Mazda 323,Mazda 626 & Mazda 929 Whether the compact 323, the mid sized 626, or the full sized 929, these vehicles remain very popular even though production has stopped.

323 (93) radiator head cracked -> leak

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Old Feb 23, 2007 | 03:36 PM
  #1  
mazda_roller's Avatar
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Default 323 (93) radiator head cracked -> leak

Hello again, first thanks for the support (babyhuey, ginman) for my last question. I was able to track down the heater problem to the missing coolant due to the radiator leak which now makes me write this new post.

I think I have found the problem which caused the sudden missing coolant fluid. It's the plastic top part of the radiator which is cracked. Pic (1) part #1 Theres quite a lot of coolant oozing out of there and it's causing a lot of smoke when it eventually burns on the hot parts of the engine while driving (this of course after refilling the coolant ). And I wonder how good it is when that stuff gets sucked into the engine through the air intake.

I have checked on a Mazda parts site for the part http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=getLocator&siteid=214264& chapter=AMH690&appSectionid=8&groupid=1001 1&subgroupid=20114&componentid=61415&m ake=22&model=323&year=1993&graphicID=E 690025&callout=1&catalogid=1
and unfortunatly it seems that this plastic piece comes as part of the radiator which goes for 485$ which is a lot considering my current financial situation (plus labour as I cant replace that piece myself).

Now my question to the more experienced in this forum: Can I go about this myself doing a quick and dirty fix or do I have to go to the workshop and buy a new part? Is there a way to fix that with glue or similar, I guess any kind of fix will have to withstand a certain amount of pressure and heat. So silicone wont do the job I guess. Some epoxy? JB-Weld?

Anyway, here some pics of the problem.
1. Diagram from online mazda parts (#1 radiator top is busted)
2. With cold motor and cleaned the crack is clearly visible.
3. Close up of the crack. This photo also shows how porous and "aged" the plastic of that piece is.
4. With motor running for ~1 minute.



[IMG]local://upfiles/8598/A326E25E20424427A7BF583EA23D9E40.gif[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/8598/F402D4AC01034CEF85774D8150879F71.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/8598/39C0E80957AA482F9D4DF1B2ECB4B925.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/8598/00C7B2462A2A491BA73A407FBBB25038.jpg[/IMG]
 
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Old Mar 12, 2007 | 11:25 PM
  #2  
mazda_roller's Avatar
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Default RE: 323 (93) radiator head cracked -> leak

To not leave this thread open I will write down my experience with the fix I tried.

I tried to seal the crack with SuperWeld. Well the application is pretty easy and straightforward and it seemed to hold at first. It just took one drive though and when there was enough heat and pressure from the radiator the super weld just detached from the radiator plastic.

So when the type of plastic is not know and the max temperature of the epoxy found in the store is not really high enough, bring it to the mechanic. It cost me 200C$ for a new radiator and 70C$ for I guess an hours mechanic work. Plus coolant and tax of course. Spending time and money to get new coolant, epoxy was not really worthwile it in the end.

cheers
 
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