My rad only has 55K on it. How is it possible for it to go bad so
soon??? I wonder if my cooling system was under too much pressure. I put a new 16lb cap on it a week ago, after my previous cap which was only 6 months old, started to leak. Now I'm beginning to wonder if the old cap was leaking, because the system was under too much pressure...and perhaps replacing
it with the new cap, caused my rad to bust?

Hmmmm....once the rad starts leaking, it's pretty much over I'm
assuming? Ie/ if pressures are reduced, ie/ 13lb cap, will it stop the leaking? Or once leak forever leak?

What causes a cooling system to have excessive pressure? I know for fact, that water seals are all OK, so its not because of exhaust gases getting into cooling system. And with only 55K a clogged rad seems unlikely?

I'm just wondering if anybody has tried the radiator leak fix liquid that they sell at auto parts stores. Does it work, is it harmful to the car in any way?

Looks like mine is leaking at the top tank. I can see coolant all along the passenger side of the rad, as well as along the top and bottom end tanks. Looks like too much of a leak to fix with a $5 bottle.

 

Apexi

There was a TSB involving radiator caps. Factory was a 1.3 KG type and it was replaced with a 0.9KG type (unsure of LBS equivalent). It sounds like you went with a higher pressure cap and this would have contributed to the radiator failure. Also remember that the factory radiators have plastic endcaps. Repairs are near impossible. Are you willing to take a chance in destroying your engine for a $5 fix???

It is time to spend the money on a good upgraded radiator like Fluidyne or such.

Good Luck
Tim

 

It is those dang plastic end tanks. It is definately worth $400 to get an all aluminum radiator.

 

The principle behine the $5 bottle of "radiator fix in a can's" is like when your blood clots. There's pieces of something in there that stick and clog to the whole until it stops leaking. Now, think of the passages in your radiator on the same principle... doesn't sound to good does it?

 

if you need a stock rad. for the time being until you get an upgraded one I have one for $50... but the fluidyne is definately worth it once you are ready to upgrade.

 

mine went out at 57K, so yes, it's deffinitely possible.
well, it's a strange day when your cap goes bad, but the 7's radiators are known to have problems. It was probably the radiator all along.
it's over. If it starts leaking it's because something is cracked. If you lower the pressure in your system, you may keep the crack from opening up enough to dump out fluid, but the crack will eventually get bigger - there's no stopping it.
a higher pressure cap. increasing temperatures.

clogged? hmm.. not sure what you mean. I don't think anything is clogged. Its likely that high pressure was not the cause of your cooling system problems. Remeber we're talking about an aluminum radiator with plastic end tanks - plastic gets brittle over time with lots of heating/cooling expanding/contracting - it's just a bad idea for a radiator (that being said, lots of car manufacturers use plastic tanks without much problem... I don't know what the deal is with these mazda models).
Well, it's supposed to harden when it gets exposed to the air. I wonder what would happen when your coolant starts to boild and you get air in the system... or if coolant collects in your AST... seems like a bad idea - at least for this car.
Fluidynes are $412 from www.absoluteradiator.com
Last time I checked Koyo's were on sale at the rx7 store for $395.

Installation isn't too bad (thought I hear the Fluidynes fit better). It would be wise for you to get one. Remeber that if you have a leak in the system, then your pressure is lower which means a lower boiling point. When the coolant starts to boil, it's not very good at cooling anything (because less of it is in contact with the surface it's trying to cool - therefore less heat transfer), so you're just asking for trouble.

 

The aluminum radiators are definitely worth the money if you want to run cooler and www.absoluteradiator.com lowered their price to $375.00