cooling system problem

[tineke]

Car dripped coolant after a short drive from I assuming the lower rad hose. After a 30 min commute home,interior of car was smoking hot while the heater vents were closed and My temp guage didn't budge from the halfway indicator on my dash like normal. When I parked it,the overflow tank was making boiling sounds and spewing out coolant onto the pavement,from the amount of liquid on the pavement I assumed there was no coolant left in the car. When I went back to the car about 20 min later, the overflow tank was full. This morning it is still full to the lip. I did notice a little debris floating around in the rad cap a month ago. Do you think I just need a system flush or my rad is failing?

Thanks

[93vtecklr]

Ok, your best bet is to trace the hoses. There is two caps on your car. Check the one on the top of the engine by the intake manifold WHILE THE CAR IS COLD and ensure there is fluid in there, then check the one behind the rad somewhere near your starter. Look for points on your lower rad support where fluid may be building up as that could also indicate where you're leaking from. While the car is warm and idling, you should be able to see fluid dripping from a hose, or maybe even give them a squeeze (with proper eye protection of course) and see where it's coming from. A flush is a good idea, but redundant when you may just squirt it all onto the ground anyway. Trace the leak, fix it, then flush it.

[tineke]

Got a new rad cap and a thermostat(still needs to be put in). It is sporatically leaking from the bottom of the rad..I think the lower hose but I can't see it. Also going to go pick up a code reader
Thanks.
T.

[93vtecklr]

Any time, it's why we're here!

[tineke]

So I folded and took it to mazda. They noticed my drain plug was broken and suggested replacing it, then they called me back after looking inside the rad and told me that it had leaks for a while and the previous owner(s).. had played around with it and tried to seal it inside and it was a mess. So it's got replaced today. I also got my intake manifild valve gasket seals replaced as they were leaking and a distributor o ring and a oil cooler o ring. So hopefully that fixes my vaccum leakage. They are also doing my steering pump and a coolant flush because I was just topping it up with water(wich is one of the reasons it was boiling along with the air getting into the coolant) and I noticed ALOT of grime and debris in the overflow tank as well as the filler cap. After it's trip to mazda It should be doing great and alls I need is some cosmetic body work then cross my fingers, nothing breaks for a LONG time,lol.

[Ryan]

I'd imagine you don't want anything else to break for a long time... it will take a long time to refill your bank account.

[tineke]

It runs GREAT! now...I am so happy.

[mitmaks]

that's what boyfriends are for, doing work on your car.