Mazda 3 on Vacation

GR-8 · Postby **GR-8** » Wed Jan 05, 2011 9:14

The turn signal bulsbs are super cheap. I'm glad I did them. Got them off ebay aswell.

bellalyssa · Postby **bellalyssa** » Wed Jan 05, 2011 9:14

Ryanmmacoustic wrote:Did you buy a OEM grille or an aftermarket?

I can also help you with the rear wiper delete if you want.
Just let me know, and we can knock it out on a saturday or something

OEM because it's the lower grille. Mine is all busted up.

I'm looking to take it back to a stock "look" at least which is why I'm sticking with the OEM parts. Maybe sometime this spring when snow isn't an issue I'll hit you up about the delete. I'm just a tad concerned about being able to see out the back window. Have you had any issues as of yet?

Ryanmmacoustic · Postby **Ryanmmacoustic** » Wed Jan 05, 2011 9:14

bellalyssa wrote: I'm just a tad concerned about being able to see out the back window. Have you had any issues as of yet?

Not until the snow finally came. And even then it hasn't been bad enough to really distort my vision.
I usually just clean it once a week, typically when I stop to get fuel.
But originally I was going to get a speed3 wing, because with the speed3 wing air can run over the top of your car, under the wing, and push the water down the back.

But it still isn't a big deal

bellalyssa · Postby **bellalyssa** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:14

99.9% sure my heater is going out. Has anyone run into this issue with cars over 100K?

erod550 · Postby **erod550** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:14

My heater in my Miata has been struggling with the cold temps. It's like it can heat the air X degrees only, so the colder it gets, the less heat I get. I don't think it's my heater core being clogged though because that's the only place where the coolant cycles out of the back of the block. When it warms up a little I'm going to check and see if the flapper door to the heater core is loose or disconnected from the slider and not opening all the way.

Either way, not having heat when it's -10 outside really sucks, lol.

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:14

You can try doing a real coolant flush (hook up the radiator to a garden hose with a fitting and the engine running so coolant is flowed out of the engine) to remove any gunk built up in the heater core.

Other, cheaper/lazier method is to simply swap the in/out hoses of the core to reverse the flow of coolant through the core to help break up any blockage. The main drawback to this and why I don't like is it is that's gunk is going to go somewhere, which means it could find a nice coolant passage in your head and block it up or get stuck in your water pump. Both could be very bad and worse than simply no heat.

My truck is the same way, the heater is very dependent on the outside ambient temp. Even worse is I don't have the option to recirculate air inside the cab so it always pulls outside air in.

bellalyssa · Postby **bellalyssa** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:14

I notice my heat a lot more when it's -10 outside. It just isn't as hot as it should be (in my eyes).

I wanted to do a coolant flush but I've been advised not to... More stuff on the "fix it" list.

On the bright side I ordered my new skid plate yesterday and it should be here by Friday

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:14

Who advised you not to do a coolant flush? A properly done coolant flush does 100 times more good than potential harm.

Hschlick84 · Postby **Hschlick84** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:14

hopefully the heater issue doesnt happen with the 2nd gen, if it does then ill have to bug you about it, lol

bellalyssa · Postby **bellalyssa** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 9:14

chickenwafer wrote:Who advised you not to do a coolant flush? A properly done coolant flush does 100 times more good than potential harm.

A friend who I should really learn not to listen to. Do you think the coolant flush could aid with the heating issue? Is there a particular type of coolant I should utilize? I've had very little experience with this.

bellalyssa · Postby **bellalyssa** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 9:14

Hschlick84 wrote:hopefully the heater issue doesnt happen with the 2nd gen, if it does then ill have to bug you about it, lol

Yeah lol. Let me know when your car gets to 100k and I'll help you out.

Postby **RX-7 Chris** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 9:14

I bet it is most likely the thermostat. My wife's saturn had the thermostat get stuck very slightly open and was letting a small amount of coolant pass through it. It made it so the car wouldn't heat up all the way. I would also do a coolant flush at the same time.

bellalyssa · Postby **bellalyssa** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 9:14

RX-7 Chris wrote:I bet it is most likely the thermostat. My wife's saturn had the thermostat get stuck very slightly open and was letting a small amount of coolant pass through it. It made it so the car wouldn't heat up all the way. I would also do a coolant flush at the same time.

It feels like that's what's happening. It gets warm... but not amazingly so. Thank you

erod550 · Postby **erod550** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 9:14

What is your temp gauge doing? Is it lower than it used to be or is it in the same spot as always? I don't think my issue is with the thermostat because my temp gauge is in the exact same spot after the car warms up no matter what the outside temp is.

My heater was back to blowing some heat this morning thanks to 30 degree warmer outside temps, heh.

bellalyssa · Postby **bellalyssa** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 9:14

erod550 wrote:What is your temp gauge doing? Is it lower than it used to be or is it in the same spot as always? I don't think my issue is with the thermostat because my temp gauge is in the exact same spot after the car warms up no matter what the outside temp is.

My heater was back to blowing some heat this morning thanks to 30 degree warmer outside temps, heh.

Temp gage stays in the same place as it always has. No movement there.

The more I research flushing the coolant sytem, the more I think I should replace the hoses while I'm there. I guess a good rule of thumb is every 100k and I'm there.

I am just not sure if the Mazdaspeed3 radiator hoses will fit.

Mazda 3 on Vacation

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