How big of a deal is an Apex seal leak. I have a coolant leak and just wondering if there is a quick way to check to see if its that.

 

 

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Lol hope its not an impossible question

 

You either have a coolant leak, or a damaged apex seal. They have nothing in common except for the fact that they reside inside the same engine. Apex seals have nothing to do with coolant. There are internal coolant "o-rings" which can fail which is commonly known as a "coolant seal failure".

 

so if i have a minor coolant leak what are the possibilities. And what does the Apex seal deal with?

 

Apex seal is part of the seal for the combustion chambers:

http://www.rotaryengineillustrated.c...-rotors-2.html

As for a coolant leak, where is it leaking? If you are referring to an internal engine leak where it's burning the coolant, then it's an engine rebuild. If it's an external leak, you fix whatever is leaking.

 

just got it and haven't put it on the lift yet to look underneath checking it out this weekend. When i see if i don't know what it is i will shoot you a message if thats cool. Thanks man

 

Do you have a coolant leak or are you loosing coolant with no leak?

 

no i am losing coolant and i can see a little bit everytime i pull out of a parking spot.

 

Then it sounds like an external leak and nothing to do with the engine (thats a good thing). Put the car on a lift or on jackstands and poke your head under there and see where it is coming from.

 

me and a buddy are doing this fri. I listened to one of his buddies who knows a great deal about cars but i guess not rotary engines since he said it could be the apex seal. thats what i get LOL but i will see and keep you guys updated so i can find out what do if i don't.

 

Completely different. Stop listening to that guy, lol.

 

Yes, please do not listen to this guy anymore...Lol.

 

This can indeed come from an internal coolant issue......the combustion pressure pushes past the compromised o-ring into the cooling system, thus filling your coolant overflow. It has a vent at the top, so will dump coolant on the ground when full. Is the puddle coming from the front passenger side of the car?

I agree with the above, do NOT listen to your friend anymore, he know jack nothing about rotaries as he has proven to you already.

 

Well put Goodfella, when my coolant seals went bad that is exactly what I experienced. Well I didn't, as I was still in Iraq but that's what my brother described to me over the phone. Once these things started happening the car was no longer driven and when sent to Banzai-Racing for the rebuild all my parts were reusable so figure out what's wrong. Once you figure out what's wrong fix the correct way cob-job's will cost you more in the long run.

 

well like i said i am looking at it and to tell you the truth i ahven't driven it in two days so i don't know what side right now i might start it up tomorrow and let it run to see what side it is. If it is and internal coolant issue..... is that hard to fix urself??? i am pretty good with cars and learning and fixing.

 

Find a local RX7 enthusiast. Preferably 1 that has been around for 4-5 years.

 

If it is an internal issue you have to remove the engine and perform a full rebuild Not easy or cheap for the common person.

However, figure out the problem before starting to stress over an issue that may not exist.

David

 

If you can rebuild a engine (and have the tools/time), then yes you can do it yourself. If you have never rebuilt an engine before, make sure you have the time and money to do the rebuild twice. It's not difficult to do, but what you don't know, you don't know. i.e. you think you are doing everything right until you start it up and it doesn't work right. Then you have to tear it down to figure out what you did wrong. In that process, you can damage more than was originally damaged for the rebuild causing more money the second time around. Everything could also work just fine, but there always is a possibility of failure which is why shops make money rebuilding engines.

 

My brother was going to do my rebuild but it didn't seem cost effective since there is a selection of professionals that have great pricing. Plus I wanted to get my engine ported so I would have to ship it out anyways.

Most important step, find the problem. I'm curious, how many miles are on it and is it stock, reliability type mods or what?

 

If you are a decent mechanic, you can probably do this. Buy the Bruce Turrentine rebuild video and follow it step by step.

 

+1^ my coolant seal went out and this would always happen.

 

well i am in japan. so i should be able to find a good mazda guy. Supposedly there is a chick right here at our hobby shop garage that has rebuilt her rx7 motor like 3 times UGH that turns me on a little haha but i am going to head up there and look for her and have her help.

 

There are a few things that you can do to determine if you have coolant seal failure:

1. Bring the car up to temp, shut it down and allow it to sit over night. Pull the leading spark plugs, rotate the engine backward by hand and see if coolant comes out of the plug holes.

2. Bubble test, install a Lisle funnel and runn the car, look for a steady stream of bubbles

3. Pressure test the coolant system. This can be done at nearly any auto shop

4. Hydrocarbon test. This checks to see if there are any exhaust gases present in the coolant system. It requires a special tool and fluid, which not everyone has access to. This is the most conclusive test however beyond the obvious presence of coolant in the cumbustion chamber(s)

 

exactly you live in the country where some of the greatest rotary builders have their shops... i would go to RE and just get it fixed there. but from what i have been reading it may be a hose leak or a little hole in the radiator. but it you have a stock AST it could be that too, they are known to crack