another overheating thread

[jmv]

Car has 94,000 Miles, has a FMIC which probably blocks some air to the radiator, located in Texas which is hot as f#%k right now. There is a 12" pull 'main' fan, and an 8" push condensor fan, i belive of the brand SPAL, both of which appear to be working fine. Also, the car has an aftermarket weaponR coolant catch tank.

Just had the car in for timing belt and water pump change, among several other things. Thermostat has been replaced recently.

The only other times the car has overheated has been due to the crap design of the weaponR catch tank and/or my crap attempts at fixing its design, leading to not having enough antifreeze/water mixture in the radiator. This is no longer a problem and after every overheating, the radiator is still full with about half the can of overflow left.

Car seems fine if I don't have to slow down or stop much. If I ever hit traffic, it starts to rise soon afterwards, but can be controlled by putting on the heater full blast.

What do you guys think the culprit is?

My ideas are:
1) Blockage/other problem with the radiator
2) Radiator cap
3) Something wrong with the water pump (but i mean, a water pump is pretty straightfoward, i would think that if it wasn't working it would show bigger problems than this)

Any suggestions welcome, thanks for your time!

-Jason

 

[jmv]

anyone?

 

[11B-33T]

Do you still have the plastic panels mounted under the front end of the car or did those get pulled off when the FMIC was installed?

 

[mazdaspeeeeed]

I had the same problem with mine and I had replaced everything... at first i had boiling coolant in the resevoir and that ended up being the thermostat and then it still kept overheating but only in heavy traffic and so i replaced the radiator cap (5 bucks or so) and it hasnt overheated in a few months now and i live in FL.

 

[CHIQLES]

Do you know if your fans are actualy woking?

 

[MSP-2003.5]

I would double check those 2 fans. Esp, the one on the passenger side. When i first installed my FMIC i had to remove stock passenger side fan bc i didn't have room (later installed push fan in front of radiator. But, w/o primary fan I would run hotter (or overheat) when not moving.

 

[littlemimus]

yeah what mazdaspeeeeeeed said. try the radiator cap.

 

[mazdaspeeeeed]

yeah what mazdaspeeeeeeed said. try the radiator cap.

that's 2 too many 'e's my friend...

 

[jspeed2121]

I think these cars are prone to overheating mostly b/c of poor design. The lower radiator hose runs right beside the freaking turbo!! (One of your biggest sources of underhood heat!)

I had the same issue with my car, replaced water pump, thermostat, radiator cap, and still had issues. Finally installed a thermostatic switch (You can get one at Autozone for 18 bucks) and set it so that the fans come on at a lower temp. The stock ECU doesnt turn on the fans until coolant temp is like 210F or 217F. In my opinion this is a little too late! I know b/c I ran a separate coolant temp sensor to monitor coolant temp so I could see an actual temp instead of just watching a needle gauge.

Yes, my fans run more, but I dont care. My engine isnt overheating!

Just my two cents...hope it helps.

 

[jmv]

Both fans are working. Also, one is actually on the A/C condenser, pushing, while the other is on the radiator pulling. I'll try te radiator cap first before I go for replacement radiator.

 

[VisualValues]

I just changed out my radiator cap and it wasn't it.. so then I swapped out the thermostat and everything is good now. It was a little tough getting to the two bolts but it was fairly easy and all for under $30.

 

[littlemimus]

that's 2 too many 'e's my friend...

oh gee. im sorry ha.

to the op if you want a new rad id try contacting doc b. ask him about the mishimoto radiator. just a thought