cruiser

I bought my rx7 6months ago. I had an accident 2 days latter, running over a dead dog, resulting in wrecked radiator, AC condenser, swaybar mounts, dented oil pan, etc...

My service changed the oil pan last week and they wanted to see if she would fire up. Rx7 came up nicely after being down for 6months and they let it run for 30-60secs. Problem is, there was no coolant in the system, as the radiator didn't arrive yet. Is 30-60secs under idle too long for this engine to run without coolant (I guess oil can cool the engine for a while, no?) ? I specifically told them not to start the engine until new radiator is installed.

I'll break their legs if they damaged my motor....

6thgear

was the dog dead before or after you ran it over?

neoamd

iTrader: (2)

Have your "service" buy you a new motor. Even 5 seconds is to long for a rotary without coolant!

Josh

vudoodoodoo

WTF were they thinking? Morons.

cruiser

Dog was already dead, lying on the road and it was night.

I don't know what they were thinking, thing is that the motor was quite happily running. Is 30secs really too long for wankel to run without coolant ? What are the signs of overheated wankel ?

I will be getting my car back next week probably. What should I be cautious of if they damaged my engine ? Coolant leaking out of engine or into exhaust ?
Motor was perfectly fine when I brought the car to the service, but how can I prove that ?
Should I get a lawyer and sue their *** if they don't want to pay for their mistake and get me a new motor ?
How can I prove the engine was fine and they killed it with running it without coolant ?

I think (hope) they didn't damage it, still stink 30secs of running without coolant shouldn't warp the housings.

They wanted to see if the newly installed oil pan was leaking anywhere and if oil pump was working

cpa7man

iTrader: (2)

I don't believe the thermostat is open after 30 seconds of idle time. There should be water in the block. While it is never a good thing to run an engine with no coolant, I'll bet its ok. Just my 2 cents.

Kas_Rx

30-60 seconds from cold ?

unless the temps got over the normal in that time then you have no probs.

I personaly dont think it would overheat in that time from a cold start.

FormerPorscheGuy

You are fine but I think its time to get a new "service"

TobiasRX

If there is no water in the engine you can't read out what the temp is. That's why it's called a water temp.

rynberg

If the mechanic is that ignorant, I wouldn't trust them to fix any of the other items correctly. Did they use a gasket for the oil pan or sealant? A gasket won't work.

David Hu$tlerhoff

the water itself need minutes to heat up till the thermostat opens. of course coolant "stores" the energy, so an engine w/o coolant will heat up faster, but i dont think that 30 seconds are enough.

bureau_c

I agree with everyone who says you should be fine, but fire your "service." In that amount of time you're not going to overheat, but these guys were clearly not too familiar with the FD's issues with overheating. Its one thing to fire it up, but why wait up to a minute? Crazy...

jds

cruiser

There are no rotary specialists in our country, we only have 2 FDs
So I need to go with what's close to me and the boss there seems like a reasonable and well educated man. He just seemed to have skipped the FD classes when they were learning about Mazda

I hope they didn't damage my engine, I think they didn't, but it's funny actually when I specifically asked them NOT TO FIRE HER UP and then I hear a mechanic tell my friend (not knowing it was mine and I was with that friend) that they started her up. It made me feel like this

But on the other hand I feel a bit better knowing she fired right up after 6months downtime.



But again, is there anything specific I should be careful of when I pick up my car next week ? For sweet whiteish smoke in the exhaust or something like that ?

fastcarfreak

there has to be someone in your area, or with in a couple hundred miles of you. search around. If you cant find a specialist, at least find someone who knows about the engine

cruiser

Closest rotary specialist is in Netherlands, like 1500miles from here

I plan on doing basics stuff on my own, as rotary specialists are scarce in Europe.

Maybe this will change with the new RX8.


Still need to know what I should be cautious of when I go pick up my car next week, as I will take it for a test drive before I take it home.

Also, they'll be installing the Efini Y-pipe for me, gotta let them know they better not take it to the test drive as WOT with y-pipe and midpipe can cause a disaster!

David Hu$tlerhoff

where exactly in europe are you ? belgium or what ?

um i'd suggest to look out for the things that should be repaired best thing is to take a good look, have them put it on the lift so u can see how clean their work looks.

i see in your sig you are looking for parts: www.battleparts.com
very nice shop in berlin, these guys know their business.

cruiser

I'm in Slovenia and am looking for used parts, those guys in Berlin are nice yes