Ok, so I bought my RX7 knowing that it had a coolant leak around the top stud for the waterpump assembly so I was bored at lunch today and was looking at it to see what would be needed to fix the coolant link...then I saw the problem (which was different from what I thought it was) and wanted your ideas on how much a of a bitch this is gonna be to fix.

There looks like there is a fracture on the top most stud mount on the front plate(see pic, crack is in red). I havent taken it apart yeat since I'll be waiting till after I get back from Sebring next week so I wont know what else is wrong till then but this looks like the problem.

Thoughts on how much of a bitch its gonna be to fix and how to fix it....should I just get it welded back on and call it a day?

 

it seems that this is known as the "ear" on the front iron...anyone else had this problem?

 

Never had one break......

I'd say if you're planning on having it welded that you've got a pretty tall task on your hands. That much heat is *possibly* going to damage you coolant seals and maybe more. Not to mention also that the ear needs to be precisely positioned. Normally that stud has a VERY thin shim that is used to make up for the difference of having a gasket between the pump and iron.....and that shim is about the thickness of two pieces of paper. So thats the kind of tolerance you'll need to put it back with........

IMHO.....its bad and you're going to need to replace the iron But hey, welding it is worth a shot

 

do i need to pull the entire motor to replace the front plate? how much do front plates run?

 

Yes you would, and price depends on a few factors. How much you can get a good used one for in your area vs. cost of new (which I don't know) But I'd imagine a spec'd used one to run in the 100-200 dollar range. But that will be cheap considering you'll have to rebuild the engine afterwards.

I'd *try* welding it since its your only other option though.

 

**** me...

 

Yep... been there got the t-shirt. They break because people forget to put the thin little spacers there to keep it from flexing.

When I broke one, I tried JB-Welding it, and of course that didnt work. Then I welded it, and that worked for a while, but eventually broke again (at that point I wasnt aware of the washer issue)...

 

so i would have to rebuild the entire engine to replace the front plate?

 

care to elaborate on the washer issue? what spacers are you talking about?

 

+1

 

There are thin spacers that go between the water pump and that ear. Ive seen them on many of my cars.