Just got my first RX7 TII
 

Hello everyone. I jsut got a 88 turbo II with 86545 original miles the other day. The car has zero rust turbo still boosts, interior is mint, and the engine bay is cleaner than my 00 celica GTS. It is in prestine condition besides for when I got it to my house I looked under the oil cap and noticed white sludge. So from past bad experience in a 300zx I have learned that that sludge would usually mean blown headgasket, but I guess these cars dont have headgaskets. So I started it up a couple times and it was fine so I took it for a ride and it drove great. Then today I started it up and big clouds of thick WHITE SMOKE. I have been searching all day and found it is the coolant seals and that I should just rebuild it. Well I have never had luck with any cars i have bought so this not the end of the world for me but oh well. Anyways I just have a couple newbie question..........

1. The engine is running fine (besides for the sweet smelling white smoke) so instead of a complete rebuild can I just replace the coolant seals and nothing else or do I have to rebuild it? It idles good and it doesnt seem to be burning any oil.

2. Does the engine have to come out to replace the seals?

3. What parts do I need?

4. How many hours should I reserve for this project?

Thanks in advance to all and great site.

Does this site have a tech section that has installs and how-tos? If not we should try to set one up.

Usually replacing the coolant seals is a rebuild. I have heard of some people using that blockweld stuff when they don't want to rebuild. Rebuilding means taking the engine out, apart, and cleaning, replacing, and measuring everything. not a weekend project for a new person.

There is a how-to in the archive. Aaron cake had one in his turboing an n/a.

Well, first off you got yourself an excellent car, motor blown or not. I would suggest finding an experienced rotary mechanic in your area. Have them look over the car. If their good they should be able to immediatly tell you what the cars needs. Its your best bet IMO. In response to your questions:
1. Replacing coolant seals is part of a rebuild.
2. Oh yea.
3. A complete rebuild kit would be the best bet.
4. Since your too new to rotaries I would suggest letting someone else do it. (the rebuild)

Maybe if you don't really want to rebuild the engine yourself but have the tools and time to take it out then maybe give this guy a call..

http://www.rotaryresurrection.com/

www.BanzaiRacing.net They are awesome!! By far the nicest guy youll ever deal with and the work is just as good!

Don't panic, white sludge under the oil cap ain't the end of the world. New rx8's get it too, especially in the winter. Does it stop smoking after it warms up? If you are new to RX7 you will learn that you can flood the car easily. Let the car warm up before you shut it down. If you shut it down while its in its high rpm warm up you will flood it and have problems starting it the next time.
There's a low coolant sensor on the radiator right next to the cap. If your cooling is leaking or you radiator gets about 1 inch low it will alarm. I would check to make sure someone didn't jerry rig it. If you want to test for a engine block coolant seal leak pull the EGI fuse out of the under hood fuse block (the fuse closest to the motor - disables fuel pump) (also the way to unflood). Next remove the fill cap, not the one on the radiator, the one above the water pump. Your motor is a giant air pump so have someone turn it over while your observing the coolant fill. Air comming out is bad. Good luck with your new car, I doubt that your coolant seals are bad.

Man I hate to be the pessimist, but if you're smelling
sweet smoke your coolant seals are most likely toast...

If so after testing look in the tech section for the cooling seal fix http://www.rotaryresurrection.com/

When I started it the last time white smoke was coming from everywhere, under the hood and thick smoke from exhaust. It did smell somewhat sweet but it smelled almost like normal exhaust with a little gas in it.

Anyone heard or used these 2 products for my fix.....?
 

Thermagasket. Check it out at www.rxauto.com

and

Blue devil at www.gouniversalproducts.com

They do sound to good to be true but they sound similar to the cooland seal product used in the tech section from the link above. My uncle is a mechanic and he has seen the blue devil product work on normal engine 12 out of 15. He said they only didnt work on cars with gas in the coolant.

Oh, and Welcome to the forum!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Paul Yaw block weld fix is a TEMPORARY fix for EMERGENCY USE only!. Even Paul Yaw has made this clear on multiple occasions. The block weld will clog everything in it's path, including the radiator and heater core. It is ONLY to be used when there is no other option. And if you plan on rebuilding the engine, cleaning all that gunk out of the cooling passages is a nightmare.

Before you assume the engine is bad, do a cooling system pressure test. It will tell you if you have a problem (though white, sweet-smelling smoke doesn't sound good).

If you choose to rebuild, then yes, the engine has to come out. While you COULD replace just the o-rings and other gaskets and leave the hard parts, to go through all the effort to disassemble and clean the engine without replacing the primary wear items (apex seals, oil o-rings) isn't the best thing to do.

Check the archives, as they include several topics that might be of help. I have an engine-build walk through, and there's another which includes rebuild parts lists and sources.

look for kahren on the forum..he does quality rebuilds around the NE area....hes located in CT...and i will stand behind his work......btw...welcome to the club