silvercvic

iTrader: (17)

I just bought my '94 , registered and titled today, drove it 20 miles and now I'm boiling coolant. I saw the same problem when I first test drove the car and the previous owner said he had mazda fix it...something about a plug on the reservior. The motor/turbo are new under warranty with 1K miles on it 72K on the chassis.

I drove the car around (highway speed) home, let the car run for a good 15 mins, then I noticed coolant leaking from underneath. I popped up the hood and coolant was boiling out of the reservior. Now when the problem occured, I noticed I didn't hear the fan (it was getting dark and could barely see a damn thing), but I remember hearing the fan spinning (engine off) earlier in the day. I called the previous owner up and mentioned the problem (coolant and fan)....

He called me back later and mentioned replacing the 2 fan relays recently. He also said he bought the cheaper ones (parts store; $7/piece) rather than Mazda's($50/piece). I searched around the forum and read members talking about 4 relays; 2 big ones and 2 smaller ones) I believe the owner replaced the 2 smaller ones. Any insight on this...anyone????????

I am ready to add coolant to my car tomorrow morning, but I noticed 2 radiator caps under the hood. One cap with a flange (standard cap on most cars) and one metal round one above the intercooler(?). WHich is which? Is one a bleeder??

Another question...where is the fan located (too dark to see now)? Do these normally fail on stock?? I read something about fan mods?

PLEASE HELP!!! I am new to RX-7s and would like to know more about my new car. BTW, what does FD mean?

NINjaX7

sounds like you didn't read up on these cars prior to buying it... get ready for a big headache unless you have lots of money just laying around.

one is for your air separation tank (AST), this one should have a spring loaded cap to allow the expanding coolant to go into your overflow tank. MAKE SURE IS HAS THE RIGHT bar rating.

the other one is your t-stat housing, it should have another cap on it but it's not spring loaded, it should just be a rubber seal underneath the cap. so what reservoir are you talking about?

the fan is located underneath the stock intercooler attached to your radiator, the radiator is mounted diagnally, you should be able to see it if you look down the front part of the engine bay. when the car is off try turning on your fan with the AC on and the fans should turn on.

there are a billion threads on coolant on this car if you haven't noticed yet. try searching for the FAN modification, so that your fans will turn on upon shut down and stay on for about 10 minutes.

FD is just a code name for the 3rd generation rx7 (FD3S), the first gens were titled FB's and the second gens were titled FC's

speedsilver7

iTrader: (8)

you may have a bad coolant seal so good luck with it

MR_Rick

iTrader: (7)

and you where looking into getting a body kit. We were not trying to give you a hard time on your other thread about getting a body kit. We were giving more of pointers to read up on this cars and get the reliability issues done before you start moding the car. If you keep letting the car overheat you will be replacing that motor soon. Read the stickies and it will give you an idea of what are the componets under the hood and where are they and what they do. This is not your tipical car. This car came out of the factory with some issues that need attention. I would not be surprise if your cooling system has air in it.

rx7fdfc

set aside 3-5,000 for an engine rebuild. overheat these cars just once and you'll toast your coolant seals. it sounds like you bought someone elses problem, imo.

rowtareh?

iTrader: (1)

Fd is not a code name, FD is the chassis code. Or FD3S.

jpandes

I hope this isn't the case, but you may have just been screwed by the seller. It sounds like you may have just purchased an FD with bad coolant seals. Bad Coolant seals = Need for a rebuilt engine ($4,500+/-)

I have had one motor die because of a bad seals. Do a search for the "Champagne Bubble Test". That may help you diagnose whether or not air is getting into your coolant system from the engine. You can also try "burping" the system to purge any air pockets in your cooling system.

Good luck!

jpandes

Also, check out both of these two sites:

http://robrobinette.com/

http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/index.html

A must read for new FD owners....

jic

iTrader: (1)

the leak can be your stock ast also
when i got my car i noticed my ast was leaking and i replaced it with an aluminum one from pettit
from then on...no more leaks
you better hope its not a coolant leak..

scotty305

iTrader: (2)

Good luck, sorry i don't have time to type a wordy reply. Read this page for at least 30 minutes. Spend another 30 minutes reading all the links that say "cooling" in them.

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/faq-3rd-gen-other-useful-links-68640/


To fix your cooling system, you could start by bleeding the system of air. Even a healthy cooling system won't work if it's got air bubbles in it. Then have the cooling system pressure tested, and go from there. It won't hurt to flush & fill the fluid either, but you will probably need to do that anyway after replacing whatever is causing your leaking.

You should make it a point to find a knowledgeable local mechanic, it sounds like you need one.

-s-

POS7

I wouldnt' do any long drives until you diagnose and fix your problem. If your fans work (you should be able to see them below your stock intercooler)you dont need to worry about the relays. If the standard radiator cap (the one you mention) isn't sealing this could cause problems. Find the leak in the coolant hoses if you have one.

You're lucky if the motor/turbos is underwarranty and it turns out to be your coolant seals

I thought you get coolant smelling smoke fromt eh exhaust with bad seals (forgive my ignorance, I haven't had a motor go out on me before *knock on wood*)

Gadd

This one is easy, Take the car back to the shop that warranting the motor and don't
take it back untill it's right. Read the stickys about buying a RX-7. When they tell you it's fixed take the car for a long test drive, Check the boost pattern, make sure it's not over heating, make sure there using oem parts. Your paying for a new motor, turbos AND a warranty.

RochX7

yup everyone pretty much hitted what you needed to know, stickies and faqs are very important!! and good luck with your new headaches i mean rx7!

HotWheel

Ok after you burb or bleed the system replace the ast cap with a stant one
from PEP BOYS .

IF it continues to over flow and the overflow sounds like a little Jacuzzi .
and you can see a little smoke and smells sweet like coolant at cold start up
than I would say the coolant seal is bad !

What is happening is exhuast gas is blowing into the coolant through the coolant seal !

This has happened to me and many others !

You will have to pull the engine and get it rebuilt .

It coast me around $2300. for a street 1 , port 2mm apex, teflon water seals .ect ect. Hayes Rotary.

Lets hope you can solve it with a burp/blead !

1QWIK7

iTrader: (33)

wow man

im sorry it had to come down to this

you knew what you were getting into right?

o well, too late, the car is in your hands with a current problem..umm everything that has to be said was already said in this thread..

good luck man

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Put coolant into that one.

alberto_mg

hey, is your name Wai?

BLKTOPTRVL

Before adding more coolant, first check the level of the coolant in the overflow tank (under the passenger side fender/light.)

If it was already too full, that may have been the source of your overflow and maybe not a big issue.

Also, if the overflow is at an acceptable level (if there is too much water in the overflow, siphon some out until it is at the max line) and the engine is full of water (at the place indicated by Mahjik), run it again to heat and see if it overflows.

While heating, be sure to check the temperature guage, but be aware that is it not an acurate indication of your engine temp.

POS7

Its never too late! He could always unload it on some unsuspecting fool and have them turn into a certified "rotorhead"

LemonR1

Happened to me!

patfat

I also live in Alexandria. I can come over and take a look.

fd0

iTrader: (8)

FYI, coolant seals are rubber gaskets or teflon gaskets that seal your engine pieces together. Once you overheat it, you will melt it or destroy it, thereby allowing coolant to be burned into your combustion chamber...the way to get to fix that little piece of gasket is to tear your engine apart...hence the $3k-$5k price. At least you'll have a new engine that you'll know is good. Good luck!

PVerdieck

Another coolant leak source is the lame line that goes to the overflow tank. It consists of a few lines, joined together with plastic tube joints that can crack and leak.

bajaman

OH man.....you bought this car WITH this condition??? The only saving grace here is you have the warranty. This is good because you ARE going to need it. I hope the seller isn't a good friend or a Forum member, because he screwed you. Think about it....how many people take the time and effort and SPEND THE MONEY to replace an engine and then get rid of the car nearly immediately after? No one, unless they see the tell-tale signs of yet more problems and are just ******* fed up with it all.

silvercvic

iTrader: (17)

The guy bought a viper and decided to sell his 94. I located the problem last night, the sub-harness that connects the fan relays to the main engine harness fried and shorts out. I jiggled the wires and the fan came on, so now my mission is to locate the part. Anyone got one or know where to get one?? I posted in the wanted section, but in case someone got one laying around, please PM me.

Thanks all