure of your AST cap you will hear air and coolant move into the recovery tank. The hose is just a hose from the AST to the recovery tank and is not pressurized.

 

Under "normal" circumstances there isn't any pressure on that line. Certainly, an extremely hot engine can pressurize the line a little bit.

Normally, when an engine starts to get hot, it can exceed the .9 bar cap, and quickly vent the excess pressure into the overflow line. The cap closes until the pressure builds again. This scenario lets a little bit of coolant into the overflow line at a time, and won't cause any type of pressure that would "blow" anything. Road racing is a completely different circumstance, where temperatures can get pretty high for an extended period. That isn't the case with regard to the original poster. Of course, I don't think I really needed to explain this to you

 

im not sure if the person before me did this or its a stock thing but, from the overflow tank to the ast, the lines are different, and split, there is a plastic piece that you can say coneccts them together, ill get another pic later.. i will call ray after school to order a new one.. anyone have any ideas how much that hose is?

 

No need to order it from Mazda. Remove it, and go to your local parts store to buy it. It's just a common coolant hose.

Did you run the car to make sure of where the leak is?

 

I have no idea why Mazda did that but the plastic piece is OEM setup for that hose. You can replace the two piece with a one piece hose, just make sure it's small enough to seal snugly on the fitting on the recovery tank as well as the AST

PS in the picture is it leaking at that joint (plastic piece) if so a couple of tywraps may solve your problem after trimming the ends of both hoses.

 

I just replaced all my coolant hoses and the coolant overflow as well (overflow comes with the hose, plastic tee and dipstick). I recommend replacing your coolant hoses now if you haven't already...@ Ray Malloy, it's $140 for the coolant hose set and $84 for the coolant overflow.

Here are some brand new overflow reservoir reference photos (of the 20 taken, LoL!). BTW, I'm in the process of designing/builing a Web site that will have tons of photos of OEM parts in different angles, part #, basic walk-thrus and other stuff to help out people needing reference info. More photos though than a full-fledge walkthru. I've replaced a lot so I'm sure it will be of use to someone. More details later.

 

WOW ITS WHITE? lol mines yellow ish, it will be easier for me to just buy the hose from the store.

 

i clamped every hose with new one clamps and i found that its comming from the overflow area, hows the best way for me to get to it?

 

If your talking about the coolant recover tank (the thing that turned yellow) remove the passenger wheel and pull back the fender liner. It removes with three bolts. I did mine when the neck separated from the tank causing a leak. The new tank was something like 85 from maloy.

 

ill be cheaking it out today

 

Is the recovery tank overfull ? WIth the engine cold the level in the recovery tank should be at or just below the full mark on the dip stick.

 

ok i think we may have found the problem.. brought the car to my mech, and he tested the pressure and the AST is opening at around 10psi so he thinks its that, he has to give me a call with updates prob 2morrow, also while there getting my diff bushings changed

 

I had a situation where coolant was leaking from the Pettit AST Cap, it was leaking there because the hose running from the AST to the reservoir was crushed underneath my M2 intake box. Replace and rerouted the hose, problem solved. Also while I had the wheel liner pulled back to get access to the reservoir, I discovered some of the plastic push/ screw rivets, that hold the liner in place, were bad, I found a great replacement for them at NAPA pn# 665-2409

 

problem found.. i have a little coolent leak and it seems to be boiling the water, i get normal temps and dont get any over heating.. atleast its still drivable for now. i was hopeing it would of lasted another month in a half, then id have all the money to do everything i needed