2001 mazda MPV overheating

Asked by Brittney Aug 17, 2023 at 03:45 PM about the 2001 Mazda MPV ES

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Van keeps overheating I've replaced the thermostat,
the water pump, and the whole coolant overflow tank. I
don't seem to have any leaks and I ran a blue devil
treatment in it but when my mechanic did it he flushed
the radiator but not the motor. Also my heat isn't
working now and I just replaced the thermostat with a
fail safe thermostat. I don't know what to do I've sunk
so much into the van. Please help thank you so much

2 Answers

39,955

Did you do all that work or did the " mechanic " do it ? A simple compression test could have saved you some money , I think your " mechanic " sucks , The thing is 22 years old and probably has a blown head gasket , Find another mechanic .

157,515

Blue Devil is good for a blown head gasket or even a cracked head as a band aid. But you have to follow the instructions exactly to the tee! The fact that your heater is not working is a classic sign of the cooling system passages in the engine being clogged and the heater core is probably clogged now too. You need to flush the cooling system with a chemical cleaner to get all the rust and junk out of the system. Be sure to flush the whole system, not just the radiator. Also, after the flush, when you refill the cooling system be sure there's no air trapped in the cooling system. That will also cause the heater not to be hot and the engine to overheat. To check for a blown head gasket use a cooling system pressure tester with the engine cold. Pressurize the system and let it sit for 15 minutes. If the gauge doesn't drop within that time you have no leaks. Now, with the system still pressurized, start the engine. If the needle on your pressure tester gauge bounces with the engine running, the head gasket is blown. No bouncing, no blown head gasket. Hope that helps! Jim

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