87jacobsen
Member
- :
- Mazda 3 2004
Hello All,
I am new to the community, but have searched up and down and have a unique problem with my Mazda 3. Hoping you guys might be able to share your suggestions.
Vehicle is a 2.3L 2004 Mazda 3 HB - I purchased the vehicle recently and since have faced several issues with overheating. Here is what I can tell you:
The Issue:
- At stand still the car cools very well. Temperature gauge reads directly in the middle. I can rev the engine and hold at various RPMs and I do not have any issues at all.
- When the car is driven and at speed (usually about 35mph plus) the temperature guage increases quickly. It does seem to drop a bit at times to an acceptable range, but then returns to hot. Turing heat on in the car helps to cool a bit.
What I can tell you:
- The car has strong heat insdie (the heater core is getting some flow)
- The lower rad hose seems to be cold (which sort of contradicts the above I know), top rad hose is hot
- Coolant overflow is at max level when cold and doesn't seem to fluctuate at all (even when car reaches operating temperature).
- The fans come on at operating temperature
My current diagnostic:
- The fact that the top rad hose is hot and the bottom rad hose is not would lead anyone to think that it could simply be a thermostat getting stuck closed or perhaps just partially opened. The question that I have though, is that if this were the case would the car not overheat in all conditions? (at idle as well as when driven)
- Along the same lines as above, it seems that this may be a coolant flow issue, so I suppose it could be an intermittent water pump? Or, maybe it is supplying enough flow to cool at idle but not enough flow to cool at operating speed / under load?
- Again along the coolant flow issue, it could be any of air in the system, or a clog somewhere in the flow somewhere like the radiator, block, etc.
- Outside of this, I suppose its always possible it could be a head gasket or a crack in the head, or something along those lines which is causing an issue. I just dont see much that would point me there yet, the oil is completely clean, there is no evidence of oil in the overflow tank, no white exhaust, the car runs well, and usually when you see compression pressuring coolant system you would see bubbles forming in the overflow tank, no?
Anyhow, hopefully some wiser folks can point me in the right direction based on the information that I have provided.
Thanks all, and glad to be a part of the community.
87Jaocbsen
I am new to the community, but have searched up and down and have a unique problem with my Mazda 3. Hoping you guys might be able to share your suggestions.
Vehicle is a 2.3L 2004 Mazda 3 HB - I purchased the vehicle recently and since have faced several issues with overheating. Here is what I can tell you:
The Issue:
- At stand still the car cools very well. Temperature gauge reads directly in the middle. I can rev the engine and hold at various RPMs and I do not have any issues at all.
- When the car is driven and at speed (usually about 35mph plus) the temperature guage increases quickly. It does seem to drop a bit at times to an acceptable range, but then returns to hot. Turing heat on in the car helps to cool a bit.
What I can tell you:
- The car has strong heat insdie (the heater core is getting some flow)
- The lower rad hose seems to be cold (which sort of contradicts the above I know), top rad hose is hot
- Coolant overflow is at max level when cold and doesn't seem to fluctuate at all (even when car reaches operating temperature).
- The fans come on at operating temperature
My current diagnostic:
- The fact that the top rad hose is hot and the bottom rad hose is not would lead anyone to think that it could simply be a thermostat getting stuck closed or perhaps just partially opened. The question that I have though, is that if this were the case would the car not overheat in all conditions? (at idle as well as when driven)
- Along the same lines as above, it seems that this may be a coolant flow issue, so I suppose it could be an intermittent water pump? Or, maybe it is supplying enough flow to cool at idle but not enough flow to cool at operating speed / under load?
- Again along the coolant flow issue, it could be any of air in the system, or a clog somewhere in the flow somewhere like the radiator, block, etc.
- Outside of this, I suppose its always possible it could be a head gasket or a crack in the head, or something along those lines which is causing an issue. I just dont see much that would point me there yet, the oil is completely clean, there is no evidence of oil in the overflow tank, no white exhaust, the car runs well, and usually when you see compression pressuring coolant system you would see bubbles forming in the overflow tank, no?
Anyhow, hopefully some wiser folks can point me in the right direction based on the information that I have provided.
Thanks all, and glad to be a part of the community.
87Jaocbsen