rurouni2071

well after a long winter , I brought my 7 out of hibernation (87 TII)

... sadly after a week on the road... beeeeep and the coolant light comes on
so I pull over top it off and get it home

its done it a few times now and I cant seem to find a leak anywhere , also its doing it more often now , the light seems to be intermittant though .. it'll come for a few seconds then go off... then on and off.. but there is definitely low coolant

there doesnt seem to be any abnormal amount of smoke on start up.. just a little bit on start-up for maybe 2-3 minutes and it doesnt smell sweet ...

idle seems fine , it may be a little rougher at startup than it used to be .. but that may be my imagination , it still starts up right away with just a turn of the key

every so often its a bit of a pain on hot starts , but that could be cause I have 680 secondaries and a stock ecu

can anyone give me a few hints of things to check ... I really want to get it back into action for summer , show up riced out civics again , this really has me bummed out

Rotorhead34

Maybe look around the hoses that cool the throttle body and the water pump housing was a usual place for leaks in earlier models. Mine used to leak between the CAS and the housing. I couldn't see it well but their would be signs of leaking there. Eventually it got bad enough I could see real well. Kind of a pain to pull all that crap off just to change that tiny gasket but its worth it. A couple hours work. Just my experience.

rurouni2071

I checked at idle and I couldn't see any leaks anywhere ,.. my rad cap was making a kinda bubbling noise.... I think I have another one somewhere... I'll see if I can find it , could that be it?

darksider

how do you know you are losing coolant? fill up ur revisor and keep filling up hole until you see coolant coming out the bottom of your car. trace that back and fix your leak. if theres no leak then it might be a bad seal.

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

Check your Overflow tube from the Rad to the Overflow Reservoir.Sometimes it may have a hairline Crack at the plastic Piece or a Pinhole on the tube..It will Expel the coolant and It may not be Much But eventually it shows when you Do a Level check throughout a Week or so.Also check the back hoses at the throttle body,they are known to weather up and Leak.You don't really Notice beacause it is hard to see back there..anyhow Good luck..STYX.

rurouni2071

I out on the other rad cap and gave a quick rip , when I came back there was coolant dumping out of the reservoir , the light didnt come on , but it wasnt a long enough trip to tell.. after its cool I'll take a look and see if the level at the filler neck is down

rurouni2071

last night It was a 20 km trip and it was down over a liter ... also weird... my reservoir is always full.. I'm going to take some out and see if it fills up again , shouldnt the coolant recede and take more coolant back into the engine.. so it should never be full after the car is cool? am I right?

stevensimon

iTrader: (11)

i dont think the car will suck the fluid out of the resivior so drain it completely then see if it fills. an easy way is to take the line off where it hooks up on the water neck and pump air compressor air in the breather tube on the tank. the air will force the water out the hose. put the hose in a jug to not make a mess and to save expensive coolant.

rurouni2071

I took it to work today , and after a 20 minute trip I was down about a liter , since I put that other rad cap on it seems to **** coolant into the overflow... a whole lot of it too.. I'm going back to the other one , because I dont remember it doing that , still , I went over the engine again and cant find a leak ANYWHERE.. its starting to frustrate the hell outta me...

Sideways7

iTrader: (7)

Before you start it take off the rad cap. As soon as you start it look at the coolant in the hole (fill it up first) and see if you see any bubbles. If so then you have a bad coolant seal. If you don't have much white smoke on startup this is unlikely, but its good to rule it our first.

rurouni2071

I pulled out the fuse and turned it over... bubbles... , on an even brighter note my exaust has refreshing sweet smell to it when I do this.... sigh.. although no white smoke... so is it done or is there any hope ? and if so what are my options.... ? I'm still paying it off too dammit lol

maybe put 8000 kms on it since I bought it a yaer and a half ago , and it supposedly only had 65 000 km on the engine , and its never come even close to over heating since I've owned it

rurouni2071

Sorry for posting again so soon and seeming impatient , I just got this sick feeling thinking about this ... any input?

darksider

sorry if its already been suggested, but get a pressure test. itll find your leak or confirm a bad seal.

rurouni2071

I can grab a tester tomorrow .. , how long do i leave it to test?

rurouni2071

Jason sent me a link
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-archive-71/engine-o-ring-fix-269544/
I was wondering how many ppl have tried this ? and for how many it worked ? just for curiosity's sake

unW7WZ

let us know what it is. It sounds bad, but just let us know. I'd hate to hear it being a blown coolant seal. I have been "losing coolant" too. I think mine may be a leak somewhere, but I have no dripping. Also I just got it put back together, so I may have put something on wrong, or the system needed to burp.

darksider

uhhh go to aaroncake.net. lots of good info.