am i missing something??? where did it go???

monterx7 · January 31, 2010, 10:34:28 AM

i have an issue i really need some help on. i feel i have been over thinking this problem and might be missing something thats right in my face....

on my 89 tii im having a coolant loss issue. i know what your probably thinking, not another coolant loss thread. ill start saying the car stays at a steady 78 C. does not over heat. ive looked everywhere to see if something is leaking but cant find anything. dont think my heater core is leaking inside or out (carpet is dry on both sides). i was gone for about a month, when i came back i pulled the leading plugs and cranked the motor to see if something would be pushed out the plug holes but nothing. so i believe i dont have a blown water seal. i had the car running for about 30mins with 3 different people looking around to see if someone could find something leaking, but again nothing. i had a friend with a better sniffer than mine smell around the engine bay and exhaust. he said he smelled burned coolant around the turbo area but not out the exhaust.

on a side note, when i have the temp to hot the heater does not blow out hot air, its more like just on the warm side. ive checked the valve on the heater core near the pedals and thats working properly. just thought i would add in that bit

thats where im at. i drove the car 20miles last night, when i go out im gonna check to see the coolant level in the rad and overflow. what am i overlooking?

thanx

grinder · January 31, 2010, 11:36:33 AM

how much are you loosing ??

might we worth checking the seep hole on the water pump ( underneath i think )

it can leak from here if the pump is on its way out

i "think" the turbo is water cooled aswell - so might be worth checking to make sure everything is tight around that area aswell

might be an air lock - hence you not getting hot air - and its pushing the water out somewhere ??

i would fix one prob then look for others - to be honest i would be starting at the heater and get it blowing hot air - at the end of the day the rex is known for blowing HOT air out the heaters - so something isnt right with yours

i dont know if its doable - but can you loosed the water level sensor on the top of the rad slightly until it bubbles water out of it - that might get rid of any excess air thats in there ( like bleeding a household rad )

does the top hose go rock hard when its running ( pressurising with air ) or is it still a tad pliable ?

Stu

monterx7 · January 31, 2010, 04:02:31 PM

honestly dont know how much its loosing. round trip to base and back is about 40miles, wasnt enough to make the low coolant buzzer go off but it was low.

i dont know if there is a hole on the bottom of the pump but i did find one on top, dry as can be. no wetness at all

i took a light and mirror to the turbo but no leaks at all. stock turbos are water and oil.

well i did run the car for 20 mins plus while every few minutes backing off the level sensor and letting coolant flow out abit. still no heat from vents

the top hose is abit pliable, diff not solid hard

i think i have a clogged heater core. i did manage to touch the hoses going in and coming out of the core. the hose on the passenger side is hot and the hose on the driverside is alot cooler. any other way to test is its clogged?

thanx again

grinder · January 31, 2010, 04:03:52 PM

hummmmmm well you have done everything i would have done

unless you have faulty heater controls

but that still doesnt explain the missing water

monterx7 · January 31, 2010, 04:08:52 PM

the controls are working good. when moving the temp from cold to hot the valve on the core is moving...i even disconnected the arm that connects the motor to the valve....just to make sure the valve was moving to full open. im at a loss. maybe leaking inside the turbo? but then again, it should smoke the whole time if that was the case. it did smoke alittle when i first started it up. but dont they all when its cold outside? no coolant in my oil either....hhhhhmmmmmmmmm

L18M · January 31, 2010, 04:14:04 PM

wild guess here, but maybe check thermostat is working. check expansion tank and see if that volume of water changes or not. check rad cap.

hope its gives you some ideas?

monterx7 · January 31, 2010, 04:20:39 PM

i believe the thermostat is working good. just sitting idle in the garage the car has a steady temp. where has everyone bought new rad caps from? are any caps from any parts store good to use? thanx for helping out everyone. i cant think of anything right now. but please, keep those gears turning. im sure someone will point out what im not able to see

TiddlesRX7 · January 31, 2010, 07:59:39 PM

Have you lifted the carpets at all? Just they are lined with rubber in the middle and the water gets underneath. You can\'t feel it by hand from on top of the carpet (at least I couldn\'t). Mine has leaked from the heater matrix area for some time now. Although I am hopeing I have fixed it now. My passenger side can be like a swimming pool underneath sometimes.

Adam fc · January 31, 2010, 08:27:23 PM

im having the same problem,i have a strong smeel of coolant from my turbo area.

It needs topping up from time to time and my coolant system seems to be full of flakey crap even after ive changed the coolant.I think its just an old hose breaking down inside?

When the coolant low level goes off i rev the engine a little and i think it helps to flow the coolant around.All my expansion hose\'s are good and i think the rad cap is fine as theres no vacum in the rad hoses after its cooled down.

My car isnt smoking either so its abit of a mystery lol,

monterx7 · January 31, 2010, 08:29:43 PM

i pulled up the passenger side carpet as much as i could but didnt see or feel anything different

monterx7 · February 01, 2010, 12:13:28 PM

i noticed my rad cap is really easy to twist on. should there be some sort of pressure/tension when putting it on? i tried calling the local parts store but had no luck looking for a new one.....hhhmmmmmmm

TiddlesRX7 · February 01, 2010, 04:29:25 PM

Try MazdaRotaryParts or one of the other vendors on this site. Someone will have one. Or there is a guy breaking a FC in the for sale section.

m1tch · February 01, 2010, 05:58:08 PM

Quote from: Adam fc;669220im having the same problem,i have a strong smeel of coolant from my turbo area.

It needs topping up from time to time and my coolant system seems to be full of flakey crap even after ive changed the coolant.I think its just an old hose breaking down inside?

When the coolant low level goes off i rev the engine a little and i think it helps to flow the coolant around.All my expansion hose\'s are good and i think the rad cap is fine as theres no vacum in the rad hoses after its cooled down.

My car isnt smoking either so its abit of a mystery lol,

There is a water feed to the turbo, so this might be leaking

pdtaylor18 · February 01, 2010, 06:25:17 PM

I have a spare cap you can have. Does the expansion bottle lose or increase in water as well? A place which they can go is the lower UIM, this usually just drips down onto the exhaust and burns away so you may not see anything and may be giving you your coolant burning smell. A good cap is essential as you never know just what its doing when you are motoring along. For the turbo to fail or even an engine I would have thought you would have some sign ie white smoke etc. You could for piece of mind get a compression test done. Always remember that you can use more water in the winter due to the constant use of high heat inside the car. If the matrix is blocked then I can give you one of those as well but this is a dash out job. One easy way is to just bridge the matrix hoses inside the engine bay but only worth doing if you know it leaks and also only for the summer, Normal 15mm copper pipe is perfect.

monterx7 · February 02, 2010, 12:09:46 AM

Quote from: pdtaylor18;669467I have a spare cap you can have. Does the expansion bottle lose or increase in water as well? A place which they can go is the lower UIM, this usually just drips down onto the exhaust and burns away so you may not see anything and may be giving you your coolant burning smell. A good cap is essential as you never know just what its doing when you are motoring along. For the turbo to fail or even an engine I would have thought you would have some sign ie white smoke etc. You could for piece of mind get a compression test done. Always remember that you can use more water in the winter due to the constant use of high heat inside the car. If the matrix is blocked then I can give you one of those as well but this is a dash out job. One easy way is to just bridge the matrix hoses inside the engine bay but only worth doing if you know it leaks and also only for the summer, Normal 15mm copper pipe is perfect.

if i could get that rad cap from you pete that would be great, thanx. i havent really watched the expansion bottle much but i am now. i can say that it has never over flowed at idle. but like you said, hard telling whats going on when on the road. i know for sure, i did get a bit of white smoke just at start up. but nothing afterwards. nothing that would warn me something was going bad.

thank you to everyone trying to help me figure this out. please please keep the ideas coming:D