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Leaking Radiator Fluid and Squeaky Brakes
We've got some e-mail to answer this week from one of our viewers, Jeff G., from Brampton, Ontario. He's got a '98 Mazda 626. He's got a couple of questions. He says, first of all, is it normal to top off the rad fluid between four to six months? He cannot notice any fluid leaking on his parking spot. It's not normal for a vehicle, particularly a Japanese vehicle, to leak fluid of any sort. So I'd be maybe not alarmed, but mildly concerned about this.
First of all, Jeff, what you want to do is have a look at all the hose connections in your cooling system and see if there's any signs of leakage there. Remember that all automotive coolants contain some kind of tracer dye to identify that fluid. So, if you look at the fluid colour in your overflow tank or rad reservoir, compare that colour to any stains that you may see around joints. That could, in many cases, flag or identify minor leakage. If you see minor leakage, obviously take care of the leakage at those spots. If this amount of fluid that you've had to top up was very small in nature I don't think it's great cause for alarm.
One other area, though, that you should keep an eye on, any car that loses radiator fluid, a good place to look is underneath the oil fill cap. And this applies to any car. If you see condensation or moisture underneath that oil fill cap, and it starts to make a sludgy mess that has a bit of coloration similar to the coolant dye, that is cause for alarm. There are a number of engines - and I'm not saying yours is one of them - but there are some engines on the market today that leak a little bit of antifreeze in with the engine oil and one of the first places you'll see it is under the oil fill cap. So look in that area.
His second question is regarding his brakes. He says he had the brakes checked at his dealership and was told he didn't need new pads, but he can still hear squeaking. Jeff, it's not uncommon for disc brake systems to produce some squeal and they may not, in fact, be worn out. That's probably the case on your car.
One thing you want to look for on a car with squeaking brakes is on the backside of the brake pads, see if you see a rusty spot like this. This contact patch between the backside of the pad and the caliper when it gets rust will produce a squeak. If you take a piece of emery paper, clean the rust off, apply a little bit of Molly Lube, which is available at auto parts stores, just a thin film in this area and put it back together, in many cases that will get rid of the squeak.
Also, many manufacturers, and Mazda is one of them, have what they call a shim kit or insulator kit available for their front brake pads. And in many cases, this kit is available as a separate entity. It may come with the pads, but you can also buy it as an independent kit. And replacing this insulator or shim kit, which isolates the backside of the pad from the caliper will, in most cases, get rid of the squeal.
'Til next week, I'm Bill Gardiner for Motoring 2002.
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