Howdy boys and girls! Let's see who gets the winning guess.
Relevant Info: 75K miles. Thermostat and water pump changed at 57,500. Expansion tank, hoses, and coolant temp sensor changed 3 weeks ago. All parts are OEM. Radiator is original.
Upon completing the recent job she was filled with fresh coolant and bled. Drove her on a 200 mile round trip with no issues.
Checked coolant level after that trip and needed to add about 2 ounces of coolant. I assumed that was due to an air bubble or the fluid settling out after the initial fill.
Drove her on and off on shorter trips (< 30 minutes) for the next few weeks.
Fast forward to today:
Left for a funeral up in north Jersey (about 200 miles round trip). About 15 minutes into my drive and cruising comfortably north at highway speed I see the low coolant light come on. Temp needle was dead center.
Fortunately I was right at an exit. I sliced to the exit and jumped right off into a parking lot and shut her down. Temp needle never moved off 12 oclock.
Opened up the expansion tank and found her bone dry. A quick visual (looking down from the top of the motor) showed some coolant pooling on the top of the lower splash shield.
Called the wife and had her check the garage floor. Sure enough, evidence of coolant leakage.
I grabbed my trusty emergency coolant supply that I keep in the trunk and poured it in.
I then began the 20 minute drive home (surface streets this time, no highway) with my eyes glued to the cluster.
She made it home with no further indicator lights. Temp needle remained at 12 oclock.
I parked her in the garage, hopped in the Mazda, and set about my day.
I won't be able to get at the engine bay until Friday. I have my own suspicion of the cause but I figured we could all take a shot at blindly diagnosing before I get in there.
Thoughts?
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Originally Posted by zhpnsnv
