Well I bought the car for $350 the body is perfect and it runs. The only problem with it is that it over heats. And quickly, I could idel it(which it does around 2K) and in about 5-6 min it is already 3/4 way up and if you rev it it heats up 10X quicker . I had my mechanic at my job take a look at it and he told me that it could be either the thermostat is stuck or the motor is passing the compression to the radiator. So he got to work on it to check the thermostat and when he took out the water neck it had no thermostat . He showed me how the coolant was fomeing and said that that was signs of a bad gasket in the engine and was passing the compression .



I have 2 options

1. Take the motor and rebuild that one or,

2. Take the motor out of my 88 SE and put it in the 86.



The SE motor runs great and stronge but it smokes a little at start up which some people tell me that is normal but the 86 does not?



I was also thinking if the 86 motor aint in bad shape rebuild it with 89-92 S5 TII rotors put third gen intake manifolds and have some turbo fun down the road



Sorry for the long post but any info would help.

 

Put a new Mazda OEM thermostat in it and see how it runs before you go ripping the motor out. Cost is around $20 at your Mazda dealer, that includes a new gasket. Congrats on your purchase, $350 is a great price.

 

yeah, i would double check to make sure that motor is good



mike

 

Does the motor smoke when it starts to overheat? If the "gasket" your mechanic is referring to inside the motor is shot...which is really the waterjacket o-ring that goes around the housings(at least I'm assuming he's referring to that)..then the car will smoke like hell! Check that thermostat!

 

Well the car never smokes!!! Not even when it heats up. But when it gets hot It will not stay on. Like if the temp gets to about 3/4 way up the car will just turn off then it will not stay on. Like I can start it and it will die right away. I already have both cars right here at my work already im just trying to get more info on what it can be before I start hacking into both cars. The 86 has a little stutter to it it is not constant but like it stutters then it goes away then it comes back? There is also a little nipple right in between the 5/6 port actuators on right on the LIM that it sucks air in. If I put my finger on it the idel drops a little(BTW: the car idels at like 2K rpm) And i noticed that that the pressure sensor dosent have the little hoes conected to it do you guys think it goes there?



Thanks for the help

Any extra info would help

 

Is there any coolant leaking anywhere that you can tell like from the rad at all or below the water pump? Did you take off the alt and w/p belt and check how the water pump pulley spins? Also, be careful when putting in the new thermostat.... OEM thermostat will sit in the little groove in the water pump housing, then put sticky gasket over that, then water neck... and don't torque the **** out of the water neck bolts.. only like 12-13 lbs I think.. the w/p housings crack pretty easy from my experience.



Its makes a lot more sense to troubleshoot the overheating rather than just rebuild like your mechanic wants.



I'm at work so I cant check but I'm almost positive the boost sensor line connects to that LIM nipple you are talking about.... that line should have an orifice in it also so use the same one from your parts car.