Well... it's been about a year since i had to deal with the cooling system. I have yet another leak coming from an unknown place, i'm fairly certain it's not an O-ring, I can't smell any coolant coming from the exhaust. Every now and then i see steam/smoke from the turbo areas.

I bought all the coolant hoses, a new thermostat, and a new water pump someone mentioned getting an OE miata t-stat? i just bought the fd one for like 9 bucks.

I wondering if anyone has a write up so i could probably get done with this quicker so i can sell it soon? (i wouldn't want anyone to buy a car that has problems).

And a write nice write up for:

Thermostat Change
New water pump installation
Coolant hose change

would be greatly appreciated it

I looked at the rob robinette and scuderiani sites and the write ups were kind of vague.

and anything else i should look out for while i'm doing this? or any tips or tricks before i start breaking down the coolant system?

i have a feeling i could do it without a write up, but i'd rather be safe then sorry

 

The hardest ones are the turbo coolant hoses, which should be well accessed when the water pump housing is out. The FSM covers the water pump install pretty well, page E-16. (www.iluvmyrx7.com has the FSM, among others). Be sure to drain the radiator AND engine block - the block plug is on the driver's side, just above the oil pan.

Oh, and the engine block to throttle body hose is very hard to reach without removing the UIM and other fun stuff. I'd leave that for a clutch job (easy to access w/o the tranny there) or a full hose job or injector job. If you go in to do that one, you might as well test solenoids, clean injectors, replace engine harness, or something else. If you're selling, that's a decision you have to make.



I recommend having a utility knife handy since old hoses are easier to cut off than slide off. Have a dremel with small abrasive grinder to take off the deposits from the hard pipes. I used a little scotchbrite kind of attachment that was great since it took off deposits and nothing else.

Also, these tools help a lot:
- hose pliers (harbor freight has a decent set)
- long-reach 90° bent-nose needle nose pliers
- long-reach straight needle nose pliers
- patience.

General info
http://www.fd3s.net/how-to_cooling_system.html

Dave

 

Hey Joe, you ever get this sucker done? Let me know if you need help. Sounds like one of the turbo hoses went south on you.