Overheating, losing coolant but don't ever see any on ground or in oil. Parked it last winter with no coolant in it thought it was completely empty of water but after I moved it two freeze plugs came

Asked by Keri Nov 11, 2015 at 03:14 PM about the 2003 Mazda MAZDASPEED Protege 4 Dr Turbo Sedan (2003.5)

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Any ideas what might be going on and if
the two freeze plugs coming out might
have caused damage. It should have
been empty because I was having to fill it
up completely with water before I drove
any where.

7 Answers

30,955

You said that it's not leaking so the only other area it could be going is into the engine. Do you get a lot of white smoke from the exhaust ? If you do than there is a good chance that your leaking though the head gasket ... my guess is that you over-heated the engine and warped the head.

1 people found this helpful.
30,955

Did u have the freeze plugs replaced?

1 people found this helpful.
30,955

Keri ,,,, Re-post your question because IMO you have almost destroyed that car ...You ignored the original problem and used water to avoid fixing it ... the water froze and pushed out the freeze plugs .. and now you are obviously driving a car with serious overheating issues and you can't figure out why .... I hope you have lots and lots of money because at this point ... if I'm correct ... you ignoring the original problem is gonna cost around $3000

Sorry for not responding sooner, but this happened last summer. I only drove it for about a week after it started over heating and it only over heated on me once so I made sure to only drive it when necessary and only short distances because I knew I would lose all coolant quickly. After filling it with coolant three times fully from losing it all I put water in my last time I drove it because I was broke. From the last distance I drove it I knew how much it would take to fill the next time I drove it so I knew it had to pretty much be empty so I parked it because I didn't want to mess anything else up until I figured out what was going on but there isn't anyone in my area that has ever seen a car that looks like mine under the hood so they won't mess with it. I've made sure to start it every couple months just to make sure it will still run but I havent drove it anywhere since last summer. I also don't let it run long just a start and then I turn it right off. I wouldn't have known the two freeze plugs came out but I had to push it towards my house more and there the two freeze plugs layed.

30,955

The "Good news" is that the car still starts and may have little damage but you failed to answer if the freeze plugs replaced? We can't do any more until they are. I think they have a tool too push them in ... but you have to buy new ones ,,, you can't reuse the old ones ...~~ Here's an example ~~https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTIEtK3e1o0 .. If you have a problem accessing the plug holes a Trick I use to replace seals that will work on F plugs is to find a socket (ratchet wrench) that fits inside the plug and use a hammer until the plug is even with the engine ... you can use Permatex gasket or Permatex sealant around the top lip. Send me a picture if you want ... I can get more info from the Pic if you have a problem ,,, Cold weathers coming (at least here in Md. so you may want to use the remaining good days left ... good luck ... Tom

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