So my car overheated hardcore, like pissing coolant out the overflow for 5+ minutes. Been driving for bout a week now, my idle sucks and coolant is disappearing . Just to be sure before I pull the engine, I wanna get it tested. Should I get a pressure test done, or have the coolant checked for carbon monoxide(?). BTW the car doesn't smoke, and no bubbles on start up.

 

There is a test in the FAQ. Its fairly reliable test.

 

yeah i tried that, I was hoping for something more conclusive. The coolant pulsed slightly, not enough to even spill. Anytime the cranking stopped a single bubble would come out.

 

That sucks bro'...

There are a couple things (of course). Most noticable is the difficulty in mainly cold-starts and the sweet smell of coolant from the exhaust (upon start-up). Also, you'll notice your motor will be constantly pissing coolant out of over-flow tank.

You can rent a coolant compression tester from Miller's Rents on Hw. 99 in Edmonds for $10 for 4 hours.

One thing, I've never noticed bad coolant seals effecting my idle--unless the coolant is still burning off in the combustion chambers (like, the first 30 seconds). After that, the pressure would be pushing outwards and into your cooling system (not the coolant seeping into your combustion chambers).

I dunno, your seals are probably nearly done. You might be able to preserve the life of your Rx7 by filling and checking the coolant quite often, and just making sure it doesn't overheat. Each time you overheat it, it will be exponentially easier to overheat it the next time.

I would start saving for *at least* new coolant seals, and whatever else you want to replace/rebuild while the motor is apart.

 

Search on this forum and you’ll find some ways to band-aid it. If you did test with a head gasket test kit and it failed, I’d rather have the engine rebuilt. Not cheap though.