ok so after a year or so of tracking down a coolant problem it led me to beilieve the coolant seals were going. check here "https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=511947"

so tonight i took the block apart and found every coolant seal in place and intact.
checked the spark plug holes for holes and or cracks. can a coolant seal leak without being cracked? or broken..?

is there anyway the turbos can leak coolant internally? i mean crap. i was hoping i was gpoing to take the block apart and see a broken coolant seal as in the past and go ok theres my problem. =/

what should i do and where should i check. and wheres the cheapest place i can buy a coolant system tester to test a bare block through the front iorn.

 

im having this problem.. kinda.. not yet 100% sure if my seals are toast or the turbo is leaking coolant into the motor back through the exhaust manifold <--- everyone says this is basically impossible though, so im planning the same as u.. block teardown and rebuild

 

iam @ 70-90k on a mazda reman. my seals look ok (just tore mine apart). how often does your system over flow after a drive?

 

do you have pics of the coolant seals right after you took the block apart?

 

in the last 8 months, maybe twice.

i never run low on coolant. never overheat.

only symptoms i have are periodic coolant in engine, which standard deflood takes care of.

and coolant that comes out during deflood.. out of what im assuming is a bad gasket/exhaust leak i normal do not notice.

thread and picture here. https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/confusing-coolant-leak-flooding-644002/

 

iall take pics tonight and post tomorrow. all the seals are still in place

 

did you check the turbo for damage yet?

 

 

some of the pics show some suit (spelling) on the seals and make it appear alot worse than it really is.

 

it looks fine. a little shaft play on the secondary turbo. what kind of damage were you talking about?

 

my coolant seals appeared ok when i tore my block apart but i knew damn well they were what was leaking. Also when before the block was torn apart it was sitting for about a week and when I tore the irons apart i had coolant marks/residue/whatever on the iron indicating a seal failure. BTW you used a camera phone for those pics didn't you? lol . And you didn't try to do a pressure test on the coolant before?

 

i didnt do a pressure test on just the block it's self.. didnt think about it till the engine was out. and since i was aready there i thought just do the whole job + street port

 

i put my finger around the seals when they were in place and some spots felt "flatter" than others

 

If that's the case, you probably had spots of corrosion that matched those locations. The seals are what leak, but it's the corrosion that probably caused it.

Dave

 

BTW, it is impossible for turbos to leak water into the exhaust stream. The water jacket is totally separate and sealed from the oil feed/return/bearing system in a turbo. You can have external water leaks of course, but it can not leak into the exhaust.

It can be tricky to find small water leaks into the combustion chamber. Many times you have obvious causes - a seal pinched or blown out, the "wall" that supports the water seal broken off, etc. You'll likely have to clean everything up nice and go over the works with a fine tooth comb.

Dale

 

the pictures arent the best but in the second pic it looks that the seal is below the level of the housing. when my seal went it was a obvious spot that was blackish and below the level of the rest of oring.

it sucks thats for sure, happened to me back in august of 06.

 

ya when i looked at the twin turbo system.. theres one inlet and one outlet for coolant passage.. it seems like it would be impossible for coolant to get inside.

how does corrision build up on the iorn side of the seal? if the seal is there.. there shouldnt be any build up correct? and the build up makes the seal not set correctly and leak right?