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. )

Thanks!

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

Regards,
Patrick
'95 Triple Black

"Barbie" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>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. )
>
> Thanks!
>

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

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.

In article . com>,
"Barbie" > wrote:

> 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.

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.

> It's been good to me, so the next
> car will be the same thing - even same color.

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

--
Lanny Chambers
'94C, St. Louis
http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html

"Barbie" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>
> Any ideas? Does this sound like a head gasket? >

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.

> 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. )
>

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)

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 pink. LOL. Black and tan.

Lanny Chambers wrote:
> In article . com>,
> "Barbie" > wrote:
>
> > 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.
>
> 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.
>
> > It's been good to me, so the next
> > car will be the same thing - even same color.
>
> Pink? (Sorry, Barbie, the devil made me type that.)
>
> --
> Lanny Chambers
> '94C, St. Louis
> http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html

On 10 Jul 2006 20:40:15 -0700, wrote:

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

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

" 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 starting hard, idling rough or producing vapor.

M. Cantera wrote:
> On 10 Jul 2006 20:40:15 -0700, wrote:
>
> >
> >Barbie wrote:
> >> Any ideas? Does this sound like a head gasket? Time to finally retire
> >> the '96? It has 134,000 miles on it.
> >>
> >> Thanks!
> >
> >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.
>
> 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

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.




On 13 Jul 2006 08:08:22 -0700, "Barbie" > wrote:

>" 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 starting hard, idling rough or producing vapor.
>
>M. Cantera wrote:
>> On 10 Jul 2006 20:40:15 -0700, wrote:
>>
>> >
>> >Barbie wrote:
>> >> Any ideas? Does this sound like a head gasket? Time to finally retire
>> >> the '96? It has 134,000 miles on it.
>> >>
>> >> Thanks!
>> >
>> >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.
>>
>> 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