BigOLundh

iTrader: (1)

thanks

grinn253

x2 What they said , since you mentioned you are using your vehicle mostly for recreational/daily driving.


Goodbye,
Edgardo

User24

iTrader: (1)

I did this yesterday. Thanks to all for the information. I am supplying a few more photos below to supplement...

General location

Closeup of 14mm bolt

Draining

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

A 20/80 mix of antifreeze and water with one bottle of WaterWetter will yeild a 7° to 10° F difference.
20% AF will provide enough corrosion resistance. The most important thing is to ONLY use distilled H2O.

FWIW, Mazda delivers these cars with a 60/40 mix of AF to H2O.

dgrx8

this should be made a DIY!
great pics... thanks a lot!

Waz

Nice guide, looks like a very easy DIY. I noticed my coolant was close to the Low line and I topped it up to the top line using some Volvic mineral water. It only required a very small amount of it but some people have told me it is very mad for the engine due to to the additives in mineral water. Anyone care to shed some light on this. Might drain the system but I don't know if it worth the hassle and expense.

Razz1

Don't worry about it. You only added a small amount of minerals.

Minerals leave depsots and cause corrosion. Hence the need for distilled water.

People have been using tap water for years. Don't worry about it, unless you a nut like we are and must have things perfect... but then again if you were lie us you wouldn't have to ask us.


Take a general automotive shop course to start with. Find someone who works on cars help them and learn.

Waz

Yeah, I know that, might just drain and refill it anyway. Looked at the Mazda workshop manual and it suggests just draining from the the radiator bolt, however I have seen people use the plug near the sump. Do most of you just use that or just both?

Does anyone actually drain and then flush the system with anything before refilling with coolant?

LionZoo

What are people's opinions on how often the coolant should be changed?

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Yearly is best...could go 2 probably if your not a fanatic

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

Damn, I didnt know about this *secert* bolt !

Last time I just drain the thing using the drain bolt under the radiator. I always wondering how come so little coolant came out (about a gallon)

Hmmmmmmmm ..... Maybe I should have another change after the winter .... ?

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

BACK from the dead I say!!! (1 day short of 1 year)

Question: If I remove the drain plug on the radiator, pop out the hose, AND remove this bolt while it's up on a lift, will that pretty much drain out all the fluids I need?

TrochoidMagic

read the first page here. here's a little tip i must include for those running any high performance radiator fluids such as redline ONLY. severely altering the ratio of water to coolant (50/50 mix) in none racing environments and for prolonged use may affect seals in the engine and prematurely wear out the water pump.

my opinion on this is to not go below 35% (35% coolant/65% water) and 30% is where i draw the line if to even run it for weekend racing.

please consider that. and i assume NJ is a cold state...may not be worth your time on this mod.

eazy_k

Hey guys, i've been considering to change my coolant but its too cold over here in the UK to attempt any thing my self at home at the moment, however i have found a coolant leak in my car. I have been topping it up with water now once every 2months so far, my dealer didn't find the leak tho they only had the car for and hr to replace the starter motor. Is it still safe to top it up until i have any money after xmas to find the leak, fix the problem and do a coolant change?

G-ReX

Straight from the 2004 manual, FWIW. I'm going to 35/65 with my 30k check this month. It's never under 25F and rarely even under 32F.

LionZoo

If anyone wants to change the washer, the part number is 9956-41-000. It's a special order part, but I recommend changing them everytime as my washer was melted last time I got the engine bolt out.

04RX8man

I've only ever used a 50/50 or 70/30 mixture of coolant and water....never had any probs weather it was this car or any others and in the snow/cold and hot of FL

RotoRocket

iTrader: (1)

What do you guys use and how much of it to 'flush' the system before adding the 50/50 coolant/distilled water mix?

I assume distilled water until you see it come out clear?

Thanks.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

After draining from the engine bolt, it will get over 95% of the coolant out.

Then I will fill the car with distilled water and maybe 1/2 gallon of pure antifreeze to lube the water pump. it takes about 2 and 1/2 gallon in total. idle for 5 minutes, fill up to the MAX line with distilled water if needed. then I will drive it around for 15 minutes or maybe 10. shut it off for 30minutes before I repeat the drain n fill for 1-2 more times.

After the flush I just fill it 2 gallons of 50/50 into it, the rest is distilled water.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

+1

I tried Peak, Proline, and Prestone.

For some "weird" reasons. Prestone gives me the lowest water temp readings. it could be just different day, weather, humidly, driving mood, etc. but hmm.

Proline is probably the cheapest, maybe 5-6 bux a gallon, Peak is doing a promote @ Autozone with rebates. I got my stock of Prestone at some buy 1 get 1 free sale. comes out to be around 7 bux a gallon, no rebate required, not bad.

rx8dad

Looking at the manual, the '04's use original green coolant. Right?

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

You do know the OE coolant is rated for 10 years/120,000 miles right?

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...7&d=1254561001

.

Guy Hollywood

Flushing the coolant this way should take no more than an hour or so I'm guessing? Just wondering if this is something I can do after work.

Aipex8

iTrader: (1)

OK, so I'm going to flush my coolant today, climbed under the car and noticed that the second bolt shown in the pics above, the metal plate it's holding on and the cables that are running to it are completely missing. Can someone tell me what that is?

paulmasoner

iTrader: (1)

looks like grounding strap to me