tkesmiley

iTrader: (5)

OK, I drove my car to the mall today no problems, I come out and notice and puddle of water under the vehicle, I turn the vehicle on and almost immediately I notice the coolant light and beep. I drove it under a mile to the advanced auto KEEPING CAREFUL EYE on the temp. It did rise but not above 100 C (I have power FC with water temp that is always being viewed) I had it towed to my shop from there. I couldn't see exactly where it was coming from. It was leaking down underneath the turbos. So my questions are what hoses should I check? Where is the water pump and/or other coolant hoses to the radiator that could blow off that I should investigate. It is at the shop right now also the AC stopped working yesterday the light still comes on but no cold air (don't know if its related). Ive had the car for less than 4 days and I resisted my urge to call up the previous owner and scream. I am going to draw it up to bad luck and see what I can do fix it economically and keep a positive outlook. Any advice/good rotary shops in the DC area (beside Peter Farrell Super-cars in Frederick, MD) Thanks in advance and I really love the way this car looks and handles (I sold my E46 M3 for this bad boy and was really leaning towards STI/EVO) but things like this **** me off and I know these vehicles require a little extra maintenance etc. but then again if I treat it right I want it to treat me right because I am moving to Scottsdale, AZ and I need it to be reliable on the trip.

mar3

iTrader: (8)

One of the 3rdgen guru's will have the answer for sure but if the 13-series rotary engine is anything like the 12A engine, there's this "J" shaped tube under the beehive oil cooler that fails and is noticeable only if you twist the rubber tube. It fails very slowly most of the time, so coolant loss starts out slow and builds up over time.

Might want to check it out first...unless the 13-series engine is different. In that case, never mind. lol

Mario III

rottenknarf

the bottom hose would be a good place to start looking, hopefully you don't have a cracked housing. when i was repairing my friends FD, the bottom hose kept leaking leaking.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

Check all the hoses. Replace them all if you want to be sure it won't happen again. Get the OEM hose clamps while you are at it to make install easier in the tight spots. The whole kit is under $200 from Ray Crowe at Malloy Mazda - get this number from the 3rd gen FAQ thread stickied in this forum.

The car is 17 years old. Guess what, any car this age is going to require a fair amount of maintenance to make reliable. Do the maintenance and you'll be good to go. Skimp on it and get used to getting tows. You are in control of how often you can **** yourself off.

For a local shop, go to the Regional sub forum on this site for your area. There is a sticky there with options - including PFS.

tkesmiley

iTrader: (5)

thanks for all the help. It ended up being a coolant hose under the intake near the front of the engine. The mechanic showed me the hose and it was no bigger than a #2 pencil eraser but boy did it shoot alot of coolant on the ground. It cost under $200 along with the coolant and I got a new raditor cap. I added some water wetter when I got home to the new coolant to help keep the car cool and it was just an expensive radatior flush.

He's On Toroids

iTrader: (2)

I just went through a similar coolant problem, ended up buying a new set of all hoses from Ray Crowe at Malloy Mazda down in Woodbridge. I went through replacing them one by one, and man am I glad I did. It was a bear, but some of those hoses were bloated and spongey. If one went, I don't doubt there are a few more ready to go. Gracer7 is right, when you get some time and some money, swap them all (especially all on the hotter side of the motor)

Oh, and I see you are local. Have you come out to a CFA meet yet? You should stop by and meet the guys around here. If you did, I could have probably helped you take care of this.

abb_ve

I had a similar problem and turned out to be one of the throttle body coolant hoses, the one going from the neck. You couldnt tell from looking at it but a very small crack opened only when the system was very hot and with pressure. I had to change the caps too as my car didnt have the coolant recall parts..