Bunch of weirdness...engine heat related

keeko_ca1 · Post by **keeko_ca1** » January 21st, 2005, 8:44 pm

I'm finally the proud owner of a 96 Mazda MX-3...and a new member of your forums. Whoo!

I bought this car used obviously...and it seems like the person I bought it from hasn't done a thing to it...in other words it's pretty much factory right down to the kick-butt factory Mazda tape deck! LOL!

It's a V6 auto tranny too...

Anyways...after I'd say 6 months of zero problems (previous owner kept it in uncanny/immaculate shape) I'm having some very bizarre problems as of recent.

I took it in for an oil change, commence problems. When I started the car to warm it up (cold weather) after say 2-3 mins, the RPMs started reving themselves up...after a quick run in reverse and drive...it stopped. While driving, the tempurature got really close to the hot marker, pulled over, stopped the engine...opened up the hood...found there was NO antifreze! So filled it up...car ran smooth as silk for 2 weeks...NO antifreeze again!

Doesn't seem like I have a leak..the ground is pretty dry where I park my car everyday...what could be burning up my antifreeze?

On top of that...hot air decides when it wants to work...it'll be hot for awhile...then the heat dies completely out....cold air blows in after....brrrrrr. It seems like it only does this when the engine heat is high...I don't understand what could be going on...and it seemed to start RIGHT after I got my oil changed.

Any clues?? I'm taking it in for a tune up at a Mazda dealership within the week.

EDIT: Oh ya...forgot to mention...when I actually drive....reving the motor and such....the heat dies down....what gives!?

XxantwawnxX · Post by **XxantwawnxX** » January 22nd, 2005, 1:22 am

U might have a really bad headgasket leak..and ur burning all ur coolant? Do u get white smoek out ur exhaust (more than whats common)

papa roached · Post by **papa roached** » January 22nd, 2005, 1:31 am

might be bad water pump but also sound like the issue i had, i had a leak in my radiator that would only leak when the revs were up but not at idle

mitmaks · Post by **mitmaks** » January 22nd, 2005, 4:07 am

ya definitely check your radiator and water pump, if those are good then its BAD, you got major head gasket leak, also check your oil, what color is it, is it milky?

neutral · Post by **neutral** » January 22nd, 2005, 11:06 am

Need to find the leak. Running smooth as silk seems to indicate there is not a likely headgasket prob. Top up the coolant, spread newspaper under the engine bay and run to operating temp. If nothing is found, drive a brisk 10-15 minutes and park over the newspaper. Check for signs of a leak right away and you should see signs of the source.

The heater issues are likely all related to changes in your coolant levels because the source of heat is the circulating coolant. When levels are too low, the heater core has an insufficient & intermittent heat source.

papa roached · Post by **papa roached** » January 22nd, 2005, 11:09 am

also run it up to 2000-3000 RPM in neautral over the paper, if it was like mine you wont see it after driving then stoping

lakersfan1 · Post by **lakersfan1** » January 22nd, 2005, 2:02 pm

keeko_ca1 wrote:...opened up the hood...found there was NO antifreze! So filled it up...car ran smooth as silk for 2 weeks...NO antifreeze again!

FYI - You check the coolant at the radiator cap on the passenger side of the car when the car is cold.. Sounds like you're checking the overflow resivoir which doesn't tell you how much coolant is actuall y in the cooling system.

TsiMiata · Post by **TsiMiata** » January 22nd, 2005, 8:39 pm

My 1.8 ran great for 10,000 miles with a bad head gasket. Just added coolant every couple of weeks.

IanL · Post by **IanL** » January 23rd, 2005, 4:55 am

Get the two caps pressure tested, or just replace them. You can lose coolant imperceptably through a cap, as it will only come out when the engine is hot, and it will evaporate at the point of the leak. Then, when the engine cools and it should pull back fluid from the overflow tank, the leaking cap loses the vacuum, so the pull-back doesn't happen. So, as Lakersfan said, the overflow looks full, and the system is low.

93-Spec-Edn · Post by **93-Spec-Edn** » January 23rd, 2005, 3:04 pm

IanL wrote:Get the two caps pressure tested, or just replace them. You can lose coolant imperceptably through a cap, as it will only come out when the engine is hot, and it will evaporate at the point of the leak. Then, when the engine cools and it should pull back fluid from the overflow tank, the leaking cap loses the vacuum, so the pull-back doesn't happen. So, as Lakersfan said, the overflow looks full, and the system is low.

i agree. i had mine pressure tested and my fill cap was leaking. I lost only a tad bit of coolant in the recovery tank, not much. If it was your head gasket your car would idle rough and be slow and also your engine would sound off (kinda louder).

jschrauwen · Post by **jschrauwen** » January 23rd, 2005, 6:01 pm

I'm leaning toward low coolant level also, as to why, the rest of the thread have made some good suggestions. The fluctuating idle speed is indicative of severe air locks in the system. Temperature sensor hits an air pocket and sends incorrect info to CPU causing the idle to fluctuate. System needs to be purged of air. Experienced similar problem before which later turned into a complete water pump failure. Milky coloured oil would indicate faulty head gasket.

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Bunch of weirdness...engine heat related

Bunch of weirdness...engine heat related

Re: Bunch of weirdness...engine heat related