Weird Cooling Problems (tried searching)
 

I have no idea whats going on with my car. It started about four days ago driving on the interstate back 2 my house. The temp gauge went from just below horizontal to about 10 oclock position. I was like SHIT! but as soon as it was up 2 10 oclock position it went back down 2 horizontal now im like WTF! it did this a couple more times in a couple of miles so i pull over. Once pulled over the temp gauge went up and stayed up and add coolant buzzer came on. Turned off car and popped the hood. Steam was coming out of overflow tank and it looked like water was leaking from it 2. Got a ride home went back to my car with some water and the filler neck was only bout a inch below top but overflow tank was empty. Drive home was fine no problems. Next morning water was in a puddle under car but overflow tank was full and the filler neck was. Car was fine for bout four more days then I drove my car 2 the mall 20 min drive on highway everything was fine but after i get out of mall around 20 min i notice water undermy car. backed it out and drive it for 45 sec then pulled over in some empty parking spots. Water was leaking from what appered to me as the overflow tank. got a ride to walmart picked up some antifreeze put it in car. Ran fine on the way home. Drove 25 min on highway 2 drop off gf temp was fine get 2 her house and i go 2 leave and i see another puddle of water stopped car and some thing as before. Was looking around with a flash light and say a puddle of antifreeze in the space under the headlights(not on the ground). Drives fine on ride home and another puddle under car this morning. WTF is going on im lost.

my coolant mix was almost all water when this started 2 happen. now im adding antifreeze not water 2 the car.
Any help would be nice Thank you

Check the radiator cap. Is it still getting hot or is there just a water leak?

How long has it been since you've replaced your hoses. If that lower hose weakens it can collapse, especially at higher RPM's. That may be the cause of the temp. fluctuations. I'd also go pressure test your rad. I kept losing coolant but didn't see any leaks. I just had the corners epoxied and everything is fine now. Your overflow tank works on vacuum. If you have a hole somewhere in your system it will overflow into the tank but it won't suck coolant back into the engine. Never, never just use water in an engine. Coolant acts as a lubricant. Also, if you haven't changed that coolant in a while, now is a good time to do so. It can actually become charged and cause electrical issues that you wouldn't dream about. Best luck.

HAHA....I have this problem too, solution leave the cap on the overflow off, dont snap it in place...something is creating pressure and emptying your overflow. It doesnt take any fluid from your cooling system it just drains your resavoir. I think its the non-mazda thermostat i put in, but it just happened suddenly so I am still investigating this one.....


I would fill my resavoir, cap it off take it for a drive around the block come to pull in my driveway and just watch it pour out the overflow, i checked radiator, hoses, and caps are all new, last 3 months or so. I could see steam comming out of my cap on my radiator which was odd, and when I would loosen the cap my overflow would come to life and it would start to gurgle in my tank, might just be a lot of air in the system for you, but i KNOW its not air in my system......

NOT GOOD
 

i believe you have this problem just click on this link!!
i call it



VOLCANO RADIATOR!!!

i believe your problem is more than what people here know..
well i say your engines cooling system had a crack in it!! not good time for a rebuild..it must be your O - rings
look it up O-ring failure..
causes the engine to loose very little combustion into the cooling system internaly..then when your engine is off water leaks into the combustion chambers..you probably dont notice any power loss because its probably a very little leak.. just get it rebuilt or do this temporary fix i am gonna link you to and sell it and buy another RX7.. you will be happy with this.. trust me!!

LINK
http://rotaryresurrection.com/coolantfix.html

Yeah, here's an easy check to see if you've got bad water-jacket o-rings: Pull the topmost radiator cap. Start the car. If coolant starts gushing out, you've got a BIG problem. If not, here's some things to check:

Water pump. Yeah, it sounds too simple, but a bad water pump caused me more cooling-system problems than I ever thought possable. Everything from a mystery-leak (from the weep-hole on the pump) to sudden out-of-the-blue overheating, all care of an aging water pump. Get a new one if you can't remember when it was last replaced!!

Other than that, have the radiator cleaned at a shop; if you don't have the $$ to have that done, get a DIY kit that has "Oxidizaic acid" in it. Prestone makes a radiator flush kit like that.

In a nutshell: if you're not squirting coolant (or it's not getting inside the rotor housings/oil), you've replaced the water pump, ALL hoses, the radiator cap(s) with the CORRECT ones (rated at 13PSI), have a Mazda thermostat, and your radiator is flowing/cooling properly (have it checked), then I'm out if ideas.

Matt