coolant issues, or rebuild required? :S

[Phoenix7]

1. do you have an underbelly tray? I ask because without one, the air doesn't go through the radiator at higher speeds.

2. what's having "a radiator rodded?" don't know what you did.

3. By removing the cap and turning the car on you should have gotten rid of all the bubbles in the system already. A sign of coolant sel failure is if you turn your car on every morning and WHITE, SWEET, SMOKE comes out of the exhaust.

4. Have you checked your stock fan? maybe the clutch-fan has failed and isn't pulling air through the radiator? You still have a stock shroud right?

Gotta be frustrating.....slowly tackle these things and don't let it overheat anymore.

[hcDave]

Hi Phoenix,

I do have an underbelly tray - but the cover that helps to divert air into the air intake (right hand side looking at the vehicle, right in front of the intake) is missing - I have put in some cardboard (temporary fix)

Rodding out a radiator is the process of removing the radiator tanks and pushing rods through the radiator core to clean it.

I talked with a mechanic at Mazda the other day and he said that without the kit it's next to impossible to get the air out of the system. He could not find the notice in his book though, and was quite busy, so suggested I try to find info about it online...

I just went out to check if there was any sweet white smoke when I started it and there wasn't any - do I have to wait until morning? (the car had been sitting for a couple of hours) I also noticed that the coolant level in the reservoir had returned to normal (I will edit that in my original post)

The fan seems to be turning fine, and I do still have the stock shroud.

Some good news (I hope) is that it has never overheated to the point of boiling over (it did get to about 3/4 of the way though once while I was going over a mountain pass) but I have always pulled over and toped off the coolant as soon as it indicates that it is low. (I hope this does not mean that it is pressurizing due to something other than air trapped in the system)

Thanks again for your assistance!

Dave.

[Rx-7fetish]

The stock fan will still turn even if the fan clutch has not engaged, it will spin but it is free wheeling on the clutch. Try replacing that, the thermostat, and fresh coolant make sure you mix it 50/50 with water. check for absolutely any possible coolant leaks.