RRTEC

iTrader: (13)

I drove a 91 rx-7 today in pretty good shape i.e minor dents and fading of paint, the interior was in pretty good shape, the motor was rebuilt (mazda) about 30k ago, the car pulled well in all gears, the rear end was a little sloppy , the clutch pilot bearing was making that rrrrr sound and it would smoke white clouds out if you left it in gear at 5-7k for a few seconds....while decelerating. I did the bubble test and the rad wasn't bubbling and was full.....White smoke is coolant right...
Where is the coolant leaking from? Also i was thinking of purchasing this car as a daily driver, under normal driving conditions (3-4k rpm) it doesn't smoke at all and runs great....How long does the motor have do you think? Would you trust driving it everyday? The asking price is $1900 firm it is a 91 base model. What do you think?

YearsOfDecay

I would stay away from that one as a daily driver.... Unless you want to rebuild it.. I suspect that the coolant O-rings are starting to go. The coolant is getting into the motor as the coolant expands and when you let of the gass at high RPM, you are creating a larger vaccume situation inside the motor, thus pulling the coolant into the housings, whith little fuel/air being burned as you decel at High RPMs, you get the white smoke. Very small amounts of coolant leaking may not even be noticeable under normal driving, until you rev it way up and let off the gas. The motor is most likely still OK and could be rebuilt, but it will deteriorate rather rapidly.

Get someone to rev the car up and smell the exhaust. Even a small leak will make the exhaust smell like antifreeze, even if there is no smoke.

The bubble test can be hit or miss, depending on the condition of the water seals.