My water seals went out pretty soon after i did a coolant flush and new radiator, just met a guy who said the same thing happend, we both took a few days to get our radiators and new coolant in after flushing it, is it possible that during those days the inside of the housing rusted a bit and caused some sort of malfunction, or is this just coincidence?

 

You probably knocked some alumaseal or brittle bits of coolant seal loose when flushing. Your sure you didn't overheat it while flushing? It's unlikely that water alone sitting in the system for a few days rusted the passages. I've had a pile of junk irons sitting in my backyard for 4 years and they're not rusted.

 

I also had my coolant seal fail right after a flush, so I think what NCross said about "knocking brittle bits of coolant seal loose" would make sense.

 

What about "you left an air pocket in the cooling system" theory?..air in a space without coolant..heats up..bam..bad seal.

 

Coincidence.

But if you're looking to form a theory, it's possible that the flushing operation actually uncovered a weak point in the seal that was previously being covered by rust, scale, or other buildup. Kind of like cleaning an old rusty pipe joint to shiny bare metal with a wire brush, and then finding that you caused a leak because the rust was holding it together.

 

i can see how a flush would disturb something, and show a coolant seal failure, but i actually have never see it.

my friend used to flush the engines with a pressure washer too

 

Many times when trying to fix something you create other problems, one of the joys of fixing cars. Lol

 

What type of coolant did you use? A recent thread showed some coolants eat away at the seals.

 

usually it is the air pocket that is created after the flush, that causes the overheat cycle that blows out the 25 year old seal or cracks the already compromised seal wall..

if you do the flush properly and refill and bleed the system properly i see no reason why a flush and fresh coolant would harm an engine.

 

100% water lol jk

 

where is that thread that shows what coolant eats away seals? I wanna know... thnx

 

https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...olant-1027499/

 

the OEM coolant seals ingest just about any type of fluid, which is another reason why i moved away from them. the viton seals i use now are resistant to just about anything i throw at it, the only exception i've found is acetone.

 

a buddy of mine wants to sell me a short block that "ran well before pulled" and ts been siiting or a few weeks, wants three hundred for it, whatd you guys think?

 

No need to think, compression test it.

 

plus if it winds up being bad you know where to find him.

 

Just do a compression check and shine a flash light into the exhaust ports to check the internals.. Check for a cracked rear iron too! Under the oil pedestal.

 

Thnx Good info here. I had no idea :/

 

You're welcome!

Rotary powered cars should come with a book of what to do and what not to do.

Lots of people end up learning the hard way then give up.

 

they do, it's generally in the glovebox when you buy the car.

even the RX8 owner's manual specifically tells you not to start the engine and shut it off before reaching operating temperature.

 

That's true but still alot of stuff in there you have to read in between the lines.

 

thanks guys

 

Miranda.