Coming from an s2000
10-16-14, 08:05 PM
#1
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Coming from an s2000
Greetings everyone!
Ive recently picked up my 93 last month and been getting adjusted to the car. There are a complete different set of sounds to listen to with this engine and smells. One thing that is concerning is the white smoke until at operating temps. It doesnt appear to have any negative effects at this time. COolant remains and oil is not dropping. PFC shows no knock and temps seem to be fine.
Is it normal for these cars to smoke till they are up to operating temp and you give it a few give romps? Seems after opening up the tap the car runs completely fine. Or do I have a going seal?
Ive recently picked up my 93 last month and been getting adjusted to the car. There are a complete different set of sounds to listen to with this engine and smells. One thing that is concerning is the white smoke until at operating temps. It doesnt appear to have any negative effects at this time. COolant remains and oil is not dropping. PFC shows no knock and temps seem to be fine.
Is it normal for these cars to smoke till they are up to operating temp and you give it a few give romps? Seems after opening up the tap the car runs completely fine. Or do I have a going seal?
10-17-14, 09:12 AM
#2
from an earlier thread fwiw..........
originally posted by sgtblue:
A coolant seal failure is a common problem....at least in the fds of which i'm familiar. Imo it's the price for forced induction. Boost is power. More power= more heat= more stress. Na rotaries have the problem, but afaik, not nearly as soon as the fds.
Still, before doing anything, make sure you have a failed seal. Besides the 'champagne test" these are all the symptoms i can think of... But no single symptom by itself is confirmation. Many symptoms could be from other causes. However the more symptoms/conditions you have in combination, the more likely it is a coolant seal failure.........
*stumbling idle on cold start-up that clears up quickly. The combustion chamber is fouled with coolant. As soon as it's purged or burned up, your car will run fine until the next cold start.
*slightly sweet exhaust smell, especially on start-up. See above. Coolant is being burned and it has a distinctive smell.
*"white smoke" (steam) on cold start-up even in warm/hot weather. See above.
*a coolant over-flow tank that is over-flowing. This will usually result in a puddle under the car near the right front...the area of the over-flow tank. When coolant gets hot it expands and that's what the overflow tank is for. But with a failed seal the natural vacuum that forms and pulls that coolant back out as the engine cools down is lost. That leaves that coolant stranded in the tank and eventually it overflows.
*coolant loss that isn't explained by a puddle on your garage floor. It's being consumed by the engine and going out the exhaust.
*spiking temps that seemingly recover on their own almost as quickly. Air pockets in the cooling system allow steam to form. That will cause temp spiking. This is different than a rising temp just after a period of hard boost. It can happen as your steadily cruising down the highway.
*boiling sounds after shut down even shortly after properly "burping" the system. See above.
*failed coolant system pressure test.
*failed test of coolant for hydrocarbons.
*unusually clean plugs, or wet plugs if you pull them right away after starting the car. (sometimes you can even smell the coolant)
*one or more episodes of serious overheating in the car's history regardless of miles. (from what i've read, 115 c./240 f. Seems to be the critical number for oem seals to begin to degrade)
*an otherwise well maintained and cared-for fd approaching 100k miles or so.
As for a band aid, some have used one of the many "stop-leak" coolant additives to give them a bit more time but use at your own risk. While it's not anything that will leave you on the side of the road, a failed coolant seal can easily lead to erosion/rust/pitting of the coolant seal grooves in the irons. That can cause a junk iron and make the inevitable rebuild more expensive.
originally posted by sgtblue:
A coolant seal failure is a common problem....at least in the fds of which i'm familiar. Imo it's the price for forced induction. Boost is power. More power= more heat= more stress. Na rotaries have the problem, but afaik, not nearly as soon as the fds.
Still, before doing anything, make sure you have a failed seal. Besides the 'champagne test" these are all the symptoms i can think of... But no single symptom by itself is confirmation. Many symptoms could be from other causes. However the more symptoms/conditions you have in combination, the more likely it is a coolant seal failure.........
*stumbling idle on cold start-up that clears up quickly. The combustion chamber is fouled with coolant. As soon as it's purged or burned up, your car will run fine until the next cold start.
*slightly sweet exhaust smell, especially on start-up. See above. Coolant is being burned and it has a distinctive smell.
*"white smoke" (steam) on cold start-up even in warm/hot weather. See above.
*a coolant over-flow tank that is over-flowing. This will usually result in a puddle under the car near the right front...the area of the over-flow tank. When coolant gets hot it expands and that's what the overflow tank is for. But with a failed seal the natural vacuum that forms and pulls that coolant back out as the engine cools down is lost. That leaves that coolant stranded in the tank and eventually it overflows.
*coolant loss that isn't explained by a puddle on your garage floor. It's being consumed by the engine and going out the exhaust.
*spiking temps that seemingly recover on their own almost as quickly. Air pockets in the cooling system allow steam to form. That will cause temp spiking. This is different than a rising temp just after a period of hard boost. It can happen as your steadily cruising down the highway.
*boiling sounds after shut down even shortly after properly "burping" the system. See above.
*failed coolant system pressure test.
*failed test of coolant for hydrocarbons.
*unusually clean plugs, or wet plugs if you pull them right away after starting the car. (sometimes you can even smell the coolant)
*one or more episodes of serious overheating in the car's history regardless of miles. (from what i've read, 115 c./240 f. Seems to be the critical number for oem seals to begin to degrade)
*an otherwise well maintained and cared-for fd approaching 100k miles or so.
As for a band aid, some have used one of the many "stop-leak" coolant additives to give them a bit more time but use at your own risk. While it's not anything that will leave you on the side of the road, a failed coolant seal can easily lead to erosion/rust/pitting of the coolant seal grooves in the irons. That can cause a junk iron and make the inevitable rebuild more expensive.
10-18-14, 10:43 PM
#3
Hmm.. I also recently picked up a FD, and mine does not smoke at all at startup or at any other time. How is your compression? If you have white smoke & can smell coolant (sweet) most likely your coolant seals are going bad/are bad 
. Good luck with the car in any case!
. Good luck with the car in any case!
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