unlucky7

i just recently bought an 88 rx7 non turbo. their of course is the common list of unmaintained 7's like the sun roof not working and the dash lights and even the wind shield wipers only having one speed. i can deal with that stuff. but what i do need some one to give me an idea about is first off why my gas gauge stopped working cause that is really getting to me, AND THIS WHITE SMOKE OUT TAIL PIPES SOME TIMES. i was thinking maybe its that cat and i was going to get new one and then a borla cat back. what does every one think?

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

White smoke is bad, its usually an indication that youre burning coolant from bad coolant seals.

If its doing it when the car is first started up then it is probably like that the coolant seals are bad and I'm sorry but the engine will require a rebuild to replace the coolant seals,

However there are some temporary fixes for the problem and if the car isnt overheatting there is no say on how long it will be before it becomes a major problem.


Im not sure if the white smoke could be from something else, or maybe youre just judging the color wrong...the only thing it could be is extra unburnt fuel or oil.

This is taken from Rotary Resurrection.com , Kevin Landers

" In general anytime you have consistent cooling problems, loss of coolant that cannot be explained externally, steam/white smoke from the exhaust at startup, and possibly even flooding/hotstart problems, you should suspect internal coolant seal failure."

unlucky7

thats what i keep hearing but their is no sign of any overheating. theirs no temp problems. and i have ben keepin an eye on coolant ....... its not that.

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

is it automatic or 5 speed ? Ive heard autos have some kind of problem that can cause it to burn white smoke, as far as the manual i dont know what else the problem could be.

If the car isnt overheating and the coolant isnt going down it could be because the coolant seal problem isnt very bad now , but as the coolant seals get worse and worse youll notice more and more smoke and the car will want to overheat.

The leak could be the size of a pinhead right now but as time goes on it will expand and get bigger and cause more coolant to be burned, if that makes any sense.

There are ways you can test your coolant system to see if the coolant seals are bad.

This again is taken from Rotaryressurection.com (kevin Landers)

1)

Remove your coolant fill cap, and fill the system up as high as possible. Leave the cap off. Remove your EGI fuse (or disable coils on the carb’d models) to prevent startup. Have an assistant crank the car with the throttle open for several seconds. Observe the open coolant hole for air bubbles or excess pressure pushing water out. Any pressure or air bubbles (consistent) observed indicate compression pressure being pushed into the coolant system past the seals, since the water pump is not spinning fast enough to do anything and there is no other explanation. Passing this test does not necessarily guarantee the lack of a seal failure, but it goes a long way in easing my mind. Failing this test pretty much guarantees a failure internally.

2)

Run the car to operating temperature, then shut it down. Refill coolant. Let sit overnight, or at least several hours. When you return, remove your EGI fuse/spark as described above. Get in and crank the car for just a second or 2, enough to amount to just a few revolutions. Stop, and go pull all of your sparkplugs. Any evidence of water/coolant on the plugs means it was pooled up at the bottom of the combustion chamber due to bad seals, and got sloshed up onto the plugs when you cranked it…failing this test guarantees a seal failure, but passing it does not necessarily exclude you from a seal failure.

ericgrau

iTrader: (1)

He said it only happens sometimes. If it only happens when you start up on a cold day then it's prolly condensation or fuel or etc. That's normal. EDIT: but still try tests above.

gas gauge:
If it reads only between full and X, then drops to E, it's a bad sender unit. Drop fuel tank, replace.
If it won't go all the way up to full, it's corossion on the wiring and/or connections. I think you get a voltmeter, check resistance all the way back until you measure something significant.
If it won't read at all, the wires or the connections are broken/disconnected. Get a voltmeter, check for conductivity all the way back until you hit a break.
Clean/replace/solder connections and wires as needed.

Sry, haven't done it b4 so I don't know exactly what to open up. I only know b/c mine's still busted. I searched the forums, but I didn't bother replacing the sending unit.

unlucky7

k thankz and yes it is auto,

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

I found this on a search on the forum, this is probably your problem as well. This guy had white smoke coming out on his car after he filled the car with tranny fluid his was also an automatic.

" Problem found - modulator valve is bad - causinga leak and causing fluid to be pumped back into motor. Simple fix - $45 part - easy to get to - no need to drop tranny. Yea, I know everyone wants me to convert it to a 5 speed but I really like to keep my cars all stock. "

rafiky

make it 5 speed n drop a turbo II

unlucky7

as soon as i fix all these little problems here and their i intend on do just that. and every gauge but mph has bit the dust. i got new gauges for temp volts and oil pressure. mounted out side of cluster its annoying watching the cluster go to waist but i just need to fix the gas gauge. and would like to know my rpm