So... against my better judgement I decided to do a touge run in this NA '88 Rx7 I got handed down while my other car is in the shop. I noticed the engine temp was slowly rising as I was driving, but didn't want to fall behind so I kept pushing it anyhow. It overheated and was steaming coolant... I left it on the mountain and am going to pick it up tomorrow... hopefully it will be fine, but what do you think the problem could be? Thermostat? How are the factory radiators on these cars, can they handle constant WOT/high-RPMs? Coolant level was slightly above full.

 

No idea.

Unfortunately, I don't think anyone on here can shake their magic 8 ball and see your problem through the internet. But if you didn't overheat the everlovin' hell out of it, you should be fine.

The cooling system on Rx7's suck to begin with (just my opinion)

Make sure your plastic underbelly pan is there, the radiator's not clogged with dirt or a plastic bag, check the coolant to see if it's all gummed up, see if the waterpump belt's loose, or if there's a cheap e-fan instead of the stock engine-driven fan. Sometimes if an e-fan's not set up properly, it'll hurt more than help.

 

http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/cooling.htm is a good place to start.

 

Fixed... it was a coolant hose going to the engine that tore apart. Took it off, cut it and reconnected it. Added more coolant to the radiator and a lower temp thermostat and it's running even cooler than before!

 

Why the lower temp thermostat?

 

Put the stock thermostat back in. The car is designed to work around 84 degrees. Putting in a lower temperature thermostat is just going to cause increased fuel consumption, lower power output and greater engine wear.

Also, since the hose has blown apart, replace it. Cutting an inch off and reclamping is a temporary effect. Might as well replace all your cooling hoses while you are in there, since the others are likely to fail soon as well.

 

I disagree about FCs having poor cooling systems, NA ones anyway. The stock cooling system on an NA car are more than enough for high RPM/load driving.