I know there are two kinds of coolant mazda uses in the 3, one is FL22, the other is "regular". Well, I don't have FL22, never see it either. I have the green stuff. For a moment, I thought the coolant is the tradiational green stuff before the extended-life thingy came out. This kind of coolantcontains silicates to protect cooling system. I read the manual, and it says not to use any coolant that contains silicates. The extended-life stuff does not contain silicates, but usually is dyed not in green, it has 5 year protection life. The Mazda3 manual said to replace coolant after initial 4 years and then every 2 year afterward, which suggests their coolant may not be the extended-life stuff. So, here's the question to the wise souls on this board, what kind of coolant is in mazda3 (other than FL22)? What coolant can we use safely for replacement?

(BTW, I asked dealers, part store, but they don't seem to have a definitive answer).

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While it is true that traditional coolants containing silicate and/or phosphate are green, any marketer can color their product green if they want to. These days,there are severalgreen-colored coolants that do not contain silicates or phosphates. I think they do this because buyers expect coolant to be green, based on history. Also helps with leak detection if your coolant is green, versus being clear.

Silicates and phosphatesare harmful to the environment (we don't want these ingredients in our water), so any coolant that advertises itself to be environmentally friendly is a pretty safe bet to be both silicate and phosphate free.

Silicates can gel, and/or cause the coolant to become cloudy.

Also, the new ingredients (the silicate/phosphate alternative)are less hard on aluminum and the cooling system's hoses.And they are easier on the water pump. Environment aside, that's the reason Mazda specifies that you use them.

My educatedspeculation (don't know for sure) isthat Mazda3s out of the factory contain a silicon/phosphate free coolant that simply happens to be green colored.

http://www.machinerylubrication.com/...?articleid=841

 

Urban, thanks.......so the universal stuff from part stores/wal-mart would be OK, I assume. it's usually dyed in yellow.

Here's a unrealted issue: about tire rotation. my 1st rotation was at 7500 miles, and inner shoulder of the rear times are slightly worn due to negative camber in the rear.
I recently started to notice increased tire noise, mainly due to the local road being re-surfaced so one can hear many things that can not be heard before. Now at 12,000miles,
my rear tires' inner shoulders are lower than other treads, and the front tires still have the worn inner shoulders. all 4's are bad now. Esp for the front, the contact patch area is reduced.

I am wondering, (and seeking approval from the board members here ;-), it would be better NOT to rotate. Let the rear wear out, and then replace with new one. Front would be front having full contact to road, once they are worn, then replace. Good idea?


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wine ... some parts stores sell coolant specifically for newer Japanese cars (most commonly Toyota or Honda), I would have high confidencein acoolantspecified as being good forToyotaor Honda, since theyare on the same page as Mazda when it comes to not wanting silicates or phosphates in the cooling system

All four tires going bad after just 12K miles? Unless your last name is Earnhardt (or you drive like it), that's seriously disappointing. The idea of having to buy a new set of tires every 15K is ridiculous. With winter coming up, having good grip from all four tires has value.

 

well, I probably did not say it clearly. The tread is still good, it's just that the inner shoulders are a bit lower due to rear neg camber, and when they were swapped to the front, the contact patch area reduces and it's making some noise, which is what i am worrying about. Just thought it might be better if I hadn't done the rotation. That's all.
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