do i need a new radiator?

[323]

i got a few pix in before the rain came. walked outside and saw my car peeing. it over heated earlier from a short trip to the store. ive been driving it daily for 50miles for the past month with no issues. it did overheat briefly 2 months ago in traffic and it stopped when i turned the AC off since it was blowing hot air, since then its been okay. all the end of the hoses look dry, the water pump looks dry and the radiator plug on the bottom of the radiator is still there. coolant tank is empty.

do you think i need a new radiator? im gonna be too busy for the next 4 days to get to it. some advice would be nice. thanks in advance

other possible related problems: slightly loose timing belt due to tensioner should be taken care of in a week or 2

 

[ucMP3]

Fill it with water, turn the car on, watch/listen for where it starts bubbling/boiling out from. Check your gaskets for the water inlet @ the water pump.

 

[323]

where should i get a replacement msp radiator? im afraid the local stores will screw up as always and order me a normal protege one..

 

[disturbedfan121]

maybe just a bad thermostat and its leaking out of the overflow tank. try that its cheap and easy to fix. and not a bad thing to have a new one

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

First things first. Check your radiator cap. If its broken it will cause the coolant to dump out of your overflow.

 

[jonridinhi]

order a regular protege since you got a fmic

 

[MSPBrett]

your leak could be your water pump, and if it is it could be spitting coolant on to your hoses as well an dripping out on to the concrete. also how many miles are on your car? and have you ever had your WP replaced? also check all hose connections. and check around the thermostat housing, if it is wet off the bottom there then you need a new T stat gasket, but while it is out i would replace your thermostat also, its not too expensive and worth the time while you already have it out. all this depending on milage and guessing, seeing as i dont have the car infront of me. the pictures were helpfull though. hope this helps. O and one more thing, i was working on a car and there was random coolant that would come out at random points with no leaks anywhere and a pressure test on the radiator came out normal, it happened to be a razor blade size slit in the side of the overflow tank, so be sure to look for cracks there also. hope this helps

 

[323]

got 79k on the car. water pump was replaced 2 months ago. i just changed the thermostat since the rain went away. took it for a test drive and all seems fine but time will tell. thanks everyone for the help so far.

order a regular protege since you got a fmic

i hear its not much of an upgrade. and the brackets are different too arent they

 

[MSPBrett]

i hear its not much of an upgrade. and the brackets are different too arent they[/QUOTE]


it would not be an up grade, it just would not have the stock front intercooler attatched i believe.

 

[jonridinhi]

Not much of an upgrade but looks cleaner and gets rid of the useless smic. just my 2 cents and brackets will be easy

 

[ucMP3]

Not much of an upgrade but looks cleaner and gets rid of the useless smic. just my 2 cents and brackets will be easy

Isn't it probably cheaper too? And more readily available. The 2 sites I just checked didn't even have an MSP specific radiator available. Same part numbers between MSP and the reg Protege. $103 brand new (2thumbs)

Honestly, you should probably just upgrade to a DOC B or something similar.

 

[JReichle1]

Take it back to who ever fixed the water pump and have the system pressure tested.

 

[dandan2]

Take it back to who ever fixed the water pump and have the system pressure tested.

bam, right there. got to it before i did. there are tools specifically for a situation like this.

 

[jonridinhi]

I can get the tester one night if you need it....

 

[323]

will letcha kno nex week hahaha

 

[jonridinhi]

I highly doubt it is the pump. Issues would have presented themselves long before now, but have seen stranger things happen.

 

[2004mazda6]

make sure the cooling fans come on could be a bad temp sender stuck thermostat faulty radiator cap relay spend the time to find out what it realy is and if you buy parts go with factory parts i've had problems with aftermarket parts nothing sucks worse than having to fix it again and again wont say any names but it sounds like borg/worner

 

[323]

the fans come on, ive doubled checked. thanks

 

[43975]

order a regular protege since you got a fmic

This info is soooo fail.
The regular Pro radiator is not designed for boost applications. so it won't flow as well and possisble pop under boost. Don't forget that the coolant is also flowed into your turbo so that last thing you want to do is end up starving it and blowing a seal.
The corksport radiator is pure sex full length to fill the former SMIC space for all you FMIC folks and cheap for what it is. I think I got mine for around $250 from Protege Garage!!

 

[emespea]

This info is soooo fail.
The regular Pro radiator is not designed for boost applications. so it won't flow as well and possisble pop under boost. Don't forget that the coolant is also flowed into your turbo so that last thing you want to do is end up starving it and blowing a seal.
The corksport radiator is pure sex full length to fill the former SMIC space for all you FMIC folks and cheap for what it is. I think I got mine for around $250 from Protege Garage!!

and honestly a new MSP or p5 rad is almost that much anyhow (for aftermarket), at the dealer its definately more than that.

I had the CS one for like 2 yrs now. its greeeeeat.