rx7learner

My car was running great until 1 startup and it started missing. The missing went away after a min at idle and I drove it 15 miles with no problem. Started it up 1 hour latter and it blows a load of white smoke and the coolant level is down. Doesn't seem like there is coolant in the oil or vise versa, but there is coolant coming out of the lower spark plug closer to the firewall. The engine was supposed to have been rebuilt 40K ago (so the person who I bought it from says) Could it be possible that I need to replace those orings, or does the fact that the coolants coming from the spark plug hole mean its time for a rebuild or swap? I was assuming the worse until I saw the posts about the 12a orings... Please help. Thanks.

AcidAngel7477

iTrader: (16)

try the o rings first..then make your guess..but it sounds to me like the rear coolant seal just went out on you..dumping coolant into the chamber..that explains the white smoke coming out on start up..oh and never believe what someone says about the car unless he has a reciept to back up the rebuild..or etc. soo good luck on this situation..

:AA:

rx7learner

Thanks for the info...

few more questions...

If the orings did give way, would the symptoms still be getting coolant into the combustion chamber and white smoke out of the exhaust? (just trying to figure if it is worth the effort of trying... not sure how difficult to change them)

He said the engine was street ported (not sure how to tell) and I know it has a RB header and exhaust... but when a motor is street ported does it necesarily mean that it was rebuilt?

Also, the sections on the engine that I see many engines get colorful (yellow & red) are jet black (I'm assuming those are the hosing for the rotors), is that how the stock 12 is colored or is that an indication it was rebuilt?

If it is the original engine with 170K is it worth rebuilding now?

Sorry for all the questions... I just really miss my 7..... Thanks.

AcidAngel7477

iTrader: (16)

no problem, ill try to help as much as i can..i guessing that the o rings that your talking about are the ones on the oil cooler and if you have an 85 you have the beehive cooler..correct? if this is so..then the o rings are a breeze to change..although i dont think that thats going to solve your white smoke problem..

if the engine is street ported then yeah that means that the motor was rebuilt..cause you have to port the irons before you put them back together..otherwise it would be immpossible to do it while its together..

the stock colors for a 12a are irons dark gray and the rotor housings silver soo yeah if there painted then that means that they got the engine and ported and painted it..then rebuilt it..

the only way your going to tell if its worth rebuilding is if you take it apart..all the internals of the engine have there own wear rate..soo your the judge on wether its worth rebuilding or not..im sure that it is cause my guess is that a coolant seal just went out, so everything else is fine..right?

dont be sorry, you ask questions so you can learn thats what i did..well that and trial and error..i just got done rebuilding my 12a and ill tell you that it was the best thing i could have done..cause i learned alot and saved myself ALOT of money..soo do what i did..trial and error..i know what you mean by missing a 7 i have a first gen myself and thats the one i rebuilt shes still not done yet soo..haha im lagging..any more questions feel free to ask..
and good luck in your discision..

:AA:

rx7learner

Thanks again... and thanks for the encouragement... was reading about the method outlined using the bars head gasket sealant. I bought 2 bottles of the sealant and 1 gallon of the degreaser... went to start the car to start the flush clean and degrease process... but now I cant get it started... It's a bit on the late side so I'm going to start up again tomorow...

rx7learner

OK now I cant get it started. I have been reading a bunch of posts, and I read the famous end to no start thread, but I think I might need a bit of extra guidance. I know I have spark & fuel and a fully charged battery, but there was so much coolant in the engine that it began to come out around the leading plug closest to the firewall when I tried to start it (which I found out was finger tight). I have since pulled all the plugs so everything can dry out a bit, and the 2 plugs closest to the firewall had coolant on them, when I pulled the lower plug coolant dripped out. I cranked the engine without the plugs in to try to get all the coolant out, and will clean the plugs before I put them back in. Don't know if there is anything else I should do befor putting the plugs back in? I saw information about using ATF or the use of MMO, but I'm not sure that applies in my situation because I don't think I'm flooded (unless by coolant). Any recommendation appreciated. Thanks.

trochoid

iTrader: (6)

You don't need atf or mmo, but you might add a capfull of motor oil in each barrel of the carb. This will help build compression and relube the housings and seals that the coolant has washed away.

rx7learner

I cant get the darn thing started... Think I should rebuild or just buy a new motor. I'm going to search now and see if I could find some info on pulling the 12A and installing or rebuilding. If anyone can point me in the right direction I would appreciate it.

Thanks.