john smack

iTrader: (12)

OK my TII was rebuilt about 10,000 kms ago, I have been running about 400 hp at 15 PSI of boost through it all summer, never overheated always runs between 168*F to 195*F depending on how hard its being driven.
Noticed about 6 weeks ago that on cold start up I could smell a bit of sweet smell but it would go away.
I found a leak on the t-stat housing and tightened it up.
still could smell a bit of coolant from the exhaust on cold startup,
Pressure tested the cooant system a couple days ago and I was loosing 2-3 PSI after about an hour maybe a bit longer.
After pressuring the system twice with the pressure tester, I put the cap back on and started the car. It ran like crap for about 15-30 sec before it cleared up and there was a good cloud of white smoke.
obviously I am starting to have coolant seal issues.
I can take the cap off the rad (fluidyne rad) and I dont see bubbles while running and when I rev it the coolant goes down a bit then comes back up nice and flush. I am having to add about 3/4 of a small water bottle every 10 days or so.

Engine was built with RA coolant seals and I have been told they are known to "weap". Honestly I have never used these seals and have no experience with them.

The car runs great and only had a problem starting when i pressured up the coolant system, is there any other tests I can do to confirm I have a coolant seal issue? I dont really want to rebuild the motor and find out it is something else and I waisted my time

MIDNFauciUSN

iTrader: (8)

If they are known to weep... then I wouldn't say you have an issue other than having to refill the coolant every once in a while. I'd imagine that if you had a seal that was truely toast, you'd see a much bigger pressure drop that what you experienced.

Sounds like a coolant seal issue to me!

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

unfortunately you already did the test to confirm if the seals are letting coolant past. starting the engine after the pressure test and running on one rotor for 15-30 seconds until it clears up is pretty obvious it is pulling coolant into the engine.

if you want to know exactly which rotor is leaking you can remove the EGI fuse, pressurize the cooling system, wait about 15-30 minutes then crank the engine for 5 seconds, remove the leading plugs and see which one is wet with coolant.

RA coolant seals are pretty notorious for this scenario. the teflon skirted seals don't seal well on anything less than a perfect rotor housing sealing surface.

problem with it as possibly normal is the coolant, if left to sit in the engine, will rust the seals to the rotors and possibly damage the irons/rotors.

i did my engine many years ago with those seals and they worked for many thousands of miles but eventually i started seeing this same result. that engine i did not use RTV on the rotor housing sealing surfaces and the housings weren't perfect. i had much better luck later on with the seals applying a small film of RTV over the rotor housing pitted surfaces but also noted that the teflon skirts were wearing out in less than 30,000 miles/several years of use. eventually i went back to OEM seals, then i went on to make my own seals because the OEM seals were a single time use and rather spendy for what they are, any warranty claims would set me back more than the reusable seals i now use. so it was a win/win situation just getting away from these 3rd party seals.

john smack

iTrader: (12)

yeah this motor was not built from new parts, Well it seems to run real good right now and will be fine for the remainder of the driving season soon it is time for 8 months of snow and Ice, I will be getting ahold of you about your sleeves and seals.
Thanks