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Yes, engines are hot. But your upper radiator hose is 180, which is correct. And your lower hose is a little cooler at 170, which is also correct. Your coolant system appears to be working fine.
That's why you test things before tearing things apart and replacing perfectly good parts chasing a problem you don't have. Why the gauge reads different now,don't know,these are old cars... there are specs to test temperature gauge sender unit to see if its calibration is within parameters in fsm. That would be next logical step in diagnosing change in gauge reading.
The local cop inquired about my doing an "Italian tune up". I had to explain that the engine needs to be red lined or the plugs will foul. He said he never heard that before. It was on the tip of my tongue, "well if you weren't such a candy *** that has to buy a new American car every 4 hours years because you are too much of a dandy to work on it and you don't know about manly stuff, you wouldn't be making such an asinine comment".
Wiperless hatch installed Air filter washed and oiled, vacuumed a bunch of debris from tha radiator too. Last of my repro decals put on Roached out hood replaced with one in much better condition.
Huh, never knew you had the oil coolers and air filter up in there, Neat. Also, a Maryland plate (that is getting dangerously close to using my handle...)?
That's why you test things before tearing things apart and replacing perfectly good parts chasing a problem you don't have. Why the gauge reads different now,don't know,these are old cars... there are specs to test temperature gauge sender unit to see if its calibration is within parameters in fsm. That would be next logical step in diagnosing change in gauge reading.
Hey,
At what temperature should the thermostat begin to open? I just tested the one I had on the car it began to open at 193 and was fully open at 224. Is that considered a bad thermostat? I already replaced it with a OEM Mazda one. I will see when I drive the car in a trip longer than 40 mins if my coolant levels are back to normal.
Huh, never knew you had the oil coolers and air filter up in there, Neat. Also, a Maryland plate (that is getting dangerously close to using my handle...)?
It’s a recent acquisition, I’ll have it at the BBQ if you plan on goin.
Oh, I thought that was the supercharged car!
Well, I planned on being there, but may be going to retrieve a car from Arizona (non-rotary, unfortunately.)
Oh, I thought that was the supercharged car!
Well, I planned on being there, but may be going to retrieve a car from Arizona (non-rotary, unfortunately.)
Supercharged one still doesn’t have the interior put back in it lol. If you miss the bbq you’ll see the black on at some point.
At what temperature should the thermostat begin to open? I just tested the one I had on the car it began to open at 193 and was fully open at 224. Is that considered a bad thermostat? I already replaced it with a OEM Mazda one. I will see when I drive the car in a trip longer than 40 mins if my coolant levels are back to normal.
So after checking upper/lower hoses with results of 180/170 respectively,you drove the car and temps rose as indicated by gauge,how far up the gauge? If that's the case,did you check the hoses again,right there with infrared thermometer and what were the readings?
Thermostat calibrated to your engine/car should start opening around 160 degrees and be fully open at 180 degrees. A thermometer that you immerse in liquid is what is needed to accurately test thermostat,the infra red thermometer is not the tool for this job and the #s you got may reflect that. If they were accurate,the temp gauge would easily register near hot portion of gauge . The engine would be well on its way to overheating before thermostat opened. Safe to say you'll never find a 224 degree thermostat listed anywhere.
The thermostat you took out will have its heat range stamped into it,you could look for it and compare your test results to what you find there.
My diligent assistant watching for mistakes. Replaced dry rotted inner/outer window felts, didn’t picture it but did the window tracks and outer door seals, hatch as well. New seals everywhere! Cleaned up and resealed the right taillight, lens was hanging on by a thread.
Last edited by duffman692002; 06-24-19 at 09:49 PM.
Drove ~300 yesterday roundtrip to Raleigh, NC from home for work. Makes having to go into the office worth it. Drove all back roads, no interstates at all. Got to watch the sunrise over the Uwharrie Natinal Forest as I was driving out in the morning.
Heres the kicker. I drove the 7 because my F150 (which has AC) has a ticking power steering pump and I didn't want to risk it blowing on the drive and taking out the rack as well. So the 7 is the "dependable" one in my house.
Lol,Tim,been there-more than once. I have been down to"one" vehicle,truck in body shop from deer hit,DD-DOA,just drove home from beach,go to work next morning,cranks,no start.Fuel pump took a poo,no warning signs. At least it happened in the driveway...Go in garage,take cover off SE,disconnect Battery Tender and old reliable fires right up. Minor irritation of DD not starting,gone after a mile or so driving RX7.
There's a saying in my trade,"If you're going to own older vehicles,you need at least two,one to drive while the other is being repaired".
There's a saying in my trade,"If you're going to own older vehicles,you need at least two,one to drive while the other is being repaired".
If you keep changing the lubrication, and keep the bare metal covered with primer, paint, and tar undercoating, the car will last forever. The sat or sun that you sacrifice on auto maintenance every month replaces the +500 $ car payment. $500 divided by 12 hours = $42/hour = $84k/year.
Oh, and leave 1/2 hour early when driving to work so you can have an enjoyable leisurely safe drive. That's $500 divided by 1/2 hour times 5 days a week times 4 weeks a month = $50/hour
Last edited by midnight mechanic; 06-29-19 at 01:57 PM.
Don't mind the massive rear wheel gap because the springs are MIA right now but it is finally back on 4 wheels. They fit damn near perfect. The fenders need to be rolled and the front needs to come up about a half an inch
Not today, but a couple days back I finished my first rebuild and it came out quite nicely (or so I thought). Runs great, still getting the tuning right (I've been away for a few days) but unfortunately I've got some pesky leaks. Anyway, here's a couple shots of the block:
And one picture just after getting everything settled. Sort of sad to put such a beautiful engine into quite the crusty car - gives me a reason to focus on the rest of everything I suppose .
Here's two shots of the leaks I'm facing. The dowel pin leak only runs after the engine has been shut off (not while driving) so not much is lost unless I'm doing many short drives. But then the coolant just keeps showing up (very slowly), and it's only on top here by the manifold and I haven't noticed any coolant in the exhaust yet... Eh, I'll find out more as I get some more time with it.
Maybe I'll get lucky and whatever is making the dowel pin leak will push its way free. Really hoping the coolant is just from the manifold and not the block, but like I said, time will tell... And don't pay mind to the hodge-podge of a rats nest. It'll be getting cleaned up as soon as I have all the issues sorted out (I hope).
Happy 4th everyone. Last night I finally sat down and put a spare "learning" carb down on the desk to get a feel for it. Been sitting for so long, but finally got around to poking about with it. Looking to go blow through. Seems Rotary Works has a 12a turbo manifold for not too much, might mess around with that.
Not too long ago I gave her a much needed rad flush, barely pokes above half on the gauge even on a hot day, the fan clutch seems to be working again!
I ordered the rest of the tie rod parts, new ignition coils and a new AC compressor. The wife keeps complaining about that one I couldn't get the old inner adjustment piece to un-seize from the right side outer tie rod, and I was on a time crunch, so I probably stripped the nut driving it back into place since I accidentally hit the threads with a mallet a few times. Oh well, I'm just gonna replace both entire tie rod assemblies (they're probably 37 years old at this point). The Navy has pretty much made me too tired to do anything so a lot of the work I'm doing now is stuff I should have done when: 1. I had my bonus 2. had more time while in C-school.
06-20-19, 08:15 PM
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I couldn't get the old inner adjustment piece to un-seize from the right side outer tie rod, and I was on a time crunch, so I probably stripped the nut driving it back into place since I accidentally hit the threads with a mallet a few times. Oh well, I'm just gonna replace both entire tie rod assemblies (they're probably 37 years old at this point). The Navy has pretty much made me too tired to do anything so a lot of the work I'm doing now is stuff I should have done when: 1. I had my bonus 2. had more time while in C-school.