It's all good man. It's Friday, I totally get it. I actually really appreciate all the advice - especially the lengthy and descriptive comments you've been posting, it's very helpful. It's good to just talk to someone who understands. I explained it to my wife (just because sometimes saying it out loud helps get the brain juices flowing) and she looked at me like I was speaking an alien language

Thanks! I really wanted to rule out as much as possible. I don't really like posting questions on forums until I've exhausted my options. I'm honestly at my last tether haha.

Yeah, so that could be true. After performing the water pump replacement and draining the oil, I know for a fact there will still be trace amounts of coolant in the oil. I plan on doing another flush after a couple of hundred miles to fully get it out. But like I said, because of how the water pump is situation in this engine and how it leaks, I really don't think oil could've gotten in that way. I'm not ruling it out, and I'd normally be inclined to say it's very likely too, but I just don't know if it would be in this case.

Well originally, the car did fully overheat from the water pump breaking. That was when all the coolant completely drained into the oil pan, mixed, and caused the engine to fully overheat and kill the engine. It broke down on the freeway. The temperature gauge was off the charts and smoke was pouring from the hood. It had to be towed.

The service manual says to not exceed 17.8 psi or it'll break hoses so I can't go too high. Cap PSI says 16 which is what I've tested. I suppose I could go up to 17.8 psi but would the results really differ that much?

That's a good point. Well I'm going to do a ODBII read tonight and see what that shows. I do think the gauge is working correctly though.

I did the test twice at different times of day and different engine temps. And instead of doing the test for 2 minutes as suggested, I actually did them for 10 - so if there was even a microscopic amount of emissions escaping I think the fluid would've started to change color. I plan on doing another one just to make sure but from what I've seen, those tests show up results very quickly.

Excellent points. I plan on doing another check tonight. I'll report back if I find anything. My ODBII reader is s**t to be honest but the OEM Mazda tool is thousands of dollars. I'll invest in a better one at some point.

This is all amazing. Thank you so much. You absolute legend Clean engine too, you clearly take care of your car!!

I don't run FL22 either, it's too expensive when the compeitior brand does the same job. I run Peak japanese coolant.

I stand by my word too, if I get this working (even just with the advice you've sent so far), I'll send some dough your way.

Thanks again. I'll report back with how it all goes tonight.

 

Ok so goor write up and answering questions and making comments they are a guiding help to help you...
so at this point I only can say don't go to the ECU to compare and check the dash gauge use something that is not connecting to the car.

Will see what becomes of your next cooling system cleaning?
Oh did you ever do a cylinder compression check just because? i would like to know the readings.

Thank you for the offer $$ ( I don't need it ) I do this for fun and truly like helping people. And correcting bad information MYTHs and some DIY thoughts and info on other threads ... it can be very entertaining to say the least! LOL

 

Okay, tests last night went great!

You called it correctly, it wasn't overheating!! After buying a laser thermometer, I ran my tests and here's how it all went down (might be too much information but the more the better in my eyes - especially if anyone else finds this thread because they're having the same issues):Temps:

• 8:06pm: 74-79° baseline all over engine before starting anything. Coolant is measuring full.
• 8:06pm: Turn on engine; no strange noises or upticks. Reading codes shows nothing. Data streaming shows nothing unusual.
• 8:08pm: ODBII stream: Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor (ECT) shows 106°. Intake Air Temperature sensor (IAT) shows 74°. CATEMP11 and CATEMP21 both show 780°
• 8:09pm: Quick test of the A/C successfully turns on the dual fans. No issues. Turn A/C off after test.
• 8:13pm: After about 7 minutes of engine running and idling now. Temps are about 90-100° all over (some hoses and radiator close to 105°) slight, barely-visible white vapour/smoke coming from tail pipe but not excessive. Looks normal to me.
• 8:15pm: Top part of radiator measures 117°. Engine valve covers vary from 95-115 (hottest areas closer to timing chain side). No external leaks or anything. Coolant is measuring about mid way now on the reservoir.
• 8:17pm: Engine still looking about same temp. Radiator hoses and radiator top part measure 125°.
• 8:18pm: Parts of valve cover getting up to about 130-135° now, but most of it is staying around 100-110°. Still no external leaks. Internal instrument temp gauge still half way. Just changed cabin fan temp from 60 to 90 and turn up fan speed to get coolant moving to heater core.
• 8:19pm: Read codes again still nothing. ODBII stream: Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor (ECT) shows 170°. Intake Air Temperature sensor (IAT) shows 74°. CATEMP11 and CATEMP21 both show 852°
• 8:25pm: Valve cover and general engine temp around 110-120°, but again slightly hotter towards the timing-chain side at about 120-145°. Radiator hose is at 140-145° and top of radiator is at 140-150°. Still no extenral leaks.
• 8:28pm: Part of engine near coolant hose to top of radiator is showing about 185. Exhaust smoke is the same. Still no leaks.
• 8:30pm: Radiator hose is about 145-165°. Top of radiator is 170. Still no leaks.
• 8:32pm: Parts of engine cover near chain up to 160°. Internal temp guage still midway. ODBII stream: Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor (ECT) shows 190°
• 8:34pm: Temperature is stable. No changes. External leak; one droplet of oil near front passenger wheel. Top of radiator between 160-180°. Radiator/cooler has still not turned on.
• 8:36pm: Engine valve covers are 160-170° closest to timing cgain, rest of cover is between 120-145°. Radiator coolant hose 160-165°. Top of radiator at 175-190°. No other leaks.
• 8:45pm: After revving the engine up to about 2000-4000rpms for 20 seconds, the radiator cooler has finally turned on. Perfect.
• 11:00pm, looks to be about 4 droplets of oil now, all in different spots. Likely from my shoddy job of adding sealant to the timing chain covers after last repairs - it's not something I'm hugely concerned with but I will try to find the source today.

TLDR: Engine ran at normal temps the whole time. Temp never exceeded 210 degrees during the whole test.

The main thing though is still figuring out how oil is getting into the coolant. Overheating is clearly not an issue, but oil getting into the coolant is still problematic lol.

I did not. I'm being lazy I know, but I haven't done one yet. I might do one this weekend, we'll see.

That's very admirable. You're an asset to the car community, that's for sure. Thanks for taking time out of your day to not just help me, but anyone on here.

 

Wow cool read!

So at this point ...
I PM'd you.

If you do the compression, check it needs to be done properly.