Car Overheating. Any Ideas?
 

I just came from a long roadtrip (4 hours) with my T2. For the first 3 hours of the trip it was ok, it was boosting ok, ac working great. Then all of the sudden the check oil level light comes on, so I stop and put some oil, everythings OK. 20minutes later, on the next toll plaza the car starts to ooze coolant, so I fill it with extra emergency water tanks I had (that'd do for now.) It would only stay cool for about 3 miles or less then it would heat right back up, after the third try it said I needed to check oil level again, put in the oil and it hasn't said anything about oil since. The car still overheats, even when its just standing there, or when its moving. On the way home in one part of the roadtrip the waterneck water hose actually popped off, but I put it back on. Any idea what could be causing all this?

Extra information is that when the car overheated it started to smoke like it never smoked before, and also the previous owner ( I just bought it) said that he'd removed the air pump and that the fan might slip due to lack of belt power and a dual alternator pulley was needed to decrease fan slip. I doubt that a little bit of slip can cause overheating so quickly. If anyone knows or thinks they know my problem, please tell me. Mods are in sig.

No sig. Um check the thermostat and make sure its working properly. If its not coolant may not be flowing anyware. Also ckeck the water pump.

the previous owner said the water pump was brand new. What would a bad thermostat do? Any other ideas?

check ur radiator it might be cloged . and if so u need to install a new one and have ur system flushedto remove any debre from ur coolent lines .it sould only cost bout $100-$200 ...if thats the problem.

Now if I turn on my car when its cold, it will idle fine (do the cold start and everything) then afterwards, about 4-6 minutes later the add coolant light and buzzer will come on and the water tank will start to bubble. The car smoke alot too. Does that gfive any more insight?

Motor Rebuild......

Your coolant o-ring seals are probably cracked somewhere and compression is getting into the coolant system /coolant is getting into the rotor housings.

you didn't put water wetter in it did ya??

Smell your exhaust, see if it smells sweet.

good news is that if its still running ok and idling good, you probably haven't hurt any of the internals and the motor just needs freshend up.

.............don't tell me that, I just bought the car YESTERDAY! That might be it tho, those are the symptoms, It runs and idles great but heats up really fast. That sucks.

wow, I just tried to start it right now (cold) and it revved up to 3k for 2 seconds then just died out and my coolant instantly started to bubble from the reservoir. That confirms it right, its not even hot and its bubbling the water.

if that is the case, yearsofdecade is right. your seals are on the way out, getting bubbles in the coolant system is good idication of that.

good luck with your rebuild.

damn dude that sucks......how much you bought it for???

Definatly sounds like a coolant seal then...

Sucks, but youll really love the car after the rebuild!

(Street port it!! :) )

I just went to the rotary specialist about 2 miles from here in my bro's car and they told me if theres internal damage, to fix put new seals in is 1500 (using used parts for whatever is damaged) If there is no damage, it should be 1200, but I think thats just for all the seals, this is conidered a rebuild right?

Pretty much. Only way to fix it is to pull the motor out and open it up!

Might as well get a ported engine if your going to spend that much.

Do this check:

I think my engine has been overheated. How can I check to see if the coolant seals are good?
Fill coolant system ALL THE WAY UP (engine cold). Make sure that the fluid level is as high as you can get it. Leave the filler cap off. Remove the EGI fuse. Crank the motor (it should not start). If you get a LARGE amount of coolant coming out of the coolant fill, its safe to assume your coolant seals are blown. Also, a good indication is a fuel/exhaust smell in the coolant.

I checked it, it starts to spill in less that 5 turns of the engine. Safe to say the seals right? Is replacing the seals considered rebuilding the engine or is a rebuild more extreme.

Does it just spill? Or does it come ROCKETING out?

it bubbles and spills, no rocketing........yet, but I don't wanna push it

Well, there may be hope yet. If your water seals are shot, coolant should come ripping out of the water neck. Bubbles...Eh, not so good, but I would go ahead and get it started.

yay do the block weld trick!!

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ght=block+weld

To tell you the truth, I don't even wanna mess with it, Im scared of breaking something thats not already broken and making things worse, hopefully I can fix it soon.