ChrisChung125

iTrader: (3)

First, a little background. I was driving home from a friend's place about 5 hours away. About 10 minutes into the trip I hit a pot hole. Well, to be honest, it was more of a pot trench. It was literally a 4 to 5 inch dip in the pavement along the railroad tracks.

Loud crash and a bang later I don't notice anything other than that my alignment is a little straighter. I stop about 3 hours into the trip and I notice that my lexan cover for my driver side headlight is gone. F***! Whatever, it was my fault, no biggie. I make the rest of the trip home and about 20 ft. from my parking spot my coolant light comes on.

I immediately shut the car down and pop the hood. I don't see anything at first, but I distinctly smell coolant. When I look a little closer, the bracket holding my radiator back away from my intercooler is popped off, one bolt is nowhere to be found and the other one is sitting on top of the radiator. I see a pinhole size spray of coolant coming from the radiator which I can now see is about and inch smashed into the corner of my intercooler. Fantastic.

I took radiator out today. The dent was bad, but even worse, I can now see that the radiator doesn't even seem to have been sitting in the lower brackets, but instead it was resting on the AC condenser. That explains why my AC never seems to be able to hold a charge. I also noticed what is either oil or coolant on the inside of the turbo side intercooler piping that I took off to get the radiator out.

So now for the questions:

1) Is it normal for residue to be inside the intercooler piping?

2) Does anyone have experience with the Apexi FMIC (it's the one on rx7store.net)? It's more of like a SMIC but whatever. I need to know if I can mount it lower and further to give more room for the radiator.

3) After looking at the pictures, do you think that the radiator is repairable?

4) Between the Mazda Comp Radiator and the Koyo triple pass, which would you recommend as a replacement if I need one?

5) Where can I get a AC condenser for cheap?

6) How can I safely decharge anything that could be left in the AC system to safely remove and remount?

7) With the any of the recommended radiators and my current intercooler, is there any other mounting setup that you recommend to maximize airflow and minimize the chance of another disaster.

8) I currently have the Apexi Intakes that came with the intercooler, but are there other intakes that you recommend that would free up more space immediately behind the radiator?

Pictures and more questions to come. Thanks for any help in advance.

-Chris

MADDSLOW

iTrader: (11)

1) I've yet to see an RX-7 with no oil in the I/C piping. A small amount is normal, a river is not.

3) I see no pictures

4) Although I had a bad experience with one, I'd recommend a Fluidyne, just because they bolt right in with little to no modification.

7) I took out my A/C components, and now my water temps are too low...

8) HKS RS intakes, and they look soo nice...

ChrisChung125

iTrader: (3)

Here's the pics of the radiator up close, the current intercooler location, and the IC piping oil I was speaking of.

More pics on the way. Gotta shrink 'em.

ChrisChung125

iTrader: (3)

Theres are the pics of the condenser. There are also close ups of the left and right dent.

MADDSLOW

iTrader: (11)

Ha, you call THAT residue in the piping? That's nothing compared to what I've seen...

And that radiator looks fucked IMO, but thats just an opinion, I don't know too much about fixing them...

ChrisChung125

iTrader: (3)

That's what I've been hearing and expecting. The guy at the shop said that it might be possible to MIG weld, but even then he doesn't think that it'll hold pressure or even work considering how thing the aluminum is...

HawaiianRedMako

Your radiator looks bad, MIG welding on the sides is possible, but not in the middle where the cooling fins are. However, the weld will probably be porus due to contamination from coolant/oxidation/vapors from heat.

I would recommend either getting it recored or a new one. Sorry for the negative report, but I'm a certified welder and wouldn't recommend fixing it. It'll just give you more trouble for the expense paid.

ChrisChung125

iTrader: (3)

How much would recoring cost and where could I get that done?

4CN A1R

iTrader: (6)

i wouldnt go with recoreing it. a new upgraded rad would be your best option in my opinion

ChrisChung125

iTrader: (3)

Arg! I don't know what I should do. It's pretty clear a new radiator is in order, but I don't know if I should try and sell my Apexi FMIC and go for a custom Vmount or to try and install the next radiator further back with the fans mounted in the front as 'pushers'.

A couple of thing's are for sure, I don't like how the radiator was mounted so close to the IC in the first place, I don't have that many options with my current IC, and I want my AC to work since I have all of that wasted space anyways. BTW I'm a newly commissioned O-1 and money is at a premium.

bajaman

Dude...sorry to hear about this....those giant pot-holes are killers.

I just don't think you can 'fix' that radiator...sorry.

As for your A/C questions, you can pick up a new condenser from a variety of places but for a genuine Mazda one I would call Ray Crowe at Malloy Mazda for the best deal. Remember if you disconnect ANY A/C line to cap it off immediately to keep moisture out, and even then when you go to recharge it with your new condenser, you ought to consider getting a new dryer.