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Radiator caps/numbers/temps

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Old 03-10-2009, 02:18 PM
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Radiator caps/numbers/temps

This might be a dumb question, but I bought my 05 and it has an 0.9 cap, and I bought it in GA. Now up here in PA the coolant will burp out the overflow hose not much though. I was wondering what the stock cap is rated at, then on top of that would it be better to go with the 1.3 cap. Everything on the car has been changed, coils, plugs, wires, cat. oil, complete system flush, and a 60/40 mix and I have 82,000+ on it, and it runs fine. The highest the temp gets is 234 then after driving for a while it drops to 222. My gauge on the car shows around the beginning of the temp symbol in the middle then when it hits 234 is when it goes to the other side of the symbol. Now once it hit 241 and that was right around 3/4 of the way, but driving for a little it dropped down to 220. I have no leaks, and the hoses are great, on top of that I'm not really losing any coolant also, just about half a tsp when it does this. My fans also are working when they should and working properly. This only happens when it gets about 65*F or hotter.

Thanks for anyone's help.
Old 03-10-2009, 02:22 PM
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Just a quick note....

Extend your coolant overflow hose so when it 'burps', hot coolant doesn't get into the power steering wiring harness....
Old 03-10-2009, 02:26 PM
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Thanks for that, already done, just ran it the whole why down under the ps pump through the hole, sprayed everything also to make sure the coolant was all cleaned off.
Old 03-10-2009, 02:48 PM
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Do you know the conversion to take 0.9kg and convert it the psi. Just trying to see how much the 1.3 will be compared to the 0.9. I can do it for pounds, but can't figure it out for psi.
Old 03-10-2009, 03:00 PM
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Originally Posted by syntheticdarkness
Do you know the conversion to take 0.9kg and convert it the psi. Just trying to see how much the 1.3 will be compared to the 0.9. I can do it for pounds, but can't figure it out for psi.

To convert from: kg/cm2 to psi or lb/in2 multiply by 14.223
Old 03-10-2009, 03:08 PM
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Oh, by the way,

you might want to send a PM to OLDDRAGGER, or do an advanced search of his posts. I recall that he has put a lot of time and thought into the cooling system/engine temp problems.

Good luck!
Old 03-10-2009, 03:18 PM
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Thanks, just pm'd him. Still hope to get other insight as well if you know what I mean.
Old 03-11-2009, 01:50 AM
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replace the cap. with a .9 bar one. see if that helps..

if not you have a problem somewhere.. at those temps you should not be having any issues..

it is fans or air in system or bad radiator..

beers
Old 03-11-2009, 07:18 AM
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I know that I shouldn't have any bubbles since I've burped it a bunch of times, and plus I put about 2.20 gallons in I used both plugs about 3-4 times to make sure it was flushed" I've drained it from both . I've watched the fans and they work fine. No leaks anywhere neither. It baffles me, unless it's something worse. Here's a question I'm trying to figure out. Why would putting a 1.3 on instead of .9 be bad, I know it will put a little more pressure in it and raise the boiling point, but wouldn't that be good.

Thanks for the help
Old 03-11-2009, 08:52 PM
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Well, just put on the new 1.3 cap and it takes longer for it to heat up, and also drops the heat almost as fast. Still high though, it's been staying around 220-225, and only gets to 234 if I'm really hard on it now. Does anyone else know anything else that might be the cause of the heat, maybe the thermostat is what I'll do next.
Old 03-11-2009, 09:02 PM
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I would check the thermostat...if you were in Death Valley ( or Phoenix or Vegas ) then it wouldn't be a big deal......But PA in winter..you have a problem
Old 03-19-2009, 02:18 PM
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I just changed the thermostat, and my mix is a little over 60 anti, 40 water. Drove the car hard for about 3 hours and my temps were 175-182*F with it being about 50-55*F out, and redlining it for about 5-10 minutes (while driving) on our nice straight stretch we have here I got it up to 188*F. Now sitting I got it up to either 205-207*F then the fans kicked on and dropped it down to 195*F. When I compared the two thermostats I noticed that the old one had one less coil in the wire on the main section compared to the new one, but just letting everyone know that the problem is fixed and thanks for all the help.
Old 03-20-2009, 10:43 PM
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A cheap upgrade is to buy a Mazda Millenia 1.1 bar cap. They're only a few dollars from your Mazda dealership. One of the things that I worry about is raising the pressure too much might have a negative effect on hose life, but so far I haven't heard of anyone blowing a hose from running a 1.3 bar cap.

60% anti-freeze is a bit high. I run a much lower mixture, but then it never freezes where I am. Still, you might look into running at most a 50/50 mixture in the future as the lower anti-freeze content will help with the heat purge.
Old 03-20-2009, 10:51 PM
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Yes, water has a much better heat capacity, a weaker mix will cool better.

50/50 is probably optimal, don't forget the anti-corrosion protection.....

S
Old 03-21-2009, 01:14 PM
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Thanks for the advice. I know so far when I'm driving it never goes above 179*F with everything. I don't know if the way I checked the hoses tells anything with the 1.3 bar, but I can still squeeze them and it doesn't seem to have much more pressure then what the .9 had, but you can tell a little. Later on I want to get the silicone hose kit and maybe update the radiator then the 1.3 should be perfect with the upgrades. I'm still keeping a close eye on everything for at least a week to be on the safe side then just watch periodically. I added some distilled water so that should drop it under 60, it was about 1/4 of a gallon, and it seems to be doing great now that all the air is out.
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