well, my engine is finally starting every time after I did nothing to make it work, but now I have a coolant leak, and I fear I will have to pull the engine again.

coolant is leaking from inside the transmission bell housing. like where the clutch and flywheel are. so what could be leaking? my auto tech teacher said it was probably a freeze plug(sp?)?

if so, how do I fix such a thing? and is there anything else that could be leaking in there?

 

The rotary doesn't have freeze plugs from what I understand. Coolant leaking from the bellhousing might be a bad water seal in the engine.

 

I don't think there is anything inside the tranny that could leak coolant. Possibly tranny fluid, but not coolant. My best guess is it is leaking from the throttle body. There is a coolant hose that runs from the top of the engine to the throttle body right behind the UIM. Check and make sure that is sealed tight. Its probably pooling up around there and then seeping down through the tranny.

 

It maybe a leaking seal around one of the tension bolts. Water leaking from a tension bolt would go into the bellhousing.

 

aaahhhhhh!!!! I don't know what to think.

should I be worried, or relieved?

I'm going to check the TB now, although I'm pretty sure its not that. but hopefully it is.

 

I don't see any leaking around the TB, or anywhere back there, but there is some leaking from where my aftermarket water temp sensor is. the probe is to long for it to screw all the way in. anyone know it I could just cut it? hehe

plus, how would that make it all the way back to the transmission? it seems like that would just leak straight down to the ground underneath the temp sensor?

how likely is it that it would be one of the tension bolts?

and if it is, would it hurt to drive with it leaking like this, as long as I consistently put coolant back in?

how about racing like this? I was hoping to go to the local circuit race track on thursday

 

how likely is it that its leaking around the tension bolts?

and if it was leaking there, would I notice something else as well since one of the tension bolts would be loose?

 

bump.


wait, how could it be leaking from the tension bolt anyway?

I'm really confused, just like always.

maybe it will just fix itself like my sparking problem did.




wierd

 

about time for a bump.

 

There are water seals around the tension bolts. http://www.mazdatrix.com/b2.htm
Scroll down to the bottom of the page.

 

but one of the seals would have to break, and one of the bolts come loose in order for it to actually leak out of there, right? and those bolts are pretty damn tight, how could one possibly come loose withought the help of human or air power?

and where do those seals go anyway?

and how would one of those seals break, but not another seal somewhere in the engine?

and thanks for the help so far. if I sound like an ***, sorry, I'm just trying to figure out exactly whats wrong with my engine.

 

is your car an automatic if it is i have a poss. ans. for you.

 

Rotaries DO have freeze plugs, both in the rear and front irons. I once bought a car that had one pushed out, and it leaked badly from the rear iron/bellhousing. The DPO, in attempting to hide the problem and sell the car, had JB welded the bellhousing to the engine, but it still leaked. I took it apart (after about 1/2 gallon gushed out on me when I removed the starter) and put the plug back in and it was fine.

It is also possible for a tension bolt seal to leak, though I have NEVER seen this unless a) it was a rebuild or b) one had been disturbed for some reason.

Bottom line, everything has to come off the back of there for you to find out the problem...unless you can isolate the problem to a heatercore hose, or a throttle body coolant hose. Either of those could drip ON the rear iron/bellhousing and run down, making you mistake it for a leak inside the bellhousing.

 

get a new aftermarket water temp sensor, OR if you want to go ghetto, use some washers and something to seal them together to the sensor housing and engine, to make sure it's a complete seal.

 

go to an automotive store and ask for pipe fittings its going to take a little while but eventually you'll find the right combination. If not come as close as possible then make minor mods to the fitting. cost in the end minimal

 

it could just be the TB line. it's under the TB too hard to see. it could leak into the bell housing cause there is an opening at the top.

 

well, I took in my car today to search more for the leak. and basically, there was no leak!!!

I was like "WTF?" and then I was thinking, what did I do yesterday that I didn't today? and then I thought, THE HEATER!!. I hope that there was just coolant leaking out of a heater line, and then it all dried up when I lloked at the top of teh bell housing for coolant. but I'm letting my car sit for a little bit to check again for more leaks. I hope there aren't any.



also, my car has been running at 160 F, same with oil temp. has anyone ever consistently ran this low before? thanks for the help.

 

oh yeah, and when I turned the heater on yesterday, it made like a sound like water pouring into something. is that normal?

and say it is a freeze plug. would it be safe to drive around for a while like this? how about going to the race track like this?

thanks

 

If I were you, I would fix it as soon as possible. If its a freeze plug, when it comes out its going to dump coolent fast.

 

Well I didn't read all of the thread so if this has been written once excuse it, but rotary's do have freeze out plugs and on the S4 engine that I have that is torn down it has about a count of 9-10, and maybe more unless I missed some.