1992 Mazda MPV

NMFARLOW

MEMBER
1992 MAZDA MPV

I have a '92 Mazda MPV, 3.0 V6 with 172,000 miles on it, it's been a great car but right after I first got it it overheated on me one night, so a friend and I messed around with it one day and he ended up tightening a belt tensioner and it never overheated after that. But, about 5 months after this happened, a friend and I were riding around going to a guitar store one saturday I was off work, and the battery voltage indicator light came on with it still running and so did the fuel light, and then about another mile up the road it started overheating so we quickly got it parked and I discovered that the water pump/alternator belt had broken. About 2 weeks ago I replaced that belt, it's still overheating though. Why is that?

1 Reply

HIPPO800

MEMBER
29 POSTS

The Mazda V6 motor is designed to hold 100 mph sustained speeds all day, even in hot weather.
Well not uphill, or while towing a trailer, ha, ha.
So, the average owner should never experience overheating, at 55 mph.
I suppose a thermostat can be stuck or jambed or installed reverse-wise.
If the belt is breaking it is overloaded somehow.
Is the waterpump easy to turn, and is it shaky at the flange?
Is there an obstruction in front of the radiator?
If there is coolant in the engine at all, then check the thermostat.
Yeah, it's in a pretty housing to the lower right of the waterpump.
As an aside, check the timing belt installation at # 1 TDC, to see if all the marks line up. And the ignition timing is 11 deg. As per specs.
Even if the EFI is giving too much fuel it should still not overheat.
The first thing I suspect when there is a malfunction is sabotage.
Sometimes the owner doesn't care and just wants to race the car with the ISS.
Even the old Ford flatheads could run forever without overheating, but these are different times and everyone wants $$$$$$.