swanton187

Well last night my coolant seal went on my car...so now my 87 gxl is going to be sitting for a long while until I have the time and funds to completely overhaul the beast. It was a fun car while lasted and I wanted to thank everyone here for showing me how to make my RX better...oh and I will be back. But for now I'm looking else where for a daily driver.

KompressorLOgic

iTrader: (6)

are u sure u blew a coolent seal?? did it overheat?

heres a little FYI, if your planning on rebuilding that engine or core ever, DONT LET IT SIT!!!!, if you let it set for a long time water will seep from the bad seal into the combustion chamber and rust the inside of the motor!!!, ruin housings and rotor and other ****.

RotaryWeaponSE7EN

iTrader: (6)

U can let it sit, just empty all the fluids and make sure its in a dry place.

swanton187

Well I know it's the coolant seal because I got to see it at my feet when letting the steam out of the engine bay at the side of the road and see the gauge 3/4 to H...so I think engine is done but I wish I could put the car in a dry place but I have no place to put it but in a field that is a friend of mine…hell I’m going to be having troubles looking after the rust before I get it to sit. Oh quick I have a few question to find out how screwed I got. When the Mazda sits for a while will the coolant sensor will randomly go off? What is the chance of a coolant seal breaking on an engine with 70k km. but I will empty the line...even brake lines or just the engine…thanks for the tips

Mombodogs

I would, if I were you, do a little more research into your situation. Don't just assume that is your problem. Be very specific as to what happened, what it's doing now, compression, smoke, coolant levels, oil in cooland and vice versa, etc. People will give you a lot of help, but need more information than what you have submitted so far. Think positive.

PEACE THE DOG

TitosToy

check the t-stat-it may not be opening and in doing so, it traps hot coolant in the block. also check the water pump just under the pulley. it could be leaking. both issues happened to me at the same time.

swanton187

Ok about three days ago I picked my car up from the shop....Well almost didn't the car wouldn't start flooded over and over again. So my mechanic and I troubleshot it to the plugs/wire...I was lucky in having some in the storage bin (I was saving it till after my wiring troubles was fixed. But when start smokes allot of white then stopped) So after changing my plugs and wire she started allot better and sounded better and felt more pull. So I took her and got her home the next day I swapped the alternator to the fds that I got from silverrotor (The car now started faster and sound heather...as in had more grunt at idle. So I took it for a drive with the new alt then as stopped at a light the add coolant light came on and when away as the engine started to past 2k rpm so I did that as the buzzing because the car was sitting for 2 weeks at the mechanic (He's slow but gets the job done right at a good price) So I though it was what the previous owner said as in if the car sit a while the add coolant light will come on randomly. So after that drive, I installed my subs in my sound system. (Looked on the boards for where the power wire could go through the firewall) So that night I went to my friends house and the add coolant light was going pretty often now so I pulled over and looked at the coolant level.... pretty much empty but the heat gauge was where it always was 1/4. So when I got there, I got some water and added it for a quick fix for now thing. So I went for a drive with my friend with my sound system in and everything. So I made it 5 km and noticed the coolant gauge was at half and though I should limp it home (because I was close by and drive it another 1 more km until the gauge was at 3/4 where I pulled over on the highway and poped the hood with allot of white steam going up and then I look down and see a puddle making it's way to my feet of the nice green juice...So I called a tow truck and though it was the coolant seal because read about it here. Right now I have no money right now and the power steering lines are breaking left right and centre so that going to be a grand for new lines (the part alone is $800). And I was told the car still is on it’s first clutch the car suppose to have 310k km so I don’t know how long that’s going to last and the tranny feels like it need at lease new shifter bushings. And that sounds like it’s going to be allot of money for someone that is suppose to be saving for school (The gauge cluster was changed so I don’t know how many the kms the chassis. [I know this because it’s a 5 speed and no shift light]) I’m just going to say I rushed into this car because I wanted one too bad. I’ve wanted one for 4 years now, but now this just doesn’t look like it’s going to be a good daily driver.

I would like to add that when I have owned it I babied the car most of the time babied as in need rev it past 3500rpm until the engine was warmed up and had never did a burnout.

7romanstatesmen

iTrader: (1)

if you decide to let it sit, there is a procedure for preserving a block that you should check out. not sure what to search for, but i know there's stuff on here about it.

Blue87Sport

You may have just had a break in your coolant hose not an internal coolant seal. Check the large hose that goes from the driver side of the engine block to the firewall. These commonly fail. Steam coming from your engine bay and coolant leaking to the ground do not sound like a coolant seal inside the engine. That would result in coolant coming out the exhaust.

If you shut it down before it overheated, you may just need to replace the hose. Good luck.

ghettojr1

yeah i thoguth i blew a coolent seal too before... but i found out it was a coolent hose to my bac valve... then later on my coolent seals blew...its cool replaced it with t2 motor... whatever haha **** happens =)

swanton187

well I'm going to check it out today and get back to you

Mombodogs

WOW, asked for more info, not a second by second blow. First, find the leak. Storage or not, fix the leak. Second, If you are ever low on coolant, **** in the radiator before continuing to drive without water, or low water, on any vehicle. Third, sell the car to someone who will not put her out to "PASTURE" cause she's ill. And last, FC's are mechanical marvels. They need constant care. Take the money from the sale of the car, and install the stereo on your bike. On any vehicle, mechanical issues first, cosmetic issues second. I don't give a sh i t how your car "SOUNDS" inside, if you can get it out of the driveway. Just my thoughts.

PEACE AND GOOD LUCK THE DOG

swanton187

Ok mombodog, you want to bash me ok fine, I won't sell my car but I will not sell this car, and it's not like I want it to have it, in the pasture...I love this car but the fact is I can't afford a new engine right now and if I was going to get a new engine I want to go turbo and swap the whole drive train. And I haven’t fixed a single cosmetic thing yet and the reason why I want bodywork done is so the rust doesn't get worse while it sits (if it even does now). And if you knew anything about audio in general you would know placement is key for sq. Oh and I know the FC's were advance technology for their time and there engine still is over 50 years later after the first rotary came out. But then again I’m talking to just another *** hole in the world that just assumes that I have no clue about cars in general or finds it easier just to bash then help. But you want to bash me someone that has a love for the rotary and have no idea how they act yet, go ahead.

Mombodogs

Swanton, not bashing you, just read what you posted. Hanging with your friends, listening to music, while your engine is not performing correctly, leads me to believe your priorities are out of order. When I first got my 90 FC3C, n/a, drove it two weeks and had major engine issues. Parked it, researched, asked questions, did more research, checked, bitched, told everyone here to kiss my ***, and then researched more. I, not Joe Blo mechanic, fixed my problem. If it wasn't for "STRONG WORDS" from people here, I would have quit. I didn't, and my car runs great, but have problems, and I address them, and fix them.

Back to you. Quit your whining, try to listen and DO what we advise, and if it doesn't help, tell us to shut up. Do some testing, look for that leak, read some more about this problem, and keep asking. Dude, these cars will drive you nuts. Patience, and we are here, believe it or not, to help. I am in the top 5 here for lack of knowledge about rotaries, and # 1 for the biggest *****, so take it from me, fix it. Oh, and good luck in school. Education will take you everywhere in life.

PEACE THE DOG

Syonyk

He speaks truth. There are a number of coolant lines that can make your life a pain in the rear. The major issue is usually that line going from the firewall to under the oil filter. The coolant lines around the throttle body are also a pain in the rear - I had a slow coolant leak that was driving me nuts for a day or two, couldn't find it, was thinking that it may be the coolant seals, but it turns out one of the lines under the throttle body was leaking, and the only way I could see it was the glistening when shining a bright flashlight in at a certain specific angle. Fixed the line, presto - everything working again.

A blown coolant seal *usually* will leak internally into the engine, and have symptoms similar to a blown head gasket - coolant loss, engine overheating, but no external coolant leaks. Now, if it's pressurizing the system enough, it can eventually vent through the coolant overflow bottle.

Your first step is to find out where exactly the coolant is ejecting from. Fill the system up with water (no need to spray *more* coolant everywhere - it's not exactly healthy to breathe), start the engine, let it idle, and find out where the leak is.

If, down the road, you do determine that it's the coolant seals, the best option would be to pull the engine out and take it apart. It's not difficult. If it is the coolant seals, and the engine doesn't have a lot of miles on it, you can just get a soft seal kit for not a whole lot ($350? Maybe less) that has the coolant seals, oil control rings, gaskets, o-rings, and other things. If the apex seals have more than 10-20k miles on them, it would be a good idea to replace them, but if money is an issue, you can reuse them. Make sure they go back into the same spot on the same rotor. The side seals should be fine as well - they don't really tend to wear down much at all.

So: Listen to people here, and do more troubleshooting before you assume the engine is toast.

-=Russ=-