Hondaeat-R

Ok, here we go folks. I just finished up my clutch and exhaust install today on my 1987 N/A RX-7. Great ..clutch works fine, exhaust good sound. I also did plugs/wires (both ngk & the right plugs), replaced the old O2 sensor. Before I did any of this stuff, the car ran at 1/4 up the stock Temp gauge @ idle and low speeds. Great. But now, when I start the car it's at 1/2 on the gauge @ idle and even higher when on the highway.
I drove it home today from my buddies garage and on the way home it reached 3/4 on the gauge. NOT GOOD. Didn't overheat but...wtf ? Why would it all of a sudden run so hot ? It's a considerably low mileage engine (orig. @ 98,000), and had only one adult owner. I know that he said he replaced the Thermostat (probably used the wrong one) but either way, the car ran @ perfect temp until after this clutch job. It's strange. The ambient air temp when it was running @ 1/4 on the gauge was much cooler than today but still, it shouldn't differ that much. Today it was 75 out and the car was outside under the sun for 3-4 hours, and when it was running @ 1/4 on the gauge the temp outside was maybe 45-50 or so. What should i do, start by putting a new OEM thermostat in and flushing the radiator ? I didn't flush the original coolant that it honestly, prob a few years old if i had to guess, previous owner didn't drive it much(once a week maybe) so, it sat a lot. If those things don't fix it, what...a new water pump ? I just wanna drive this freak'n car w/out this BS...it's annyoing. thnaks

jgrts20

on a normal summer day my car will run to almost half, about 200 degrees water temp on my aftermarket gauge. Highway speeds change it a little. When was the last time you flushed your radiator and changed the thermostat?

satch

iTrader: (1)

Is your coolant overflow tank empty? If so put some coolant and water in it and see if after a few drives the coolant disappears..Also,slide the temperature control to the far left(hot).

Hondaeat-R

Earlier, the coolant tank was low, but not empty, so i topped it off then drove a few short times and it wasn't missing any. I had the heater on when i was driving it before, like you said.

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

Theres a good chance your clutch fan is bad, if it spins freely pushing it by hand after you shut the car off (after car has been driven and is at running temp) then its defniitely bad , spinning freely meaning it will go around for 2 rotations or more.

If it was good it will stop almost immediately after u turn it and not even make it one rotation. Having a bad clutch fan will cause the engine to overheat very quick after warming up, mine had the same problem and was fine after replacing the clutch fan with a good used one.

Hondaeat-R

I've only owned the car a month or two, yesterday was the 1st time i've "really" driven it (clutch was bad before). So, i've never flushed the coolant or changed the thermostat. Like i wrote in my previous post, the earlier owner chenged the thermo, but prob not a OEM unit though. i have a OEM thermo right here for it. The car wasn't driven much by the previous owner so it's very possible that the collant is really bad/old and rad is clogged. The car got even hotter when driven for 5 min on highway ( 3/4 up the stock temp gauge). i wrote all this in the 1st post. thnks

Hondaeat-R

I'll try that but, i think the clutch fan is good. Spinning by hand is the only way to tell ? seems like there could be a lot of result variation just due to the human element (how hard you push it).

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

well the way its built if the clutch is bad the fan will spin freely after being shut off, no matter how hard u push it it shouldnt spin much at all, if its spins like its on a bearing the fan is bad.

sidewayz_FC

my car did the same thing, temps would be half way and would go up if you pushed it, its definitely your thermostat.

Hondaeat-R

Hmm ,today i'll check the the Fan and change the thermostat, as well as flush the rad. Do i need to jack the car up to drain the coolant ?

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

Also depends on what the open setting on the tstat is , mine is 195 and you also never want to use anything but a mazda oem tstat, ive heard of people having many problems from aftermarket brand tstats so stick with mazda oem.

Hondaeat-R

I'm gonna guess and say that the previous owner DIDN'T use a OEM thermostat when he replaced it. But regardless, the car was running right @ 1/4 up the temp gauge before i did the clutch/tranny and tune-up. Only after these things did it begin to run hot.

Hondaeat-R

Well, when i was taking the filler neck off the waterpump/thermostat housing....a nice 20 year old bolt broke of in the flange on the water pump where the filler attaches. Awesome right ? Looks like i'll be pretending my car broke down and use AAA to tow me to the garage/machine shop down the road...this blows. The radiator had tons of hair/fur/ on the front of it, that can't help. Also, despite the fact that I royally fucked that bolt up, the thermostat that i was trying to take off, wouln't budge a bit. Ho do you get that out ? What are my options for getting this bolt out ? I have about 3/8" to grab w/ vise grips, could i soak the **** out of it with PB or Liquid Wrench then turn it out ?

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

Its probably just sealed on there with rtv but you should be able to get it to come out , just dont damage any of the thermostat housing where the tstat seals on the housing.

All you need is to get enough torque on it for it to break the seal.

Hondaeat-R

I'm sure i can eventually get the t-stat out but...there's a bolt broken off in the water pump, one of the two bolts that mounts the filler neck to the water pump. unsure of what to do here now...

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

Use an easy out

Hondaeat-R

Rx-7 = Money Pit. Now I understand

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

You bought the car knowing it may very well need maintainence. Its a 20 year old sports car, you wouldnt have thought that everything was going to stay like new after 20 years and nothing needs to be fixed ?

Its all about dedication, if you arent a dedicated rotary mechanic then you arent going to be a person who will last with this car.

Everyone has to start somewhere, but after years from now youll look back at this and see how easy of a fix it was.

Hondaeat-R

Yea, I'm not really suprised at the repairs I've had to make, it just sucks. I'm by no means a dedicated rotary mechanic, because you shouldn't have to constantly fix a car. I'm all for modifying the car and adding goodies and working on it in that sense but, for me...having to spend time on silly **** like a bolt breaking off..just blows & doesn't make me pumped. I'm obviously not "giving up" on the car or anything, it's just a pain in the ***** for me because i have little money and even less time. Regardless, it'll fixed today

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

It took me 2 years to get my car to where it is now and its still not how i want it, but the main thing is preventive maintainence on these cars, take care of it like you want it to last and it will but if you neglect to do preventive maintaince or maintaince in general , you can plan on having problems...especially if you neglect maintainence on things that can cause you to blow up your engine.

Hondaeat-R

Yea, I here ya. I'm just sour because i've had the car for months and when I finally fix the major stuff, I drive the car for 30 minutes and notice the heat gauge going up...

Can you clean the hair/debris out of the front of a radiator w/out taking the rad out ? Like maybe a car wash pressure washer ? When i was under the car i noticed tons of hair/fur stuff on the rad fins.

Hondaeat-R

With the bolt drilled out and and all threads re-tapped, w/ a new thermostat and new coolant in there it seems to be running cooler, it's at 1/3 up the temp gauge at idle. i have to go to school and then re-attach the plastic under belly pan & clean out the rad fins before i can "really" drive it and see how the temp holds up. Is 1/3 on the gauge still too high ?

BTW, who makes the OEM thermostat for the s4 Rx-7 ? i thought it was Nippon, but the one i bought from spooledupracing isn't Nippon. hmm