2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992) 1986-1992 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections.

Water Jacket Seal

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Old Feb 20, 2007 | 09:21 PM
  #1  
JdmPoweredRX7's Avatar
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Water Jacket Seal

Well My RX7 Over Heats and I was wondering how hard the water jacket seal is gonna cost to replace and how hard to do?
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Old Feb 21, 2007 | 01:51 AM
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If the water seals did blow it's rebuild time. Plan on taking the engine apart and replacing the soft seals (and anything else thats broken or out of spec) or paying someone to do the rebuild. Plan around $800 if the engine parts pass inspection and rebuild the engine yourself to $2000+ if you pay someone else. I got this estimate from another coolant problem post.

Before considering "rebuild time" get the system pressure tested or do the bubble test described here (found searching for "bubble test" or "champagne bubble test").

Also check the "FAQ for FC sticky", get a copy of the Factory Service Manual, and read on how to bleed the system -- maybe you got lucky and it was just air in the system, unless you drove it for a while with the guage on H and the add coolant light blaring at you (like I did. I'm getting a very close up look of how my engine works with my rebuild.)
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Old Feb 21, 2007 | 03:20 AM
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LOLOL SUCKER..............sigh i'm so sad cuz that's EXACTLY whats wrong with my engine, and yes just like he said, its time for a rebuild, so good luck with that and make sure to let me know if you find a place that will do it for cheap heh
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Old Feb 21, 2007 | 04:55 AM
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Cars often pass a pressure test and still have bad coolant seals, the best thing you can do is have a hydrocarbon test done on the cooling system. This will tell you if there are any exhaust gases in the coolant. If there are then the coolant seals are bad and the engine needs to be rebuilt. If you continue to drive the car and overheat it, you will warp the plates making your core non- rebuildable.
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Old Feb 21, 2007 | 09:25 AM
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If your core is rebuildable, rotaryresurrection.com will rebuild the engine for $1000 plus shipping to and from. If you replace all your seals, that's the ballpark you'll be in anyway - talk to Kevin Landers (RotaryResurrection) and he should be able to tell you roughly what freight would be I'm sure.
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Old Feb 21, 2007 | 03:25 PM
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Or we can build your engine with all upgraded parts for just a few hundred more
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Old Feb 21, 2007 | 03:27 PM
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Or, you can buy the rebuild kit to do it yourself for $1500 from Racing Beat. How many of those you think they sell? I guess you'd only have to sell one or two.
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Old Feb 21, 2007 | 03:33 PM
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Honestly, though, it's not hard to do yourself - IF, and I stress IF, it's just a water jacket seal that's busted, and your engine is low mileage, strong, and in good condition, then you can do it yourself for about $200. Getting it out of the car is really the hardest part of the whole deal, as long as you're careful, methodical, and have a nice big, bright clean area to work in. Pick up a rebuild video, I used the Rotary Aviation Bruce Turrentine video - he walks you through everything step by step. If you can get a TV and VCR out to the garage, you can watch him do it, then pause it and do it, then watch a little more and do a little more.

Now, realistically, if you blew a water jacket seal, you probably cracked an iron, too. If you shop around, you can get a replacement iron in good condition for ~$75. Still, $300 isn't bad. You can also replace all the springs in your engine to boost your compression back up like new for about $60 bucks after that - it all depends on how much you want to do.

The minimum you're going to need, if you take apart your engine though, is all new coolant seals, o-rings, and gaskets, along with a healthy quantity of shop rags, paper towels, cleaners and lubricants.
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