mx5cartalk.com

I just got home from work (5km) and noticed a strange hissing noise as I opened the rollerdoor, and a smell of hot coolant

The water temp was in the middle, but the expansion tank was empty when I lifted the bonnet (topped it up a few hundred km ago), and after I switched the ignition off I could hear a hiss coming from the back of the engine, so I think a heater hose may have gone. Would the local Repco carry them, and is it fairly simple to change them on the driveway?

chances are Repco won't have them in stock, but they can order them for sure & it'll be arrive in about 2 days or so. they might have a similar hose from another car that'd work or a generic hose that could be bent into the same shape.

i got silicone hoses when my engine got changed cause i know their not hoses that anyone wants to change since it requires more carefulness not to break the copper tubes on the heater core.

should be do-able for a DIYer but getting the hose onto the back of the engine could be tricky, especially since you said doing the oil filter on these cars isn't easy to get to

Adam, my heater hose (engine-to-heater core) burst a couple weeks ago and I have made enquiries about a kevlar reinforced complete hose set from the UK.
Cost is about $40GBP per set, but Im hoping to get a discount through a bulk/group buy
Trust me, you don't want these things to burst.
I've also made enquiries about silicone hoses, but they are not custom bent.

If you are keen just to replace yours with OEM, then I think Mazda would want around $25 for just one hose.

Oh sh*t... I'm not going to be able to drive to work tonight

Is there anything I should look for to tell which hose it is? Or anything else that could have caused the hissing noise?

I had the same problem and it ended up being the hose from the back of the head to the base of where the oil filter screws on. absolute prick of a job - best of luck, you'll enjoy doing this one lol

I just got a length of hose from repco with some hose clamps, worked fine until I could source the correct hose.

Ugh, screw doing that on the driveway... Pit or hoist or nothing, I refuse to lay on the floor.

Now I need to find the bike pump..

Assuming you have a 1.8, look below the CAS. You may have/had a leak from there that has been dripping oil on the heater hose below it and thus perishing it. Make sure you cut the hose off the heater pipes - they are very fragile.

If I'm going to be doing the hoses, but don't know for sure that it is a hose (could be a radiator top or bottom tank, I know this rad was kinda yellow when I got it) should I look into getting a new radiator at the same time? Does anyone do alloy ones?

I could get a Cooling Pro radiator and all new heater and radiator hoses from Mania for about $560, is that worth it in the long run?

I guess if I end up fitting my turbo kit the radiator could come in handy

Hey Adam long time no see!

If it's a hose, those 2 heater hoses at the rear fire wall are an easy replacement (even the one under the coil packs) When i lost one of my hoses, i replaced both of mine with genuine mazda ones a yr ago or so, $40 or something if i remember correctly, you could also use normal Goss heater hose from sprints but the preformed bends make it a little difficult for straight hose to form to as it flattens out alot on bends.
I couldnt remember the exact hose so they pulled out the manual there and i just pointed out which ones they were.

L.

I can't even get my hands in there to change over to the new coil-pack I bought Do you need to be under the car to do it?

Adam_NAclubman wrote:I can't even get my hands in there to change over to the new coil-pack I bought Do you need to be under the car to do it?

yes you can you big girl.

going underneathe to replace would make it a harder job wouldn't it..

shouldn't be too hard to find where the leak is coming from, fill it up with d-water, run it till it gets hot enough & you can see with a torch where the water is coming from?

Adam_NAclubman wrote:I can't even get my hands in there to change over to the new coil-pack I bought Do you need to be under the car to do it?

Nah its just a little fiddly with an open ender and ring spanner, I may have even undone the bolt holding the coil pack bracket from memory. you can do it! improvise!

Those hoses can be hard to get off the pipe stubs too, to make it easier get a rag over the end of some pilers (to protect the hose) lightly grip it spin it around slightly to crack the hose seal from the pipe then wriggle it free.

L.

Lucky_Luke wrote:

Adam_NAclubman wrote:I can't even get my hands in there to change over to the new coil-pack I bought Do you need to be under the car to do it?

Nah its just a little fiddly with an open ender and ring spanner, I may have even undone the bolt holding the coil pack bracket from memory. you can do it! improvise!

L.

Hey.... If I can do it, anyone can do it. No improvisation needed, but removing the engine hoisting loop thingy helps. Did I just get too technical there?