tomk

94 rx7r2 that I have was leaking coolant from the overflow tank near the right front corner. After a few laps, it was boiling and then the coolant tank cap was leaking too. Lost alot of fluid, then re-filled with distilled water and drove home.

Any suggestions on what I need to do, new radiator, thermostat, tank, or anyone know of a good 3rd Gen shop for this in Orange County, Calif?????

r0t0r-rooter

I would recommend getting a new cap before anything else. That might be all it is....

artguy

rotary reliability and racing in santa ana 7148398018

ask for louis or nick

they built my machine.

you could also have simply had air in your system...bleed out all the air...get a new cap as roto says and see how she runs...


j

89Turbo944

Could have a blown coolant seel.

If the seel is blown then the comprsssion of the air/fuel mixture will go into the coolant system and make the coolant heat up really high and overflow.

I cant think of a better way to say that right now.

tomk

Where is the coolant seal located? How much does the coolant tank cost when replaced?

Thanks for the help.

LetsGO7

iTrader: (2)

i think he means the o-rings....it's like blowing a head gasket on a piston engine but worse!

You didn't mention anything about your exhaust smelling sweet so i doubt it's the o-rings.

-joe

monster007

I'm having something of a similar issue. I'm getting a coolant leak that's coming from the "j" shaped hose at the left/rear engine. It goes from the engine to a tube on the firewall and has a plastic quick-connect on the engine side. I can actually see the coolant "fizzing" out of there every now and then.

My car has the AST delete on it (previous owner). See www.streetrice.com for details of the install. What I don't get is this - there's a hose at the top of the coolant fill neck that leads to the overflow bottle. It seems to me that the car simply isn't bleeding off any trapped air. Sometimes I start the car up and the coolant temp (from the water temp gauge) registers nothing.. so I pop the coolant cap open and hot coolant comes to the top and everything's good again. Why is the system not bleeding the air?? There's a tube that leads from the fill neck to the coolant overflow - shouldn't the air bleed off into this area?

Exhaust doesn't smell sweet - it's just coming from the engine bay. Engine has about 6k miles on it, rebuilt by rotary performance in texas. I keep an eye on the fluid every day and am constantly refilling due to my leak. Is the source of my problems this AST delete? It looks like the rubber surround on the cap is actually covering up the hole for the hose that goes to the overflow. Is this not the prescribed method for bleeding off air?

spurvo

No, the source of your problem is most likely the quick disconnect. When your engine warms up, it builds pressure in the cooling system. Likely, the quick disconnect leaks a little, then seals as it's pushed away from the block (ask me how I know!). Then system pressure builds normally until the radiator pressure cap on the filler neck (with AST delete) releives the pressure by allowing coolant to flow into the overflow bottle.

However, when the engine cools (like an HOUR after!), the coolant volume shrinks, creating a vacuum in the system, which would normally draw coolant back into the system through the pressure cap (it has a zero pressure return valve on the bottom. It's that little brass washer on the bottom). HOWEVER, the quick disconnect is chossing this time to loosen up again, and AIR is being drawn into the system through this leak, rather than coolant. So, the coolant level drops. So you fill it. Then, when the car is running, it pees from the overflow. And you fill it again when cold. Eventually you drive around with a kitty litter tray in he trunk to place under the passenger lip of the car like a drool cup for the elderly. Rituals with this car...

Anyway, I pulled my quick disconnect off and clamped the hose directly to the bung that's left over. The hose will be a little bigger than it oughta, so I used two clamps. You will notice the bung had a ridge that the disconnect latched onto. Place one clamp on either side of this ridge, and you should be good to go.

Good luck. And watch out for overheating with a system leak. Very easy to do with the fans set to come on so late, and the results can be veeerrryyyy expensive!

monster007

Thanks for the info, I'll try that. I keep a VERY watchful eye on my water temps, they're almost never above 180 when I'm moving and I hit the a/c if i'm stuck in traffic to operate the fans.

spurvo

Good for ya! I put a nice little switch for my fans into my center console, right where YOU guys have headlamp washers, or some such nonesense.

Stan94GT

BTW, I fixed that leak. I ended up placing a hose clamp in place of the factory clamp and now no leaks, no loss of coolant Just in case anyone else has a similar leak. I was really worried for a while because I was getting the champagne bubble condition indicative of a blown o-ring seal, scared the crap out of me.