just swapped in a 3.0 with 48k miles. was running good, happened to start paying more attention to my gauges and when I start my truck, my water temp gauge reads like 1/5. when I start it up and let it run for about 2 minutes, its all the way at the top of the gauge. took off the radiator cap and there was dirt gunked in the hole. my trucks a 2wd, so therefore I don't go mudding, and I have had the truck running for a few days, so it hasn't been to many places. another note, I am still using the hoses from my old motor, same radiator as my old motor, and everything else. I was a little low on antifreeze, so I filled it up, and then more dirt came up, so I overflowed it to get the dirt out, and it just keeps coming up. it seems to be running a little hot too, but, I have no idea whats wrong, and my dad is clueless. so my question is, what might it be? do I need a new thermostat or temp thingy lol, or what? I'm going to flush the radiator tomorrow. when I flushed it when I did the swap, it didnt have any dirt or anything in it, so I have no clue. :/ helppppppppppppp please.

 

is it dirt or rusty insides coming loose? is there any damage to the outside of the rad?

 

appears to be dirt/mud. and no sir.

 

i dunno. sorry. gl.

 

Was the rad taken out and placed hose side down on the ground??? Flush flush and flush some more make sure it's all out. Take out the thermostat and use a garden hose to flush the engine as well!

 

hose is the easiest way to flush it all out.

my mazda's coolant was either the wrong coolant or it just got super dirty.

so i pulled the hose on the bottom to drain it, and just put the hose to the radiator till the water came out clear.

rinse and repeat

 

drained the antifreeze that I just put in, came out SUPER dirty. flushed the radiator a dozen times. bought a new thermostat, flushed out the motor, and put everything back on. well, drove it around and its still getting hot super quick and its not even dirty anymore.

 

water pump? they dont always let you know when they go... also check the clutch fan

 

I'm going to replace the water pump tomorrow. I have some of the same symptoms people are having with a bad one.. when you accelerate, it whines. and I'm losing antifreeze. thanks dan.