my car is a 1984 12A engine, it has recently experienced severe over heating issues (mostly my fault), the car will turn over but i hear the gears slowing down and the engine won't actually start, I'm pretty sure this is a sign that the engine is seizing up. Is there anything i can do to stop this or is the engine done for?

 

Make sure you have a good and charged battery and do a compression test.

 

If the battery is good, you might want to remove the starter and have it tested.

 

+3 on checking the battery and starter. I literally just had the motor go out on my Rx8 yesterday. I can tell you that you will definitely know when it’s blown. The car was running rough with a lot of engine vibrations on the way to work. On the way back, it was hard to start the car and the vibrations became worse to the point where it was felt big time on the shifter. When it finally went out, the engine sounded like metal grinding in each other. When I safely pulled over, I could not start the car again. I checked the dipstick and it was filled with metal shards and glittery oil. I had already done a compression test and knew the motor was on its way out. The car drove great for over a year even though compression psi was in the 70’s.

 

OP mentioned elsewhere about driving the car for 6-10 miles with no coolant, and then it died. This thread is missing critical information.

I would try pulling it with another vehicle and if you can't start it that way, the engine is toast. The engine is probably toast, anyway - just throwing that out there. These engines are completely intolerant of being overheated. For reference, 1/3 of the cooling comes from oil circulation, 1/3 comes from coolant flow, and the remaining 1/3 from adiabatic cooling to the surrounding air (*mostly ram air when driving).

Jeopardize any of the 3 and it's a recipe for disaster and an engine rebuild. Hoping for the best for you, OP.

 

i just finished pressure testing the engine and it came up at 10psi, I'm pretty sure the engine is toast, thank you for the help.

 

sorry to hear that, I can totally relate.

 

Alright - now you have some information to work with regarding the health of the engine. The big question now is: what are your intentions with the car?

Some options;

1. Take this as an opportunity to learn about rebuilding the engine.
2. You could pay someone else to rebuild it - or maybe find a good core from somewhere local and swap it in, and give it another go.
3. Decide how much you enjoyed the short time you had to drive it and weigh that against the cost to do it again.
4. Do something else.

We're here as a helpful community with whatever you decide, and I'd mention that you should think a bit before making a decision, as for most of us - there are emotional strings attached to our cars. Emotional decisions don't always lead you to the logical endpoint. Good luck, man. Sorry this happened,

 

If you rebuild the engine, regardless of who does it, it's extremely important to measure the rotor housings for trueness. They can get warped when overheated. Ask me how I know.