deltr0n`

ok, my troubles have gotten worse....and i need help FAST! ok now it still leaks from the cap, i ordered a blitz cap from the local import shop and ill pick it up tomorrow, but....now that i start the car, and i let it idle, it just slowly goes up to H....and i mean ALL the way!!! can someone tell me WHY?, and what can i do to fix it?

i mentioned this to my dad, and now he is all pissed about it, and thinks any knowledge i have is worthless, and now he wants to take it to a shop tomorrow....but if i can fix the freaking thing without having him pay an arm and a leg and be pissed at me, i would definitely rather do that!

is it possible that this part the cap attaches to is bad? and also does anyone know what the end of that plug is for?


thanks,
-chad

rx7withnos

take it too a place that knows about rotary engine

bl|nk

Is that the only place it leaks from is the cap?

Have you changed your coolant lately? your fan is working?

deltr0n`

i just got the car, so i personally havent changed the coolant and i dont know if the other owner has....is this a major issue? and the fan works fine....

hypntyz7

I know you dont want to hear this, but you're already in need of an engine. The telltale white deposits all over the engine tell me it has a history of overheating/spraying coolant. ONce a rotary gets overheated, even one time, it is bad from them on. The only way to repair this is a rebuild. IT is referred to as bad water seals.

The bad seals are somewhat equivalent to a piston engine with a bad headgasket. The seals are responsible for seperating compression pressure and water. When one ruptures(think of it as a big rubberband about 1/8" thick) the chambers can leak into each other...water into the engien(and steamed out the tailpipe) adn pressure(air) into the cooling system. IF you notice a lot of stress/pressure in the cooling system, this is why. Look for swelled hoses and coolant being spewed from the system as if under a lot of pressure(more than the normal 13psi, try 120psi of compression pressure). There is nothing a shop can do for you other than find another engie or rebuild yours.

This is further evidenced by the fact that you say it goes directly hot on each startup. Once a rotary has been overheated, this happens from then on until it is rebuilt. As a last resort to get a few more days of driving out of it, you can remove the thermostat, which will help rmove a bit of stress from the system adn keep it a bit cooler, but it is only a quck bandaid and will NOT last long. Keep in mind your problem is caused by coolant loss through the engine internally.

Oh, the end of the plug you circled is not used on most cars, but on turbos and automatics it is hooked to a sensor on beside the coolant cap(there is a hole in the casting there on the neck) which turns on an auxiliary electric fan if temps get too high. Most nonturbos didnt hae it, so the wire just hangs.

TheBigOne

H? meaning on the temp guage? dude your going to have to do more than replace the coolant pressure cap.

Have you even attempted to rule out other possibilities like a thermostat or a bad fan?

If you do bring it to a shop you best ask for a credential cause not any one can work on a rotary.

But I guess if its a cooling system problem I guess any one could trouble shoot that

deltr0n`

**** mannnn, this is NOT what i want to hear....no i havent checked the thermostat, and the fan seems to run fine, but i thought it was the cap because the coolant has been leaking out of it for the past couple days, and ONLY out of the cap, so i figured its the cap....well that one hose to the left does seem a little swelled doesnt it?

****, this cant be happening.....i have no job, and i KNOW my parents arent about to fork over $1000 to get a new engine.....plus all the BS im going to have to hear from my dad.....oh GOD NOOOO....

ASE_Joe

the cap on a cooling system is there for more than just to keep the coolant mix in. The pressure that it creates also raises the mixtures boiling point. I think it is somewhere around 3degrees per psi increase, not sure though.

A reason, other than bad water seals, for the heating up is that the pressure has been released from a crack in the housing. Make sure that the ENTIRE system is air tight, so that pressure can be built up, and see if it overheats. As long as there is nothing major wrong with the engine internally, and you replace the cracked neck and get a new cap (1.3bar), i am willing to bet that it will be fine

hypntyz7

Sorry man, but you probably bought it from someone who knew what was up and conned you into thinking you could fix it with a 5 dollar cap. You admitted it has regularly been to H, which means, after hte very first time, it was no good. Dont bother putting any new parts on it, pull the thermostat and see if it will stay remotely cool like that. Either way, it wont last long, if any more at all. Sorry man...

I could probably rebuild it for you for as little as $800 on the cheap to help a newbie out, so all is not lost. It'll be a good leaning opportunity for you.

deltr0n`

it the pressure is air tight, which it isnt rightnow, because air is coming out of the cap....wouldnt that cause it to overheat even more? because it has no pressure to release....i dont know anything about it thats why im asking you guys....but yeah, could it be the water pump? or maybe radiator? i seriously have no money for a new engine right now....

hypntyz7

ASE joe you're right about that in theory, but rotaries are weak in the fact that once they have been overheated even one time they will never be right again. Regardless of how simple the initial cause of overheating was, it s now out of our control. HE appears to have a new cap on the car, and if there is enough pressure being generated to overpower that, you can bet that there is a higher pressure pushing against it somewhere upstream(such as compression). I have seen this WAY too many times.

FC Drifter

yeah, once the gauge has been pegged even once the engine is shot. i know from personal experience on my first T2. pegged the gauge and warped housings and blew seals. never got any smoke, but you could see coolant bubling up from between the housings. i hate to tell you this, it sucks to pop an engine, but you have to face facts....rotaries to not tolerate overheating.

deltr0n`

no i dont have the new cap on yet, but another thing that pissed me off just now is i went out to look at the car, and i push my alarm buttom to disarm it, and the horn started beeping continuosly and the lights flashing, and i couldnt stop it, even if i push the alarm button again, and i had to disconnect the battery just now to get it to stop.....OMG this is sooooo gay....i used to love my car, now i hate it!!

any ideas on why the hell it did that??

TheBigOne

Go to a tool store like Harbor Frieght or Kragen or what ever. (I forget what the exact name is) but what it does is build pressure in your cooling system.

It is a hand pump type tool that connects where your coolant cap goes. Usually they come with a domestic adapter and the euro adapter is sold seperately.

What you do is you pump pressure in to your cooling system until you reach the desired pressure. I believe its 13 psi for our car. Then you just watch the gauge. If it holds steady for bout 60 seconds then your engine should be cool. But if even starts to drop just a little with in the first 5 seconds then...... RIP.

the tool cost about 15 bucks. better then wasting time and more money. at least you'll know for sure.

GOOD LUCK!

ASE_Joe

its a cooling system pressure checker. SHould cost about 80 dollars.

hyptonyZ, i agree completely. I had this happen to me on my first mustang, a 77 MustangII with a 302. It blew apart a part of the head gasket, and would always overheat. I used some alumaseal, and it stoped it for a little while. I ended up just replacing it.
On my other car, the cap became defective, and it would start to overheat. The water outlet housing was cracked. I replaced it and the cap and it was fine.
I dont want to say his engine is shot, nor do i want to say that it is fine. I am just suggesting that he borrow a high pressure cap and new water neck and see if it helps. More than likely though, the seals are bad.
In that case, its about 700 for a rebuild kit. Could be worse, my Cobra costs about 4200 to rebuild!!

deltr0n`

ok, ill replace the cap tomorrow, i already bought it, just waiting on the new shipment, but since its been leaking for the past couple days, i could be short on coolant right? can this cause anything to go wrong? because before it started leaking from the cap, i had no overheating problems whatsoever....so this is why im really shocked on how it could happen so fast and cause so much damage....

Icemark

to disarm the factory alarm, you must turn the key in the door to unlock.

Who installed it and didn't wire a jumper to disarm the factory alarm on unlock.

FC Drifter

if youre low on coolant then yes that could cause the temp to rise. but the bottom line is, your car has seen more than one full on pegged out overheat. most likely your motor is screwed. put some more coolant in, put the new cap on then crank it up and see what it does. even if the temp doesnt rise, you still may have problems. check for white smoke in the exhuast or the smell of burning coolant. also, grab a flashlight and look around on the tops of the rotor housings. if you see coolant coming out anywhere its all over for that engine. i wish you the best, but like i said, these engines do not tolerate high temps. one good overheat is good enough to ruin a perfectly good engine.

deltr0n`

thanks a lot Icemark, i was like WTF is this....it must of woke up the whole neighnrhood, because it was going off for a good 5 mins, untill i just decided to d/c the battery....jesus...

deltr0n`

i understand how much you guys emphasize the rotary overheating, but actually, i dont think i would call it over heating because when it did go up to H in temp i wasnt driving, it was idling and as soon as i saw it i turned the car off....so i dunno, all i can do is PRAY that i dont need a new engine....

deltr0n`

ok so i'll fill er up with some coolant (how do i know how much to put?), and replace the cap tomorrow, and update this post as soon as i get some results....

FC Drifter

fill it up till it starts coming back out make sure you bleed the system too. pour coolant in, then squeeze upper and lower radiator hose until bubbles stop coming up. then pour in more coolant and reapeat over and over till the system is full and there are no more bubbles. it takes a while so just be patient with it.

RX7_ZRO

deltr0n', just my help if help it is...

Don't let the coolant get down too low like I did...I overheated it bad b/c I didn't know that I had a heater hose going (didn't kill my engine, thank god, I didn't have any warning about the one-shot rotary deal). I ran out of coolant so the engine overheated and then started burning oil instead. Got to the point where I had less than a quart in the system...smoked like a nuclear stackhouse, too.

deltr0n`

hopefully thats part of my problem...i think it HAS lost a bit of coolant since, and it only started going up high temps today, so possibly this is the reason.....I PREY TO GOD that this IS the reason!

ASE_Joe

an easy way to remove the air from the system is to drill a small hole in the outside of the thermostat (in the metal ring that sits on the housing). This will let air past the stat. Just let it run without the water neck cap until it is warm, and most of the bubbles will be out.
HTH!