Whats wrong with my car?

[jbruynson]

Some background info incase it helps at all.

-Wheel bearings getting worse, need to be replaced
-Coolant leaks, resevior is always empty



Now for my (bigger) problem

The car idles really strangly and completely random is seems. Idles around 2-2.5k and won't drop. Sometimes it drops to about 1-1.5k, but it fluctuates between the two, sounds like im sitting there revving my engine at the Tim Hortons drive though... The odd time it'll be completely normal.

At times my Oil temp shoots way up too, twice has been to the point of some smoke/steam or whatever after parking. Normally it will rise up into the red somewhat quickly then drop down to average level just as fast immediately after. I drive about 15 min on the highway, about 130 KM/H or so twice a day.


Thanks for the help

[jordan69]

it sounds like your leaking coolant somewhere and it could possibly be going into the oil reservoir which would explain why your temps shoot up like that.

[vozaday2000]

does your fan work?

[jbruynson]

yea the fan, heat and all that works fine. Takes a while for the heat to kick in though, not sure if thats normal for an mx-3 or not though

[jbruynson]

any other ideas? or is it just because of the coolant leak?

The idle seems to be even worse now, generally 2-2.5k during the 1st 10 or so minutes the cars running. The fluctuating between 1-1.5k is REALLY annoying. Why would it rev itself like this?

[slowmx3]

i think its because its a mazda. Ya, mx-3 blows out heat like crazy...

[acespdz]

Not sure on an MX-3 but on my old car I had that same problem where it would Idle very weird and all of a sudden go crazy.. it was the intake manifold but dont quote me on this i'm not the best at repairing cars just had a few problems with cars so i'm posting what happened to me.

[Zoso124]

First off, Does it have coolant in it?
The filler cap is right above the timing cover, the other cap is the rad cap.
Second, where is it leaking? Get your a-- under the car and look.

My best guess sayes its running like that cause it doesn't have any coolant in it. My crystal ball also tells me your thermostat is stuck and after it gets too hot the rad cap opens and starts spraying coolant.

I should give you the answer that all the other dopes do when they see a "what wrong with my car?" - "Oh ya, your headgasket is bad, your gonna have to pull your engine apart."

[PATDIESEL]

Ditto Zoso, look for the leak and fix it and also go ahead and replace the thermostat. Also make sure your radiator cap is all the way on, it turns two times after you get it on, once is to let heat out and the second click is to close it completely. The first click should never be used since it is dangeruos to open a hot radiator.
Then drive and make sure the coolant temp stays normal.
If it does, but the idle is still wierd look/listen for vaccum leaks. You'll hear a cusking sound or a wistle of air. Find it if you hear something and fix it.
If it is still acting up let us know more and we'll go from there.

[goobski]

My 93 GS Raspberry Metallic SE is doing exactly the same thing. Although the coolant would disappear, we haven't been able to find a leak. Haven't had any changes with oil temp, though. The engine still revs itself, even when it does have coolant. Even if nobody can tell me for sure what is wrong, please weigh in on this: a mechanic (who couldn't find anything wrong the first time he looked at it) now says that I need to replace the air idle control motor to the tune of $700. Does this make sense to anyone? I admit, I know very little about cars, but I do want to take good care of it.

[ovendenk]

not much help here, but i'm having the same mysterious coolant leak problem. i have to fill the rad and reservoir once a month or she'll start to overheat cause all the coolant disappears. i had it pressure tested and had no leaks.

about the revving, i had that problem but it turned out to be a vacuum hose on the passenger side of the IM that was disconnected. reconnect that if it's not already and your revving issue should be resolved.

are there any guru's out there that can explain how our coolant is disappearing?

[Chiggles]

Can't explain the mysterious disappearance of coolant myself. Bought my MX-3 November of last year, topped it off when I had the fluids changed and the car winterized, then it drained progressively past the E line over the next 6 months afterwards, but I quickly retopped it, ended up overfilling the reservoir past the F line by accident, and the level hasn't dropped at all since then. WTF?!?!

[MX-SLICK]

If you dont see the leak then its a good possibility the headgasket is blown. Antifreeze getting into the engine will rise the oil temp rapidly, turn the oil to watery oil, cause strange idle problems and make your car smell sweet (and have steam coming out of the exhaust)