My mazda 626 keeps overheating and has a little white smoke emerging from under...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Phlyy D
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Phlyy D

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...the hood? The oil light also flashes every now and again. The oil, however, is full. So is the coolant. This started yesterday. I got the car out of the shop exactly one month ago for a replaced head gasket, timing belt and water pump.. so i doubt that would the problem (again).. but at this point I'm not really sure what to look at. Any advice would be great. It's a 2002 mazda 626.
 
make sure the fan is working. turn on the a/c, if the fan doesn't kick on the the fan motor or relay may be bad
 
That white smoke isn't smoke, it's vaporized/atomized coolant. You could have a blown head gasket (second worst case) or a cracked head (worst case). Or you might also just have a bad thermostat, bad water pump, a bad fan, or a bad radiator (like it could be clogged with rust or other crud).

Even though the water pump and head gasket were replaced, they could have screwed it up (particularly the head gasket, by using the wrong part, or by torqueing the bolts in the wrong order or to the wrong torque spec), or you could have gotten a defective part.

Also your problem may have been misdiagnosed as the head gasket to begin with when it was something else entirely.

Figure out PRECISELY where in the engine compartment that white "smoke" is coming from. If it isn't from the head, it probably isn't the head or gasket. (probably, not definitely) Regardless, wherever that "smoke" is coming from is going to need to be tightened or replaced in addition to whatever else you're fixing.

Also check to make sure there's no foam or anything like that in the oil or under the filler cap, and no oil in the coolant.
 
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