Oil on dipstick looks like milkshake and engine overheats if idle??
11-17-2009, 03:10 PM
#27
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Overheating while parked but not while moving shows the fans are not coming on. Could be a problem with the fan, OR, could be you're so low on coolant that the temperature sensors are not in contact with the coolant.
I don't understand the part about "add coolant and it just disappears". How much are you adding, and how long is it taking for it to "disappear"? If you're lucky, it could just be that the coolant was very low and you still haven't gotten topped off. Sometimes it is necessary to "bleed" the cooling system of air. If it were going into the engine at a high rate, you would be seeing white smoke and distinctive odor in the exhaust. Otherwise, a leak. You are seeing no leaks on the ground?
Milk, foam, pudding on the dipstick is not conclusive because this happens to normal engines. Droplets of green coolant would be another story.
When you change the oil, decant it from the drain pan into another container so you can see if any liquid coolant remains behind on the bottom. After the oil change I would attempt a full drain of the cooling system, including using the engine drain plug. Then you can compare what you add to the actual capacity. Finish with a complete bleed of air from the system before you cap it and make sure the resevoir is topped off too. A new radiator cap wouldn't be a bad idea. Then a drive and recheck coolant level. If you haven't lost any then I'd check to see if the fans are now coming on while parked.
I don't understand the part about "add coolant and it just disappears". How much are you adding, and how long is it taking for it to "disappear"? If you're lucky, it could just be that the coolant was very low and you still haven't gotten topped off. Sometimes it is necessary to "bleed" the cooling system of air. If it were going into the engine at a high rate, you would be seeing white smoke and distinctive odor in the exhaust. Otherwise, a leak. You are seeing no leaks on the ground?
Milk, foam, pudding on the dipstick is not conclusive because this happens to normal engines. Droplets of green coolant would be another story.
When you change the oil, decant it from the drain pan into another container so you can see if any liquid coolant remains behind on the bottom. After the oil change I would attempt a full drain of the cooling system, including using the engine drain plug. Then you can compare what you add to the actual capacity. Finish with a complete bleed of air from the system before you cap it and make sure the resevoir is topped off too. A new radiator cap wouldn't be a bad idea. Then a drive and recheck coolant level. If you haven't lost any then I'd check to see if the fans are now coming on while parked.
11-17-2009, 05:41 PM
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thanks guys, tomorrow im doing everything, what weather was crappy today and didnt have a chance too, actually the more im thinking about this, the more remember never seeing the fan kick in, someone was tellin me before that i need a fan swtich as one of my problems? Do fan switch's go bad on these cars? Easy to replace?
11-17-2009, 08:23 PM
#30
Oil change is not going to fix your problem. New fan switch is not going to fix your problem. You need a new engine. Continuing to drive the car will only damage it worse. Sorry to be so straightforward, but you seem to be in denial.
11-17-2009, 09:03 PM
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No, I think he is just confirming. He isn't changing his oil to fix the problem, he is checking his oil during a scheduled change to see if it is contaminated by coolant.
I agree, the symptoms he has stated certainly point towards a new engine, but I also don't see the harm in verifying it....quite a bit of good actually. Mazda dealers can be blamed for replacing alot of engines that just needed coils, lets avoid being guilty of jumping to the same assumption without all the facts.
I agree, the symptoms he has stated certainly point towards a new engine, but I also don't see the harm in verifying it....quite a bit of good actually. Mazda dealers can be blamed for replacing alot of engines that just needed coils, lets avoid being guilty of jumping to the same assumption without all the facts.
11-18-2009, 08:39 PM
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UPDATE: I just did the oil change and the oil seems to fine FINE, IO added the coolant and NO MOVEMENT, coolant is fine. I think I figured out the overheating problem. The electric fans are NOT turning on at all. There are (2) fans, one moves freely and the other moves very hard when moved by hand. They both should move freely. It seems like I need new electric fan motors. Which would make sense on why the car heats up when stopped
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