Strange Cooling problems

[ttpower]

Hope somewhere can show some light to this problem. I firstly only purchased the car 2 weeks ago when it started about a week later to show some cooling problems, it was after a run of about an hour it started to overheat so i shut the engine down, let it cool and check the water - loss of water. At this point was thinking of the worst water seals. Anyway bled the coolant system using only water and started perfect but did the same again after about an hour run. I also found at this stage the car was hard to start when hot which got me even more worried. Also when i finally got it started after a hot start there would be a quite alot of white smoke which i know is a sign of bad water seals. So this time i flushed the sytem with some radiator flush and rinsed it out clean with water twice. Now starting the car it was perfect and would now cause no problems at all when hot with no smoke whatsoever, but would so a bit of smoke on starting it from cold. At this point i also noticed a small leak from the underside of the water pump.

Would the waterpump cause this problem? or do i have bad water seals? Would the excess smoke from a hot start be something else before i did the radiator flush using some radiator flush stuff?

[grinder]

if its weeping from the water pump - thats a sign thats its faulty ( well it is on the fc )

not sure about the rest of the probs

Stu
( its the north west meet tonight - dont forget )

[andysmee]

that leak sounds like the water pump gasket(s) have gone. happened on mine a couple of months ago. doesn\'t necessarily mean that the main water seals have gone as well but start with that and then see how you go...
 
how about the champagne test?

[nikp]

It\'s not sounding good. However, what do you mean by \'overheating\'?

Do you have an aftermarket temp gauges/sensors? (i.e Apexi ECU and commander, temp sensor in radiator hose?). And if so, what temp did you see?

If not, and you are going by the standard Mazda temp gauge, and that showed hot, then if that is the case you engine is toast!

[ttpower]

yeah its by the standard mazda guage, as soon as it started to rise i turned it off and turned the a/c on to cool it down, hope it hasn\'t toasted!

Tried the champagne test but as it loss water through the pump it doesnt rise at all, only when it gets warm and starts to expand, a few bubbles came out but thinkin this could be the radiator flush stuff(bit like soap) still in the system. The bubbles dont smell like exhaust gases. Goin to order a pump and fit it tommorow. Ill keep you guys updated, thanks.

Dont think im going to be able to make the meet in the state my cars in, but going to try and persuade my mate to drive up.:3gears-lh

[Mr_7]

ttpower let me know what you get from this as i had may still have the same problem! i thought it was a internal water seal but the engine has been rebuilt im now pretty sure its the caps from the system so will order them.

i havent to date as the car is in a bodyshop getting a boob job! but mine was exactly the same

[ttpower]

ttpower let me know what you get from this as i had may still have the same problem! i thought it was a internal water seal but the engine has been rebuilt im now pretty sure its the caps from the system so will order them.

i havent to date as the car is in a bodyshop getting a boob job! but mine was exactly the same

Yeah ill let you know, going to pick the parts up from wgt now so ill keep you updated.

[ro284]

Just to say i had a car which showed bubbles on the cap off test, and that was definitely only the water pump worn out!
Good Luck,
Bob

[ttpower]

Ok, changed the water pump today and the thermostat. Started pretty perfect on startup. Going to let it run properly tommorow whens it light and check for leaks etc.. its gets too dark too fast these days.

[Mr_7]

nice to see you done all the bits what did you end spending i bought the caps they cosy me 40pounds for the 2 metal ones anal arghhhh!

[MillSpeed]

i bought the caps they cosy me 40pounds for the 2 metal ones

Daym! They must\'ve seen you coming!

[Mobilemick]

Dont think im going to be able to make the meet in the state my cars in, but going to try and persuade

Can always pick u up m8, if u no transport

[ttpower]

Can always pick u up m8, if u no transport

Thanks for the offer mate, wish i checked the forum again last night damn, was the meet any good?

[ttpower]

It cost me £120 inc vat for the waterpump and a new thermostat and gaskets. Might buy some new caps actually as well. Anyway started the car up today when i got back from work and it started perfect first time with only a bit of smoke for about 20 seconds and was fine. I let it warm up for about 15 minutes and turned it off, waited a minute and started perfect again. So it seems to be alright now the only thing is the coolant light is still on and i dont think the fans kicked in, could this be a dodgy sensor, maybe the thermosensor?? Might be worth also noting that there isnt any buzzer sound either just the light!!!