mikeyb

My car is overheating due to the fact that its leaking a lot of coolant but I dont know where the leak is coming from. It's not coming from the radiator or the overflow but it seems like its leaking somewhere underneath the throttle body area. I am hoping it's only a hose or something that slipped off or broke but I have no idea where that would be. There is no smoke coming out of the tail pipe so I dont think it's anything internal only steam coming out from under the throttle body area. Can someone help me out and point me in the right direction? Thanks

-Mike

spurvo

Well, Mike, let me first tell you to NOT drive the car until you fix this. If the temp gauge goes over the Hot mark for any extended period of time, you can expect to need to rebuild the engine in about 3-6 months (unless you choose to run CRC Blockweld. Look up O-ring failure in the search).

There are two hoses that service the throttle body area. The first is a hose from the backside of the waterpump housing to a hard tube that's just behind the alternator. If you remove the black diagonal pipe (crossover tube), you can see this hose. See if it is the leaker.

The other hose connects the throttle body (TB) itself to the coolant hose hard pipe, actually coming from the source above. To find it, remove the silver bent plastic hose that leads to the TB (the big one, called the intake elbow). You will see a coolant hose with a 90 degree bend in it along the backside of the TB (the firewall side). Check it for leaks.

Two other hoses come to mind (there are 14 total. I'm NOT kidding!). One is the block return for the TB. It comes off the back-top of the TB, pointing towards the passenger side. You can't miss it. It extends down to the backside of the engine block, and is a real pain to change.

The last is the quick disconnect set up for the heater hose source. This sits below the oil filter pedestal, on the side of the engine block. This can sometimes develop a leak as well.

Hoses are easiest to obtain from Malloy Mazda (least expensive). Part numbers can be found on the mazdatrix website, or search for a post with the numbers (within the last 2 weeks I think...).

If you can't see the leak, GET A SYSTEM PRESSURE TESTER! This tool can be rented, and is INVALUBLE for diagnosing system problems...

Happy hunting.

mikeyb

Thank you spurvo!! I will look at those hoses tomorrow to see if they are the cause of my problem. Thank you for helping me out and I will update you on my situation.