Wodihor

Well on the way to work today I had the top radiator hose split about 6 inches. I thought it was just a back fire until about 2 miles down the road. the motor was pegged at hot.

cut the car off and pulled over. Let it cool and drove it to the next exit. fixed the hose and all is well again. didn't seem to effect the motor at all. Maybe because it didn't run long enough at that temp. I have just had bad luck with piston motors at that high of a temp.

vipernicus42

iTrader: (4)

Umm... Rotaries are ultra-sensetive to overheating. The next time you have the motor open you'll see what I mean.

The engine is made of two metals with different rates of expansion - Cast Iron and Aluminum. When you overheat it, the different rates of expansion cause things to warp.

It might feel like it runs fine, but your engine just took a big long-term reliability hit.

Jon

Wodihor

cry... nooooooo guess i should start saving

What are my chances of coming out of this ok? it was 3 miles at most from the time that it busted til i relized it..

OnlyOnThurs

3 miles at being pegged at hot??!?!?!?! Damn not good

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

Does it leak coolant?

No = good, you're fine

Yes = rebuild

Just keep driving it until it won't fire up anymore. Save up for a rebuild in the meant time. Might as well, right? I love rebuilding these things. So easy, like a carburetor. Just a bit heavier. That's been my experience.

vipernicus42

iTrader: (4)

Jeff, I'm *so* quoting you on that

Wodihor

No not 3 miles pegged. 3 miles from the time it happened. When it happened it was about 1/4 to 1/3. I would say about 1 mile pegged. I have a tendency to cost a great deal. little gas coast little more gas coast some.

I got the hose fixed.. and I don't see any leaks. It is not blowing out white smoke. It is bubbling but I'm running water right now. and the bubbling is rather large bubbles, not small ones from an air leak.

Going to go ahead with plans today and get the t-stat changed out, 1 gal of anti-freeze/anti-boil stuff and topp it off with water. I will see how she runs from there.

This is going to suck if i have to rebuild. maybe I'm one of the lucky ones. I was doing about 3.5 - 4k rpms at the time though don't know if that matters.

Breadfan

I have run a few engines well into the 260*F range, you can most of the time get away with it once. But you can still drive the car with a bad water seal, most engines end up with this problem. Trick is buying a rad cap with the lever to release the psi. Everytime you shut the car off release all psi to prevent as mush coolant leaking into the chamber. Ex: my last engine was so bad it would spray coolant 6 feet out of the overflow tank if the coolant level was down about 2 qts. Still made power and I won a couple events like this. Damn rotary is a tough little bastard!! Oh and what ever you do never ever run a coolant stop leak, it will not help only clog your rad, and create hot spots in your motor where it gets stuck in the water jacket.
Another thing is run almost all water(distilled), just a little bit of coolant for corrision protection, then change it at the end of summer.

Wodihor

Ok this thread need to have a title changed. Something like "Wodihor shouldn't own a rotory because he is stupid". I think that would work.

Ok so I shouldn't run stop leak in it? I had someone tell me to do so. I'm so confused. Someone please please get back to me with this. I really do not want another broke down rx7. I love these cars.

I do have water on my spark plugs though. So I should just pop the hood everyday and release the preasure. Cry I just wanted a good running car.. stupid hose.

Wodihor

I just wanted to give an update. I was getting water on my plugs and the car would have one hell of a time starting.

I talked to the mech here at work and looked over some of the post about stop leak. Well I used it. 2 different kinds, liquid glass and aluminum based. Worked like a charm. with new t-stat car run cooler than ever. the old one was rusted some what.

Guess I will see how things go as i have a 4 hour drive a head of me to day in it. Keep your fingers crossed.

kgray

good luck!

sgieldon

Ech!
Water on Spark Plugs=Bad
Stop Leak=Bad
Good Luck
Maybe you will get lucky and get a Few Extra Miles on your Motor.
#1 Killer to a Wankel Motor is Lack of Cooling.
#2 " " " " " " " " Lubrication.
Keep us Posted and save $$$ up Now.
sgieldon
steve

P.S. Question for Wodihor you run into the 260's???

vipernicus42

iTrader: (4)

Yeah the stop leak stuff is nasty but sometimes you have no choice. I've had to put some in because of a rad leak I sprung... which sucks.

But I don't really care. I'm already saving up for a new engine and aluminum rad, so I'll drive this one until I've got the money or it dies, whichever comes first.

Jon

dbragg

iTrader: (7)

good luck man. you really do have bad luck with these things.

Wodihor

260's?

Wodihor

Well it appears that the stop leak has fixed the water on the spark plugs.

It has a pin hole leak where the water level sensor is. I don't know if i can replace it with the one in the GS or not.. or if I should just swap out the rads all together. Any advice there?

Never mind that I will do some research and start a new post if I have other questions. For now Yall will be happy to know that the motor made it to Valdosta and back to Atlanta with out any issues. about a 3.5 to 4 hr drive. I may have been able to save it for now.

ray green

iTrader: (14)

Hey, hey, hey, way to go Mark!

Ray

rxtasy3

iTrader: (2)

sorry ur having so much trouble with it. if u know the rad in the other car is good by all means swap it out. i'd also give the engine a good flushing out as well. u could also take one of the rads to a repair shop and have it cleaned real good that way u'd have a good spare.

Wodihor

Don't feel bad. The rad hose was all my fault. I should have been playing better attention to the car. I think that I turned it into a daily driver to fast. As far as the rad goes I may just buy me another and get an electric fan to put on it.

Speaking of fans which one did you put on yours rxtacy3? Looked like it fit really well.

I also have a few other things that need to be done to the car...the ignition switch is giving me the most trouble right now. Contacts are not staying unless I turn it back a little. That is not much of a problem. I will prob spend this coming weekend doing some work on it unless I am going to help a friend move. Still wondering if that is wise with no tag yet, but i have the cat in the car. Should get it installed on Thursday and maybe pass emissions on Friday.

Again rxtacy3, don't feel bad. The motor is still strong. I know that the car was kinda sitting around for a while and prob hasn't seen 90 mph in quite some time. I will just have to see what the heat has done to it over time. Maybe I can get a rebuild going on the other motor. Who knows, wishful thinking if you ask me.

Whizbang

i like how its "next time you have your motor open"

dbragg

iTrader: (7)

IMO, for a DD the clutch fan is the best option. NO electric fan can move as much air as one of those things.

ray green

iTrader: (14)

And check radiators.com for a high quality double core radiator for less than $120, they have an outlet over on Peachtree Industrial near the Jim Ellis Mazda place so you save shipping. And I agree with aws, stick with the fan clutch and stock ducting, there is no better cooling. If you have the 84/85 ignition switch, I can help you there.

Ray

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

Agreed. Clutch fan is best. I only use electric when I have to.

rxtasy3

iTrader: (2)

the e-fan i'm using is off of a '93 mitzubishi galant. keep in mind tho i'm using an rx4 rad, that's why the mitzu fan fits so well. and i don't have any problems with cooling on my DD. when i'm on the interstate i don't run the fan.

ray green: the electrical part of the switch is the prob. some of the plastic is broke that holds the two pieces together. so the contacts inside loose connection. the one i put on it is out of an '84 se. only prob is i didn't have the little screw that holds it to the back of the cylinder.

Wodihor

well, this thread is starting to be about the history of me owning this 84...guess that is ok.

So a recent update. 24.5 mpg to Valdosta and back. Not bad. Cat is getting installed on Sat, got a Catco from Summit Racing south of ATL, was less that 60$ for a universal 2".

Yesterday I hop in the car and it will not start. I figured out the problem with the ignition switch, besides needing one. When cranking the car the ignition will not turn to the on position, for what ever reason it falls in between ON and CRANK which turns the car off. So when cranking the car i have to remember to turn it back a little to keep the car on.

Ok, that was off topic now to be back on. The car just would not start yesterday. I thought that it was out of gas. Picked some up and got the tank to 1/4. Still no cranking. I tried ever thing, pump peddle 3 times and try it, hold peddle half way, and all the way to the floor. Still not working.

So I swapped coils from the 83 to the 84 and it fired right up. So bad coils. I also noticed that the bat was about 405/505 cold/hot cranking amps. the bat in the 83 is 525/625 cold/hot cranking amps, so i switched them. Stupid short wires.

So after swapping out those i think that the Holey fp is a huge amp puller, I mean turning the blinker on you can hear the pump drag and the light blinks, so I changed out the alt with the 83. It looked bigger and was cleaner.

Now, I have a Q: The pivot point where you have the long bolt for the alt mount on the motor is smaller than on the 83. Thus the mount point on the alt were wider. Yes, I did leave the 83 alt on the 84, I just tightened down the slider blot really good. Has anyone came across this and do you have a solution? I was thinking about using a small pipe that would hold up to some pressure but not sure about that.

thanks for the responses.