Once warmed up my 12A starts to smoke white out the exhaust. Anybody have ideas on what can cause this?
- It doesn't smell sweet like coolant, but maybe there is a little in there and I just can't smell it. Smells more like regular engine smells, oil, gas etc.
- I took off the rad cap to check for bubbles, ran it for two minutes or so till it started to spill over then turned it off. Would the bubbles be noticeable right away?
- I also heard that it could be the modulator in the automatic trans that failed, and is allowing the vacuum to suck ATF, but I pulled off the vacuum hose to the tranny and found no evidence of ATF inside.

Could it be oil? Also I want to change the oil filter soon, and have no 1st gen filters, but a couple 2nd gen oil filters. Are they interchangeable between the generations?

Edit: the smoke in my avatar is not the problem I'm seeing, it's much less smokey but very noticable none the less.

 

I dont believe they are. Just go buy one they are only 3 dollars or 12 if you get a K&N . It sounds like it might be one of your coolant seals. Have you checked your radiator for fluid loss?

 

Sounds like the O-rings in your intake for the coolant passages. Mazdatrix sells them for cheap.

 

Intake sounds like a good one to try next. I'll see if somebody local has a gasket and rings.
The higher the revs and the more I rev it the smokier it gets.
My oil also seems like it could be contaminated. It's got a consistency somewhere between oil and water. Could coolant have gotten into my oil supply and if so how/where would it get in?
Which theory sounds most likely?

 

I think you have a coolant leak in the engine itself. There are also o rings in between the rotor housings and side plates. Most people go ahead and rebuild the motor when they replace these o rings because you have to tear the motor apart to get to the o rings. When my original motor smoked really bad it would only do it on the initial start up and then it would go away once the engine was at operating temperature. Replaced the intake o rings and it fixed the problem. From your last post you have way too much smoke for just intake o rings.

 

If coolant was leaking into the engine itself, wouldn't I see the bubbles in the rad?

 

Other way around. If compression is leaking into the cooling system, then you would see bubbles. If coolant was getting into the oil and mixing, the oil will turn to a light chocolate milkshake consistancy.

My vote is for intake o-rings.

 

Thanks for backing me Trochoid. After rebuilding and fiddling around with a couple of spare 12a's this summer I am starting to understand a thing or two about the rotary engine.

 

I had that prob. It was the o rings in the intake. Not too hard to do unless you have a nikki. ***** to that. Have fun feeling around in the dark for those two retarded nuts under the intake. If your going to do it get under the car for those suckers and have someone turn the ratchet while you hold it. AND PUT COOLANT IN IT WHEN YOUR DONE.

 

Yep

happened to me once in a piston engine

 

Thanks for input guys. Put a new gasket and o-rings in today. Ran it for about 1/2 an hour and took it for a few laps around the block. Revved it lots too. Barely any smoke now, you can hardly see the exhaust. The o-rings actually looked nearly new, but the gasket wasn't the best and there was some sort of silicone like product on both sides of the gasket and around the o-ring area. Looks good now.

 

sounds like they pulled it to replace the rings once before, and didnt bother to replace the gasket so they just gooed it up w/ some silicon gasket maker and called it good.

 

OK then the gasket for FTW! I am glad it solved your smoking issue.

 

Lucky bastard. When mine did that new O-rings did nothing! I had to swap out the engine!

 

You're leak might have been internal then. Mine was smoking pretty bad, probably would have caused a smoke screen on the highway once it was really warmed up. I was hoping it wasn't serious, but I have a backup 13B engine anyway. Just didn't want to pull the 12A until I am ready to paint everything next summer.

 

Anyone ever use the intake plugs from Pineapple racing?


Thanks, Ed

 

My engine has the plugs...it doesn't leak if that's what you are wondering...I haven't had a running engine w/o them so I don't know how much of a difference they make though.

 

Don't know about their intake plugs, but I use 20mm freeze plugs in the housings. Works great.