Im Overheating. Help.

[DeeAOne]

so now that im finally putting some miles on the 323 ive ran into an issue. first, the car has brand new hoses, new water pump, a fresh radiator flush, oil change, etc. im not running a thermostat. it doesnt smoke except on initial start up, but quits shortly after. it starts to get hot about 20+ minutes of driving/idling. i dont think its the headgasket because it doesnt smoke. but i do slowly lose coolant after a few days also. i thought maybe it could be a bottom end problem, like main bearings going bad. any help would be appreciated. thanks!



its a 1988 mazda 323, 1.6L 8 valve SOHC B6.

[WalkS]

If your main bearings were "going bad", then you would know it by audible rod knock. Then you will be stranded on the street for real. Try putting a thermostat in it and see what happens. That's pretty much all I can tell you. It might be something wrong with your headgasket, even though it might not smoke. But you did say it smokes on initial start up? Or your head could have a crack in it, same thing with my brothers car, it had a crack in the water jacket. And lost coolant subliminally.

[DeeAOne]

hmm i guess it wouldnt hurt to try the thermostat. ill have to let you listen to it one day yourself to see if you can hear anything that could be major. thanks brian


EDIT: just a thought, wouldnt putting the thermostat back in make it run hotter quicker? the thermostat would be blocking the coolant flow more than it is now, which is just free flowing.

[GermanMuscle]

have you taken out the spark plugs to see if they are wet from the coolant, also shine a flash light into the combustion chamber to see if you see any coolant in there. Do this after the car had been sitting with the same condition as when you say it smokes on initial start up.

also at what rate does the car lose coolant?

[Barefoot]

thermo and comp test.

[WalkS]

EDIT: just a thought, wouldnt putting the thermostat back in make it run hotter quicker? the thermostat would be blocking the coolant flow more than it is now, which is just free flowing.

No unless if you have a major problem. When the thermostat is closed, all of the coolant flow is recirculated to the engine without being cooled in the radiator as the engine warms up. The thermostat stays closed until the coolant temperature reaches the normal thermostat temperature. Then the coolant is recirculated through the radiator and back into the engine.

Also! Is your radiator fan working correctly? Or do you even have one?

[DeeAOne]

to german muscle- probably about 1/4 of a 50/50 coolant bottle after about a week. and no i havent checked the plugs. ill do that. thanks

no mo hondas- comp test was what i was planning also. thanks

brian- yes i do have a fan and it does work correctly.

ill try these and see what happens. thanks again!

[AnthonyF]

describe HOT on your car...

the needle start to move
the needle pegging out in the red
etc...

I am assuming you just started driving this car and It has just started to get warm outside so the needle will move a bit.

-Ant.

[Master Shake]

check your oil for water, too.

[VickNotic]

tell me when you find out! i'm having the same issue, all everything brand new waterpump/upper & lower hoses, newnew radiator & cap,

leak down test = check
compression test = check
spark plugs = check
new temp sensor
new fan switch
new temp gauge sensor
new thermostat
oil check for milkyness = check

everything works perfectly, fan kicks in. NO smoking through tail pipes. but loosing coolant, and reservoir tank gets FULL??

I've tried running the car how it is without thermostat, and drove for roughly 2hours tops (NO PROBLEM)

but if driven like a mad men, and comes to idle the needle would gradually go up towards Hot, but i shut it down

[Captain-Obvious™]

No unless if you have a major problem. When the thermostat is closed, all of the coolant flow is recirculated to the engine without being cooled in the radiator as the engine warms up. The thermostat stays closed until the coolant temperature reaches the normal thermostat temperature. Then the coolant is recirculated through the radiator and back into the engine.

Also! Is your radiator fan working correctly? Or do you even have one?

yeah...

without a thermostat the coolant just flows right through too fast without actually being cooled

[DeeAOne]

describe HOT on your car...

the needle start to move
the needle pegging out in the red
etc...

I am assuming you just started driving this car and It has just started to get warm outside so the needle will move a bit.

-Ant.

it WILL peg out if i drive it long enough. it will stay between half way and 3/4 way up, then finally just start creeping towards the red.

im going to put the thermostat back in, check the temp sensor also. the HG or motor is the last resort to whats being replaced. i hope its neither..

reps to all i can for the help.

[WalkS]

it WILL peg out if i drive it long enough. it will stay between half way and 3/4 way up, then finally just start creeping towards the red.

im going to put the thermostat back in, check the temp sensor also. the HG or motor is the last resort to whats being replaced. i hope its neither..

reps to all i can for the help.

Don't be so bummed if its the engine or head gasket! All you got to do is replace it And If the engine has something major wrong with it, I am sure you can get a jdm replacement engine from jarco or nadauto for cheap.

[Master Shake]

have you checked your oil for water?

[Elbow]

Yeah PUT A TSTAT in, if it's running HOT HOT without the tstat, then it's REALLY hot. Like others said running no tstat doesn't make it run cooler.

Check oil for sure, if you are losing coolant and no leaks, you probably have a leaking headgasket, if you keep running it hot it will blow very soon.

[Master Shake]

Yeah PUT A TSTAT in, if it's running HOT HOT without the tstat, then it's REALLY hot. Like others said running no tstat doesn't make it run cooler.

Check oil for sure, if you are losing coolant and no leaks, you probably have a leaking headgasket, if you keep running it hot it will blow very soon.

its why i keep asking if he has water in his oil. a lot of the times, from what i've seen, its either the gasket or t-stat. and on occasions, the temp sensor.

and very very rare occasion, no enough antifreeze, causing it to not cool at all.

[Elbow]

Yeah, if it looks milky, you have a blown or leaking HG. BUT sometimes you can't tell. Check the dip stick and the radiator.

Do you see coolant leaking? If he doesn't have antifreeze then obviously it will overheat, but I am pretty sure he's not that dumb lol.

[Master Shake]

Yeah, if it looks milky, you have a blown or leaking HG. BUT sometimes you can't tell. Check the dip stick and the radiator.

Do you see coolant leaking? If he doesn't have antifreeze then obviously it will overheat, but I am pretty sure he's not that dumb lol.

i hope he isn't.
but just from the info, i'm going with the headgasket since the only way to really know for sure, is to take the head off. unless oil is...yea.

[AnthonyF]

A headgasket wont really make it over heat unless he has lost a lot of coolant. You can run a blown head gasketed car with a pinhole leak for a long time. You can also add head gasket repair which has worked MANY times with us.

-Ant.

[firstgensir]

ha ha ha JJ SPEC lollllllll ha ha ha

[Master Shake]

A headgasket wont really make it over heat unless he has lost a lot of coolant. You can run a blown head gasketed car with a pinhole leak for a long time. You can also add head gasket repair which has worked MANY times with us.

-Ant.

i was thinkin more of just straight up blown. the gasket would be the last thing i check though. i'd go thru everything else before i went for that.

[Elbow]

Well yeah true. I also vouch for that head gasket repair stuff, we put some in my grandmas van three years ago and it is still fine lol. We also use to use it on race cars.

[AnthonyF]

^that is the only bootleg shit off the shelf we have used and actually worked.

-Ant.

[Master Shake]

^that is the only bootleg shit off the shelf we have used and actually worked.

-Ant.

does it work for a more than just minor blown?

[VickNotic]

A headgasket wont really make it over heat unless he has lost a lot of coolant. You can run a blown head gasketed car with a pinhole leak for a long time. You can also add head gasket repair which has worked MANY times with us.

-Ant.

and what product was this??

[$9ktt]

Have you burped the cooling system ? Could have an air pocket.

B

[VickNotic]

Have you burped the cooling system ? Could have an air pocket.

B

sorry to jack thread but i'm in teh same situation .. 8D and i've burped it plenty of times! maybe theres a ant size hole on the HG damm

[jellybean]

I had an over heat problem for a long time... I changed everything i thought of and still ... it over heated... was loosing coolant throught the overflow tank cause was getting way too hot... I was about to take it to the dealer when i realized that there was 2 temp sensors... one tells the electric fan to kick on and the other one controlls the gage. is it possible that you changed the wrong sensor? other than that and the electric fan and the TStat... there is nothing else in the system that could do that... but don't know where you are leaking coolant... if you know that... then it might just be a leak which can be fixed. when the car gets too low on coolant it will over heat real quick... they make die kits where you dump die in the radiator then check it with a black light to see where the coolant is leaking from.. pretty cheap

They are all right about the TStat... you should not run without one... especially in warmer weather cause it just gets too hot.

[VickNotic]

i've changed all the sensors except the small one in between the upper hosing on the head, and the hose that comes from the firewall ..

[yunglaosta]

either a leak on your radiator or thermostat. one of those should be the trick. if your unlucky it could be a blown head gasket.

[VickNotic]

either a leak on your radiator or thermostat. one of those should be the trick. if your unlucky it could be a blown head gasket.

well i've taken my car to a shop to get a head gasket job! before jumping into the headgasket job i've asked them to do test and make sure it's my headgasket 1st. and so they leak down tested from the radiator and etc. was confirmed everything is in working order! i even replaced the radiator cap even though it passed their test.


but i still get the same readings.. what do yall think! not burning no smoke etc. COULD IT REALLY BE A HEADGASKET doing this shit.. it's a GHOST in the machine iono

[yunglaosta]

well i've taken my car to a shop to get a head gasket job! before jumping into the headgasket job i've asked them to do test and make sure it's my headgasket 1st. and so they leak down tested from the radiator and etc. was confirmed everything is in working order! i even replaced the radiator cap even though it passed their test.


but i still get the same readings.. what do yall think! not burning no smoke etc. COULD IT REALLY BE A HEADGASKET doing this shit.. it's a GHOST in the machine iono

most likely it is your headgasket then, drain your motor oil and see if there's water in there.

[VickNotic]

can a new radiator cause a problem? i mean iono what brand radiator i got but i bought it off a IA member and says it's a radiator for 94+ integra.. which is a full size one.. and brand spanken new .. so what yall think