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Overheating Miata

I have a '96 Mazda Miata with a cooling problem. In December of 2005 the radiator started spewing antifreeze and Firestone put a new radiator in. A few months later I took it to an air conditioning place for freon.

The radiator worked for several months and then one day I heard a 'boiling' type noise under the hood and noticed the temp gauge was pegged on hot. (Oops - hadn't checked the gauge until I heard the noise). I took the car to an air conditioning place because the air conditioning had not worked in a couple weeks either. Turns out there is a safety feature that makes the air not run when the engine is overheating.

The radiator was EMPTY. No water or antifreeze. So Ice Cold Auto Air filled it up and ordered a new fan belt. That worked for another few weeks. Last week it overheated and the radiator was empty again. They put a new thermostate in. During all of this there has been nothing on my garage floor. No leaks.

This time filling the radiator up only lasted for a couple days. Today, after getting an oil change, it overheated again and this time left antifreeze on the ground. Mobile Express also said they ran a pressure test on the radiator cap and the pressure was good.

Any ideas? Does this sound like a head gasket? Time to finally retire the '96? It has 134,000 miles on it.

Sorry so long for a newbe. Hoping someone can advise whether to get this fixed or get rid of the car. It's been good to me, so the next car will be the same thing - even same color. :o)

Thanks!

Reply to
Barbie
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Have you checked your water pump? That's the first place I would look.

Regards, Patrick '95 Triple Black

Reply to
<nobody

Could be a head gasket. I had one fail several years ago on a Toyota pickup. The coolant was lost thru the cylinder, and was hard to track down. A compression test didnt indicate a leaky cylinder. If you have overheated it several times, you may be looking at a head gasket leak.

Reply to
bjones

Are both fans working when you turn on the AC? It might be helpful to mention where you live, since climate may be a factor.

Pink? (Sorry, Barbie, the devil made me type that.)

Reply to
Lanny Chambers

Another possibility is the temp sensor that controls the cooling fans. I'm not sure about a '96, but in my '91 the sensor that controls the fans is different than the sensor that sends the signal to the gauge. The fan sensor is the one located on top of the thermostat housing. When it goes, the fans don't turn on and the car overheats. Of course, you could also have a head gasket leak, especially after excessive overheating.

How can you think about getting rid of the car? I'm a couple of weeks away from breaking the 200,000 mark in my '91 and the thought has never crossed my mind. The big decision I'm going to have is whether to rebuild the engine in another 50,000 miles or put in a new motor.

Gus (91 BRG)

Reply to
Gus

Thank you everyone for your input!

Lanny, I live in Orlando, Florida and the problem started at the beginning of summer.

No it is not p> >

Reply to
Barbie

A head gasket leak is accompanied with hard starting and and rough idling until the engine heats up. YOu will also see way too much vapor coming out the tail pipe.

Pull the plugs. If there is a leak, the plug(s) in the bad cylider will be discolored

Reply to
M. Cantera

" A head gasket leak is accompanied with hard starting and and rough idling until the engine heats up. You will also see way too much vapor coming out the tail pipe."

Hmmmm ... it is not start> > >> Any ideas? Does this sound like a head gasket? Time to finally retire

Reply to
Barbie

have you checked the radiator cap? Old caps loose the ability to pressurize the system and allows the coolant to come to a boil. you may be boiling the coolant down the road. When stopped and cooled (you should not uncap a hot system) it looks empty because the steam has pussed the coolant out the overflow tube.

Reply to
M. Cantera

Also pull the dipstick & take a look at the oil. You could have a head gasket leak letting coolant fall into the sump, where it will evaporate. Oil with water in it looks milky.

Reply to
Mal Osborne

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