bl|nk

This all started this afternoon. The car hasn't been driven since yesturday morning and no coolant was in the garage. I pulled it outside to do some work in the garage.. when i put it back in (2hrs later) it had a small puddle of coolant under the car.

It hasn't lost much coolant (est. 1 quart or so) at all. I put a peice of cardboard under the car and topped the radiator off.

I started the car and it didn't leak any coolant not until the car heated up (guessing the thermastat opened) and that is when it began to drip coolant more of a drip to a drizzle but not like i had exploded anything.

It's dripping from the rear passenger side where the motor meets up with the bell housing. From searching the forums (yes I know that function) I'm guessing it's a coolant line between the throttle body & the rear rotor (makes sense to me). Now as you can see I don't know rotary's well unfortunately. Can i please get your opinion on guessing where this leak is most likely coming from? I did check the common leak heater hose under the oil filter but it felt dry underneith it.

btw the car doesn't seem to be burning coolant (no white smoke in the exhaust)

thanks for the help much appreciated!

Ni5mo180SX

Im not sure about Series5 but on my S4 near the BAC where the coolant lines routed, those lines were pretty worn and close to bursting.

bl|nk

Those lines are mostly upper motor area which i'm not seeing any leaking from the only place i can distinguish any leaking is from under the car and at that I'm having problems seeing because of the suspension crossmember is blocking my line of sight well (and the fact coolant dripping in my face isn't that appealing)

bl|nk

Oke I just pulled off my intercooler yet everything looks really dry in the area behind the motor. Just the very bottom part is what is showing the signs that the car is leaking. Can I run the car without the intercooler on? like how it is just open element? as to hope that with it running I can see where it's leaking from?








yes yes bad pictures but it's the best I could do at the time.

Rpeck

You should be able to see/touch that rear coolant line with the IC off like you have it. You will have to take the intake off to replace it, but you should be able to confirm thats the problem without taking the intake off first. I would order a new intake gasket for a few bucks before hand if you need to pop the intake off (its worth the couple of $'s to insure you don't create a serious vacuum leak). That hose is a BITCH! and you will be better off getting the correct fitted one from Mazda... but I did manage to do mine with my own fabrication and a 90 deg. bend hose. I can't think of much else in that area that could be leaking .. except maybe the rear hose on the BAC... asuuming you checked all the heater hoses well.

G luck.. taking the intake off is not that hard at all .. but that hose is a pain in the *** to work with.

P.S. I used to live in Rapid City .... god I hated the weather there

P.S.S you cant start it without the IC on.

hypntyz7

Underneath the throttl;e body/upper intake is the 90 degree coolant hose that must be leaking. The only other possibility really(if the info you have given us is true) is that the lower manifold coolant o-rings are leaking and allowing water to puddle on top fo the block and run down. Most likely is just the little hose though. Sadly youll have to pull the entire upper intake to get it off. You will ahve to cut it anyway. Dont worry about it, youre not reusing it.

What I do is get some new hose from autozone, about 2 feet worth, and new hoseclamps. You also need something to use as a union, 1/4" ID, hollow and strong(like metal). Half of my new hose goes on teh TB, and half on the block, and it sticks way up by the firewall, now you cut it in half and join it with the union and 2 more hoseclamps and now you have easy disconnect ability of the coolant hose for future work under the intake manifold, plus you dont have to wrestle with trying to reinstall it.

bl|nk

damn.. thanks guys! so basically i have a sweet fix it coming up *joy*. I'm going to recheck the heater hoses on the back later since it's getting late. I'll probably just replace all the hoses on the back side of the motor and might as well do my vacuum lines while i'm at it. The things the pervious owner told me were done.. hrmm shady bastard

The bonus of this all is I've been pulling the motor apart and cleaning it.. damn grease buildup from previous owners. So in a way I'm happy this happened. It's a learning experience and I do know the honda 4cylinder well.. and all i can say is this isn't a honda

bl|nk

Parts ordered.

Radiator Cap (non factory on the car now)
Water hose for TB to rear rotor housing (i'll try to make shift one but hey if it doesn't work I have the part)
Gasket intake center
Thermostat (might as well with the car apart)
ACV block off plate
Vacuum hose upgrade
and just cause i love the car HKS intake filter

woo chalk up a few more benjamin franklins invested into the car ah well I'm learning and having fun.

Rpeck

It's all about the Benjamin's Wait till your spending the G notes... haha