Many of you might know of my recent acquirement: a fifty buck rx7! Engine seems strong and runs smooth but a lot of blue smoke is coming from the exhaust manifold area!
When I first got the car, there was visible grease and gunk all over the exhaust manifold. I thought I had degreased that area very well, but apparently there is a rather bad oil leak in that area. The oil does not drip on the ground, but rather gets caught in the heat shield around the stock manifold.

Here's a pic of it smokin!


(I know the hot-air-pipe thing is unplugged--trying to show the smoke coming from the manifold area)
Of my 3 rex's I've never had this problem! Any ideas of where the leak is?

 

$50, I thougt I got a good deal on mine --$150.

 

For starters, get the heat shield off the stock manifold, it's basically useless anyway.

Is the oil dripping onto the heat shield's top, or is it dripping from the manifold to inside the heat shield? That'll give you a good indication as to where the origin of the leak is. I can't honestly think of a place where the oil would come from around there, unless it's leaking from inside the engine through the cracks and down the casing...

When you find the source, it'll tell you what's causing it, but from how it looks to me, the oil's burning inside the heat shield, and coming out that hose... so chances are it's coming from inside the engine, through the exhaust manifold...

?
Jon

 

Why can't I find a cheap 7... =(
hehe

looks like it's in beautiful shape.
Nasty leak though....


edit:
cheap 7, not a chap 7...

 

Oh, I hope the block is not leaking! The engine has been sitting for over 3 years though And, you are correct, it is inside--between the shield and manifold. Once the car cools down I'll begin my search and fix!

enigma32: I'll let ya in on a secret I learned (well, not really a secret)
Next time you see a rex parked at someone's house, take note of it. Then next time you pass that rex, try to see if it has been moved. Make sure that they aren't driving it, then go knock on their door and ask if they wanna get rid of it! That's how I found my 50 dollar, running rex

FS

 

fullSMoke: good going! Hope the oil leak is easy.

Good idea for finding a cheap 7. Or, you can come to my house and get one that failed smog.

B

 

Clean the hell outta the area. It could be the OMP.

 

Mine does the same **** I am hoping to block off omp and solve problem.

 

Can I just have parts off the one that failed smog?

 

The OMP isn't anywhere NEAR that.. how could *it* be responsible?

But in any case, chances are the OMP needs a rebuild anyway.

What I'd do is I'd remove that heat shield, it's relatively useless anyway, and rebuild the OMP. Check that the block's not leaking, and go from there

Jon

 

The rubber hoses coming off of it crack and squirt right over to the manifold...no. thats my thery on mine at least...i hope.

 

Yea, I didn't think it'd be the OMP, but maybe it is a line running to/from the OMP like 85gsl2ndtimearound said... I have been pretty busy today, but once I get the chance, I'll tell ya what I found!

Thanks,
FS