White smoke and overheating.
 

Hi all, I realize the redundancy of this question but I'm asking for a check on my solution here. so I have a 2008 rx8 (obviously) and recently (within the past three weeks actually) I have been having a small problem with a sweet smell coming from under my hood. So - naturally I thought COOLANT. Some pictures of what I found will be at the bottom of my post.

So, since it's just a smell, I'm not really losing any coolant at an alarming rate, and I'm not overheating... I decide to go ahead and keep driving it (albeit softly) like an idiot. One day, after letting my car sit for about two days I decide to take a drive and about four miles down the road my temperature gauge shoots up to overheating and white smoke comes out from under my hood. So, I pull over and turn off my engine only to hear a moderately high pitched whirring sound as the engine stops. This continues for about two to three seconds before everything goes quiet and white smoke is still coming out of my engine bay. Now, I've lost a LOT of coolant but there's no visible leak. There's not smell of coolant from the exhaust either, just from the engine bay. So, since there is coolant next to my reservoir and on my intake housing AND all over the relief hose I think that I just have something wrong with my thermostat and my coolant is boiling over into my engine bay. I probably also have air in the lines. Any thoughts?

Attachment 245495
This is from the first time I looked at my engine after I started smelling the coolant. The last time, after the big mess, there was(simply put) a lot more coolant... and it was liquid.

Does it overheat if you leave the car idling for a long time?

It does indeed, although slower obviously.

Guessing thermostat or water pump..............just like you and everyone else.

2008.................Are you still under bumper to bumper warranty?

Yeah, only have just under 19k on it

Yes, you still have warranty. Bring it to the dealer to have them check it.

Haaaa, I was hoping to fix it myself, you know just replace the thermostat and gasket... maybe get a new pressure cap for the reservoir just in case it's messed up (Same rating of course). The most I was thinking about doing was getting a coolant pressure test. But - if you think it might be the water pump then I might as well get it checked by those blood sucking vampires.

Thanks for the advice.

Well it wasn't the thermostat OR the waterpump. xD
Something I forgot to mention and, well, i thought it wasn't that big of a deal, was that every time I was overheating I WAS NOT MOVING. *facepalm* Well, turns out the problem was with the radiator fan. The thermostat was replaced, along with the cap. I ended up bypassing the radiator fan relay control circuit in order to check whether it was a blown circuit, just to check. It didn't do anything. So, I then checked the motor for the radiator fan... BUSTED. Brought it to mazda and dis bitch is fixed. Granted, the thermostat was welded open due to the heat but... well, there you go. Just for everyone to know this is how I eventually fixed it.

I looked everywhere and not one single thread mentioned the fan. So I hadn't considered it. Stupid, stupid me. For all with this potential problem never limit your search to the thermostat and the water pump! Those are possibilities, and they might be broken... but always look into alternate possibilities. If you are overheating ONLY when you are not moving - look at your radiator fan. If there is liquid coming out of your car, water pump is busted. Either one of those? Look at the thermostat too. If you have white smoke from your exhaust? Probably a blown seal in your engine and time for a new one. That's what I've learned from this... you know - just for future reference for all those who wish to read this thread to find out what happened.

Mine is having problems now, I will check my fan.

I know this is an old tread but this is the exact same problem i have. I drove my wife to the store she went to get the groceries and i stood in the car since it was kinda hot i turned the AC on a terrible smell was comin' in i rolled down my windows and it was even stonger, I thought it wasn't anything serious on the way home the oveheating needle shoots up all the way to redline i opened the hood and smoke was comin' out, and as aidendiatheke stated that high pitched whirring sound was comin' out of the reservoir thank it didn't stop till all the engine cool was out. So Im guessing its the "RADIATOR FAN" that i need to get fixed?

its an 07 by the way thefore no warranty. how much should i pay for it cause im sure its gonna come out of my pocket.

Hopefully it's something simple like a fuse.

Any other suggestions? Anybody? i gots to get this things fixed its my daily driver :(

So...the needle moved to redline or not? it's a bit confusing.
If it did, congrats, u just blown the engine, and it should be under core warranty.
Check your fans>hoses>coolant reservoir pressure.

Smh... Engines blown...

Its not that hard to replace the fan. If u are around or in NYC, I do it for. 1 hr of labor charge ;)

Ladies and gentlemen... My engine is not blown lol. I took my car to a buddy of mine and he found issues. And guess what?...No engine blown :P :P . Anyways... Parts i need though is a passenger side radiator motor. and Relays three of them C1, C2 and C3. Thing is IDk where i find these :(. Does anyone know where i can find those parts? online maybe?. I would really appreciate it.

When a rotary engine pops a coolant seal its not immediate... takes time for the coolant to start working around in your oil.

have fun!

oh well.... Time for a new engine then lets gooooooo

word.. might want to send your oil off to get tested first to see if its actually bunk. oh and a coolant pressure test...

ya know get the cheap diagnostic shit out of the way first.