Coolant leak
 

Ok I took my car to a really good mechanic today to see where my coolant leak was and to do some other stuff. Well from what it looks like my leak is comming from the coolant lines going into the turbos. Just wondering if anyone has had this problem before and if they can give me a heads up of what im in for and if anyone might think other than there where else the coolant could be comming from? We couldnt quite see for sure that it was comming from there because we will have to take out the turbos to get to it...but we figured it was the only thing close enough to be leaking in that area.

Here r my mods in case anyone is wondering:

*Pettit Racing 1.3L 13B-REW street ported engine w/3mm apex seals.

*99' J-spec ceramic coat, ported and blueprinted twin turbos.

*NGK leading and trailing platnium plugs.

*10mm Magnacore spark plug wires.

*Upgraded Goodyear boost and vacuum hoses.

*Pettit Racing cold air intake.

*Pettit Racing 3" stainless steel downpipe.

*Pettit Racing aluminum coolant AST.

*ACT extreme clutch.

*Pettit Racing 8.5lbs flywheel.

*Pettit Racing 60/40 short shifter.

*HKS Super SEQ BOV kit.

*Koyo radiator.

*RX7 Trix battery relocation kit.

*Blit Dual Turbo Timer w/harness

Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

Those hoses are a common source of water leaks. If the search function is working, you can search for "turbo coolant hose leaks."

You should be able to change the hoses without removing the turbos. :D

Exactly. Pull the intake and airpump and you'll see this:

http://www.davidgeesaman.com/rx7/DSCF0066a.JPG

replace both hoses. It helped me to use a knife to cut off the old ones since they wouldn't twist off easily. Long-reach pliers will help a lot too. Use sandpaper or a dremel to remove deposits on the hard pipes, then install the new hoses. Run the car for a while, and burp/replace coolant until it's topped off again.

Now crack a beer since you don't have to do it again for 10 years. :)

Dave

Thanks for the quick replies...Ill check it out. :bigthumb:

hey one more questions. R the coolant hoses going to the turbo specialty hoses that u have to order or can u get them from the local auto zone?

Pretty much Mazda only. I recommend calling Ray at Malloy (888) 533-3400 and asking for the complete set. Whenever you're working on the car and you're 'in the area' you'll have them on hand.

Radiator hoses - some people buy the fancy silicone hoses, but IMO unless you think stock is ugly then stick with stock. Those are about the only ones available non-Mazda.

Dave

Thanks again dave.

So yea those hoses r a B!@ch. I just got the hoses in today. Me and my girl started taking it apart tonight. We already got the top one on and we decided to hold off on the bottom one for tomorrow morning. Hopefully she should be back on the road by thursday.

Ok I just replaced both turbo coolant hoses for the 2nd time in three months and its still leaking. I replaced the hoses the first time and replaced the cap but the one on the filler neck was a 16lbs cap. a few days later it started leaking again....so after I did some research I ordered a new cap from mazda and got a 13lbs cap. Since the leak was in the same area I figured that maybe it took out one of the hoses. Well I just installed the new turbo coolant hoses the new radiator cap and its still leaking. Is there another coolant hose on that side that I might be getting a leak from? Any help would be great. Thanks

If you're certain the leak is coming from the turbo area and the new hoses didn't fix it then most likely one of the hardlines on the turbos is leaking. Unfortunately this means removing the turbos :(

There are banjo bolts with copper crush washers under them where those coolant lines connect to the turbos and they can corrode and leak. You can't see it clearly on the car because the heat sheilds on the turbos are in place and cover them up. If you have coolant dripping from between the turbos and motor even after replacing your hoses I'm afraid the hardlines are the most likely culprit.

Get under the car with a bright light and check to see if there are any signs of coolant on the insides of the heat sheilds. If so it's most likely the hard lines.

Ok it looks like I was just being a little paranoid. I put everything back together and drove it to the car wash, got my oil changed and blew out the motor. I stopped at three different places after that and did not see any leaks. I finally drove it back home and parked and so far its been sitting for about 20min. w/no leaks :) I wont get my hopes up yet...but Ill check it again later tonight and refill the coolant and hopefully it should still be good. Ill update later. Thanks for all the help.