Help with Mazda E2000 Power Van - Overheat!

[denlumawig]

Hi ask ko lang if anyone from here knows/recommend kung dapat ko bang lagyan ng "coolant" kung eto na yung warning sa dashboard? May mga nakausap na kasi ako mga mechanic sabi nila tama na daw na i-refill ko yung tubig sa radiator? pero simula nun lagi na lang mabilis uminit yung gauge ng temp ng van? lalo na kung idle or na-stuck sa traffic.. sabi kasi ng mga mechanic na nakausap ko kapag naglagay ako ng coolant mas likely na ma-damage yung engine due to rusting...

By the way may extra fan ng nakalagay sa radiator pero still nag-o-overheat pa din, hindi ko na alam what to do, Patulong naman sa mga nakakaalam/expert, or best pls recommend me sa shop na knowlegeable preferrable near dito sa south (Paranaque, Laspinas area) Thank you guys.

[duskylim]

Dear Sir:

The problem with most vans here in the Philippines is our hot weather and the long and restricted airflow paths that they have going to the radiator.

Put both together and you have a recipe for disaster.

First, bring your vehicle to a car wash that has a high pressure cleaning system (steam cleaning is even better!) and have them spray your radiator and aircon condenser to make sure its not blocked or choked with dirt and debris.

That should help somewhat.

The coolant issue for me is iffy. If you are willing to spend a lot of money you can go to the dealer (casa) and hopefully he will sell you the original coolant mixture intended for your vehicle.

Unfortunately most dealers here treat their customers like milking cows so expect to be bled dry for a few liters of water and ethylene glycol mix (or other water-miscible, high-boiling point chemicals and a little water pump lubricant).

Most of us are on a budget so we are mainly stuck with plain old water. But don't use just any water - Tap Water is definitely OUT - don't use it because it contains dissolved minerals that will deposit on the insides of your radiator and your engine - which is called SCALING.

So whats left for you?

Try using a good quality bottled water that has been through a vapor-compression process - ANO???!!! - It means it was distilled (boiled into water vapor) and condensed (re-liquified) by cooling and compressing it.

This process removes ALL the MINERALS in the water. So there's none left to form scale. Napakalinis ng tubig na yan.

Don't use any ordinary bottled or purified water from a water station however - you must use DISTILLED water, because even Reverse Osmosis water treatment still leaves some minerals behind.

Buy a 5 or 6 liter bottle of (example) ABSOLUTE drinking water and use that to fill your radiator.

To clean out the scale, get underneath you car (the only way) WHEN the ENGINE is COLD and open the radiators drain plug and drain out about a liter or 2 of water - then refill with ABSOLUTE bottled water again.

Do this at least ONCE a Week - if the scaling is bad, at least twice a week.
The clean bottled water you put in will (as you drive around) dissolve some of the scale deposits back into solution.

As you drain out the water weekly, you are in effect taking some of the scale out - that is, you are cleaning out the cooling system, and when you put back clean bottled water - nabawasan na yung dumi!

Do it often enough and you will slowly remove most of the radiator's dirt and scale - ta dah!

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Dusky Lim