I have a Mazda 323f 1.6L Manual (approx 100k miles). It's been working fine for years without any problems, but this winter there have been issues. I was driving to work last week, and after driving on the motorway doing 70mph, I reached some traffic lights. When trying to set off, the engine seemed to have no power and started jumping about.
I checked the Engine temperature, and it was fine. So I got out and looked at the coolant and it was empty (though I had checked it 2 days earlier and it was over half full). I simply sat in the car and waited for a while until everything cooled down, and it worked again after half an hour. I managed to get it off the motorway and then went to the local garage and filled it with coolant.
I braved the worst and drove the car home again, and it managed fine at the slower speed when I kept to about 30-40mph. There were again a few times when it started to jump about again, where I played with the gears and it started to move, so I pulled over and looked at the engine. The coolant was still there, but when I looked at the dipstick, oil was splattered up the entire length of it.
I managed to get it home in the end, and have left it parked up over weekend. I looked this morning and all the coolant had vanished. There were no visible leaks (in the snow under the car), and the engine oil is only slightly above full (which I know can cause problems with the engine pressure, but when I say slightly, I mean only very slightly).
I'm guessing that there is a leak in the cooling system somewhere, but I'm not sure because, like I said, there was no blue marks or drops in the snow. I also find it strange how the temperature gauge didn't have any problems either? I'm pretty stumped to be honest.
Does anyone have any ideas? I'd like to have a vague idea of what my problem is before I take it to the garage at some point this week. Cheers!
I checked the Engine temperature, and it was fine. So I got out and looked at the coolant and it was empty (though I had checked it 2 days earlier and it was over half full). I simply sat in the car and waited for a while until everything cooled down, and it worked again after half an hour. I managed to get it off the motorway and then went to the local garage and filled it with coolant.
I braved the worst and drove the car home again, and it managed fine at the slower speed when I kept to about 30-40mph. There were again a few times when it started to jump about again, where I played with the gears and it started to move, so I pulled over and looked at the engine. The coolant was still there, but when I looked at the dipstick, oil was splattered up the entire length of it.
I managed to get it home in the end, and have left it parked up over weekend. I looked this morning and all the coolant had vanished. There were no visible leaks (in the snow under the car), and the engine oil is only slightly above full (which I know can cause problems with the engine pressure, but when I say slightly, I mean only very slightly).
I'm guessing that there is a leak in the cooling system somewhere, but I'm not sure because, like I said, there was no blue marks or drops in the snow. I also find it strange how the temperature gauge didn't have any problems either? I'm pretty stumped to be honest.
Does anyone have any ideas? I'd like to have a vague idea of what my problem is before I take it to the garage at some point this week. Cheers!