Protege5 Problem!

[pinups]

SO my wife just called me to come out and look at the car, she always drives the thing.
Says that it smelled funny, so I pop the hood, coolant everywhere.
I checked for leaks but it seems like it boiled over the coolant reservoir.
She did not remember looking at the temperature gauge, and whenever I have driven it, has not gone past the normal just under halfway mark.
The oil looks fine and it did not have any issues up to this point.
Fan works
and also after looking around I saw this little filter sitting in the engine bay by itself, anyone know what it could be?
car has 190,000kms, automatic, 2003, driven everyday, has not had any issue until now.
Any help is much appreciated, Thanks

 

[bochuck]

I just went out and looked under the hood of my car trying to find that thing in the pic. No luck. If I had to venture a guess, and that's all it is, I would say it is a debris screen that sits inside the coolant reservoir opening. Under its cap.

 

[JDM323J48]

filter in brake master cylinder

 

[pcb]

^I agree,.. that's definitely the screen from inside the master cylinder,... but that may be the least of your worries now. You may have blown your head gasket or even warped your head.

Refill your system like you're supposed to but keep an eye on your overflow boiling over again. If it keeps boiling over now you probably need to replace your head gasket.

(Exhaust gas pressure leaks into the coolant system and blows it all out).

 

[sleepwalker]

I'm gonna be that Captain Obvious guy today. Please don't beat me for it. I'm just trying to help.

Try replacing the thermostat. Happened to me once. Car drove perfectly (more or less) for a couple years, then one day, starts overheating. I was close enough to home that I was able to prevent any damage and check things out. Everything seemed normal except that coolant was boiling out of the overflow. Which is what would logically occur if the thermostat locked up.

Replaced it with a FailSafe thermostat and all was well.

Nowww.... if she drove for a while during the overheating process, if it boiled dry 10 miles from home or something like that, then we're looking at some potentially serious problems. Aluminum (head) and iron (block) expand and contract differently, and in an overheating condition, the difference in the way the metals shift can cause damage to the headgasket or even warp the head, as pcb suggests.

So, I'm not disagreeing with him, I'm just suggesting that before you start to get worked up over the potential serious problem, throw 10-15 bucks at it first and see if that's all it is.

 

[pcb]

Ooops,... sleepwalker's right,... start with the simpler, cheaper, obvious, more common problems before you start the doom and gloom scenarios (like I did).

I blame that stupid temperature gauge way more than your wife for not noticing it. It is controlled by the ECU and NEVER moves from just below half until your car is way too hot.

I simply never notice it anymore because it never has anything to say,... like a clock stuck at 12 o-clock. I now have a gauge with an alarm that will go off as soon as the temperature reaches my preset level. (the stock temp gauge stops moving at 68* C but my gauge shows the temp climbing all the way to 97* C when the fans kick in,... I have no idea how hot it has to get before the stock gauge starts to move above half,... I don't wanna unplug my fans and idle it to find out)

The temp gauge really should have an accompanying idiot light that goes off at a certain temperature. After all you can go from a normal engine temperature to a warped head in just minutes. (not that your head is warped though)

There is I believe a "leak down" test that can detect a bad head gasket,... but start with the thermostat and make sure your fans are kicking in when they're supposed to.

 

[pinups]

I will refill it up right now and get it over to an auto parts store to look for a thermostat.
I dont think she got it dry last night because when I came out to look at it, the coolant reservoir was showing it had coolant up to the 'fill' line.
But after looking at it for a few minutes , the level dropped all the way to the bottom, didn't puke out onto floor, almost like got ingested back in radiator.
When I fill it back up should I fill through reservoir or the rad cap?

 

[pcb]

That is exactly how it's supposed to work. The rad cap blows off at 16 psi (I think) into the overflow tank and then when the system cools, it sucks it back in with very little negative pressure (suction). When you refill your system, you fill the radiator itself as well as the overflow tank.

This is my quote from an earlier thread,...

"I'm pretty sure you have air in your system now. You probably sucked it up through the empty reservoir after it overflowed then cooled off drawing the remaining fluid then air back into your rad. You probably need to "burp" your system.
With the engine cold remove the rad cap then start the car and wait for it to warm up. You'll see the fluid start to move once the thermostat opens then bubbles will come out and the fluid level in the neck will drop. Add more fluid (you can get pre-mixed to save some trouble but if you mix it yourself be sure to use distilled water from the grocery store, it's only a buck or two for a gallon). Make sure your heater is on in the car to circulate any bubbles out of your heater core. Rev the engine a bunch of times to "pulsate" the bubbles through the system better. Make sure you fill the reservoir as well (to the full mark, not the top). That should clear any air in the system. It's a good idea to pump the big rad hose after the fluid starts moving, it forces the bubbles to the filler neck.
Now as to why this happened in the first place,... check to see that the fans come on after the car gets nice and warm (while you're burping it). If not, that's your problem. Perhaps the thermostat is stuck in which case the fluid won't circulate even when the engine is hot. Keep an eye on the temperature gauge as you're burping. If it rises above that middle mark the car is way too hot. If it reaches that point and the fans aren't on and you don't see flow in the filler neck then you've got two problems. You may have a bad rad cap too which is supposed to hold 12-18 PSI (I don't know what it is for our cars). They are probably worth less than ten bucks at a parts store so maybe just do that anyway (they're not easily tested). My friend had the exact same problem on her car. I suggested a new rad cap. She decide to take it to the mechanic,... it cost her $100,... for a new rad cap.
If everything works out just keep an eye on the reservoir level. It should never reach the bottom of the reservoir or it could suck in air. If it keeps dropping, you may have some serious problems. (warped head)"

 

[pinups]

So I couldnt figure it out myself nor did I have any tools on hand. Took it by a mechanic, (honest guy and does a great job), After a couple hours he called me and says he believes it is the water pump that is not circulating the coolant anymore.
He ran it through that test for head gasket with the colored liquid and it passed.
Does this sound like something common with these cars?
I dont have a record of when the waterpump was changed last.
Been 5 years at least

 

[pcb]

Water pumps are almost Always replaced when the timing belt is changed. If a water pump is replaced ALL the labour for the timing belt job has to be done.

Definitely replace at least your timing belt if you have to do the water pump. It's a good idea to get the timing belt kit which includes the timing belt, tensioner pulley, idler pulley and tensioner spring. There is also the valve cover gasket which 'should' be replaced and maybe the crank seal and two cam seals. (I didn't bother with the seals when I did my timing belt).

There is a guy who sells a complete kit including (I believe) the water pump seals and Everything needed for a complete job. Or you can order everything from RockAuto and have it in a few days. (That's what I did and RockAuto ships to Canada and does it by the book,... they charge all taxes and I've never had any kind of extra duty applied to an order).

May be your mechanic will be nice enough to let you buy your own parts for the job,... you could save hundreds. I assume you don't know when your timing belt was changed last,.. if ever. It's supposed to be every 98,000 km here in Canada (up to 160,000 km in the states, so somewhere between the two numbers ,... mostly depending on cold temperatures)

I have never heard of a water pump actually failing on this car,.... usually they just start to leak fluid when the bearing and seal start to go but that doesn't seem to happen "all of a sudden" like your failure seems to have done. ???

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...s-USA-Timing-Belt-Kit-for-your-Mazda-Protege5

http://store.propartsusa.com/propar...ege_5_2002_to_2003_20l/tbk10221/i-544957.aspx

I was quoted $500 from Napa for the timing belt kit and that Didn't include the water pump and gasket or the two other drive belts (which I forgot to mention above)

 

[pinups]

He told me that he would do timing belt as well if he had to replace the water pump. And he said it should be right around 500$
There is no record of the timing belt ever being done, I figure it must have, but you never know...

 

[pcb]

Don't forget about the tensioner and idler wheels,.. I just went ahead and ordered them to be on the safe side. My old ones were getting kinda wobbly,... not good.

I think you should ask your mechanic about just the labor cost and get the kit yourself,... that is a REALLY good price and covers everything,.. all belts, pulleys,.. everything. Chances are,.. he's not including the pulleys in the quoted price but will call you in the middle of the job to say you need them,... (of course you'll be at work and busy when he calls to tell you and he's got your car and it's apart and before you know it the price has doubled and you don't know what happened,... it's part of a mechanics marketing strategy).

You would need to contact them and specifically ask about duty at the border and whether they do it by the book,.. (that's why I like Rockauto,... no surprises at the door).


What kinda mileage is on your car (kilometerage I guess) ?? You could easily be at 200,000 km and never have had it done. (So get the whole kit)

(I remember pricing out a tensioner pulley at a local parts store,... They wanted $212 for JUST the tensioner pulley)