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Old 19-09-2017, 09:33 AM   #1
Arkos
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BA 97 Overheating

So a few months ago, one day after work, I was driving home and heard a ping noise, so i pulled over and popped the hood. It was overheating and i opened the radiator cap and good deal of coolant came out. The coolant was discolored and seems to have rust in it.

I went to the store and got distilled water. It took me a very long time to get it home that night driving a few kilometres than letting it cool down for an hour or so. Rinse and repeat.

Basically what happens is the temperature steadily increases until it starts overheating. I took it for a drive recently and held the bottom radiator hose which seemed to be only slighly warm while the top was hot. Which would suggest its the thermostat is closed. A few minutes later though had some heat in it.

Other than that i suspect its the water pump, and the cooling system isnt flowing properly. What do i have to do to check the weep holes? Or is that pointless.

Also someone else had a look at it and said he thinks the head gasket is blown. There are some bubbles in the overflow tank, but i read this doesnt necessarily mean its blown. Is there any other way to confirm if the head gasket is blown?

Thanks for anyhelp.

The car is an Astina 323 BA '97 w/ 1.8L DOHC engine.
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Old 20-09-2017, 09:10 AM   #2
MazdaGTR
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Take the radiator cap off and look for bubbling there. If there is constant bubbling, thats a sign of a head gasket failure.
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Old 29-09-2017, 08:54 AM   #3
Arkos
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Well it doesnt seem to be bubbling constantly, so thats a good sign. Thanks for the word. I heard there is a way to check it by taking out the spark plugs and looking for water in the engine.

Edit: Does anyone know how to access the drain plug to drain the coolant, i was thinking off removing the front bumper but it seems rather difficult. If you do could you please tell me, i would greatly appreciate it.

Last edited by Arkos; 13-10-2017 at 05:07 PM. Reason: Asking a question
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Old 03-10-2017, 05:12 PM   #4
project.r.racing
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Arkos View Post
Basically what happens is the temperature steadily increases until it starts overheating. I took it for a drive recently and held the bottom radiator hose which seemed to be only slighly warm while the top was hot. Which would suggest its the thermostat is closed. A few minutes later though had some heat in it.
The top hose should be hot, as that is where the coolent exits is from the engine. If the thermostat was closed, no coolent would flow and the top hose would be cold.

If you have rust in the coolent, most likely has had tap water poured into it. My 18 year old Astina never have a speck of rust in the cooling system. Two water pumps and the original radiator.
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Old 13-10-2017, 05:11 PM   #5
Arkos
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Thats weird cause i was having it serviced at automasters + other mechanics.

I really need a proper service manual.

I cant get access behind that front bumper. If im having trouble flushing the radiator i cant imagine the difficulties when i try to replace the water pump.
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Old 13-10-2017, 05:44 PM   #6
project.r.racing
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If you are really desperate to flush the coolent system and you cannot access the lower bung. Then just disconnect the upper hose at the engine end and pour you demineralized water into the upper hose while the engine is running.

You might need a second helper. And puting the water into a bucket allows you to have a quicker supply of water into the hose while the engine is running.
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