Marco

I've been searching and reading this forum for a few evenings in a row now and I've read allmost every thread about the coolant overflow tank keeps filling up. I recently have that same problem, but my engine does not overheat, like the ones in the different threads.

I've cold started the engine today with the filler cap off and I saw a lot of bubbles. So my water seals are gone. But my car still starts very strong just a few cranks and it runs without hesitations, nomather the temperature off the engine it allways starts fine...

Also it doesn't seem to loose coolant, the amount in the overflow tank is allways enough to fill up the engine again.... It does smoke when cold though, but it allways did that...

Could having only a few of the symptoms of a blown water seal mean that the leak is so small that pressure gets in the coolant system but coolant can't get out.

Could this have something to do with a clogged exhaust, meaning that the seals aren't gone but just can't cope because of the excessive pressure from a clogged exhaust. (just keeping my hopes up)

I really hope that the engine doesn't need a rebuilt. I haven't got the time and place to do it, and even if I could find a rotaryspecialist in europe who can do it for me I'd probably can't afford it.

Marco.

rico05

I have no real answers, just a hope and prayer for ya man!! Hope everything turns out ok!!

hanman

So exactly what is the problem with your car? No white smoke, not overheating, no coolant loss? Why do you think there is something wrong with it?
hanman

gotorx7

I had a MAJOR water seal blowout on a Series II (First-Gen) ... Clouds of white smoke, water RAN out the bottom Spark Plug hole as I filled the Radiator..

I put some stop-leak in the radiator, and the engine ran for over 5 years (with an annual drink of stop-leak) before being retired...

DEFINITELY worth trying before you start ripping things a part...

Cheers,
Dave

Bambam7

You probably just have a bit of air in the system, and/or your water pump is cavitating, causing the bubbles.
You could have a gasket that is on it's way out... leaking just a tiny bit enough to let a bit of air in when you first start it up, but not enough to let coolant out, especially when warm.
If your temp doesn't climb too much over half, you don't smell coolant, you don't have billows of white smoke, and (The Biggie) doesn't go through any coolant (!)... then you don't have a problem!!!!

Clogged cats have been a failure of many an engine- especially when the pre-cats disintegrate, and jam the primary. I hope it's unclogged now!!

I wouldn't worry about your cooling system.

Stop-leak really reduces your system's effiency- ever seen a water pump that's come out of one of those cars??? It looks like it's been pumping clay.
You'll experience a good 20% increase in operating temps, especially when it's hot out, but it can save a rebuild.
It does work- but DON'T use it unless you're ABSOLUTELY sure that you have a leak!!!!

Dan.

Vroomaster

She's cavitating Captain!

Marco

It's pumping coolant in the overflow tank and not taking it back when cooling down, and there are bubbles in the coolant even when the engine is cold.

Marco.

gotorx7

Hi Dan,

That's definitely NOT the experience I had with it.
I used a product called BARS LEAKS - can you get that in the US/Europe?
And I DEFINITELY had a leak :-)

Cheers,
Dave

Bambam7

Funny- Bars leak was first made just outside my city, in Canada!
It actually came as OEM from a LOT of American cars, right from the factory.
Maybe some are worse than others.
It definately works, but it coats EVERYTHING!!

setzep

this is what it will look like if your water seal or casting has broke. This was a 87 13b that didn't have regular coolant changes done to it. You can see on the left hand side of the plate where the casting simply broke away.

His was (friends car) a lot worse than yours though, he had a hard time starting it in the morning (coolant leaking into the combustion chamber over night). When he got it started it would "lope" for a few seconds untill the coolant got pushed out or burned out I guess. It would start to overflow the coolant tank almost right after he started it up, he told me that it would only do it untill the coolant level got so low then it would simply stop but then thats when it started to overheat BAD. He told me would drive all the way to school sometimes with the needle on "H" (over 25miles).

Good luck, just hope you need a new radiator cap or something

black_sunshine

Okay, I'll offer my 2 cents....

My '86 had a small water seal leak.

Take your car down hand have a pressure check done of your cooling system. If everything comes back okay, then it's nothing to worry about, especially if it's not overheating or blowing white smoke everywhere.

The seals on your cap(s) should be soft and rubbery; the small seal should feel like soft leather. Anything else, and you need a new cap.

As for the system not siphoning the coolant back into the system, that narrows down to a cap problem (given there aren't any leaks anywhere). It COULD be that the hose connecting the collector bottle and the neck of the filler spout is plugged with gunk (they tend to do that).

I have had nothing but extremely bad luck with sealers and stop-leaks. Whenever my GTU's water pump was leaking, I put some stop-leak in it, and BAM! my engine overheated. Same story on the '86. So in otherwords, it's either brand-dependant, or they aren't good for rotaries.

Best of luck to ya!

Bambam7

That's what Im saying. It may get you driving again- they're GREAT at selaing leaks- no question about that, I sealed a radiator with bondo onece (yes, BONDO!!) and of course it cracked- but the 1/4 gap, that grow gradually from nothing, was sealed constantly by the stop leak (this was on an old T-bird)
BUT- It makes your cooling system work REAL hard.. it adds about 1/8 inch MINIMUM to all the heat transfer surfaces in the radiator.

Marco

I do not understand anymore. Checked the engine again today.

I removed the filler cap and started the engine (I have not been using the car for a few days so it was cold). I saw one or two big bubbles and after that nothing. It was like still water. When I pushed the throttle a little bit a saw the coolant being sucked in to the engine... perfect!!!.

I took the car for a drive and warmed it fully up. When I got back I smelled coolant. I looked under the hood and the overflow tank was very full again, but the coolant was not yet coming out. Then I noticed a very bad thing... there where exhaust fumes coming out of the overflow tank. I quickly took some photo's...



How can this be. The car still starts and runs strong. I does not smoke when hot. Could it be that the leak is in the exhaust section of the housing. How big must it be to see the exhaust form the tank.

Or could it be that it is not exhaust that i'm seeing but vaporizing coolant. But it smells like exhaust and not like coolant. Besides it does not feel hot and the temperature gauge stayed at normal operating temperature.

There is something I did not tell in this post before because I did not want to accept that this is my own fault but I did the atf trick last week...

please help...

Marco.

91vert

All of that carbon that got removed by doing the ATF "trick", must have been sealing up the combustion chamber somehow.

Go get the system pressure tested. If it fails, you got a bad seal and will need a rebuild unless you want to try the pour-in stop leak.

I had a leak in the rear rotor of my last RX-7 and used about half of the bottle of Prestone Stop Leak (looks like chocolate milk) and it worked....had no overheating problems.

Of course....I totalled the car about 3 months after adding it, so I never knew the long-term effects.