Forgive me, It's my first time with a rotary...
Bought a used FD last week in pretty good condition except the tach and speedometer don't work ( other small guages work gas, oil, water...) it says it has 52,000 miles but thats stuck there as well. The owner told me it shouldn't be over 60,000 miles. any suggestions?

The other day I drove it to a meeting (work) and when I was ready to leave, all the coolant draind out of the car onto the parking lot. Had a friend pick me up and towed the car to another friends house later that evening. I am being told that I need to replace the intake gasket, heater hose, or hose that connects to the EGR (You can bypass the EGR right?)

I live on Guam ( tropical Island out in the middle of the pacific... 4hrs to Japan, 7hrs to Hawaii) and I don't think there are any rotary experts here. The Mazda dealership here is ummm.... yeah...

I'd appreciate any help I can get.

 

make sure is not just coolant off the overflow tank or a busted hose...

 

oh o mite need a rebuild coolant seals???

or coolant filer neck leaking

check every hose

mike

 

Dude! you got screwed!

 

 

try ^^ that 1st....i would not say you need a rebuild just bc there is coolant on the ground...

personally, i have never seen a bad coolant seal leaking onto the ground...

 

We lets first start with "Welcome to the board." Second you have just experianced your first of many problems to come, the good thing is you found the right place to look for the answers.

I would do like the others said and check for a lose or broken hose. I dont think it is a coolent seal (wich would mean a rebuild). I had a coolent seal blow and it went through the exhuast.

You need to read the newbie section and start researching the more common problems that the FD's have. It might change your mind about owning a 3rd gen if you dont know what your getting yourself into.

Good luck and welcome again.

 

The coolant leak is coming from the back of the motor... between the motor and firewall. I think I need to remove the intake manifold to find out where it's coming from.

anything on the guage cluster?

 

You should have taken the car to a specilist even before you bought it.

I am quite new to rotary too but before even trying to find an RX-7 for me I did my research to find if I could find someone to trust to give me much needed advise on everything I need to do since the car is so different and special.

I was very lucky because I found not one but 2 just living around the corner which are also close friends. Today I do not even do a step without there opinion first. The also found me my current RX-7 with the color I wanted and which has had even a total engine rebuild before I owned it. Just lately I completed her running in.
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/just-wanted-present-myself-my-rx-7-a-350781/

So search for a Specilist to advise you before doing anything is my only advise especially if it is like me your first rotary.

 

also...that coolant temp guage you think works...it doesnt.

fd's coolant guages are worthless even when new. the results of that are experienced by you staring at the antifreeze puddling around your feet.

we all know what you are going thru...happens to the best of em around here.


J

 

there are some coolant hoses going into the throttle boddy, make sure that those are o.k.
Good luck! go to www.iluvmyrx7.com for workshop manuals, you'll need them .

 

It sounds like you busted one of the several hoses back behind the engine. This is not uncommon as they get older and the turbo heat bakes them. The primary candidate would be the hose that leads from the rear of the engine on the turbo side across to the throttle body. It could also be one of the hoses that feeds the heater code (is you car right or left-hand drive?).

If it is the throttle body hose, you should replace it (of course) or you can look at the possibility of removing it altogether (do a search on "throttle body bypass") because it is not a critical hose for the cooling system.

Good luck,

-bill

 

hows he gonna find a specialist, he lives in freakin Guam....j/k

 

If I found not one but 2 in Malta one of which even with US certificates well I guess one can find them nearly everywhere. or am am really lucky.

 

Check out the heater hose that goes from the steel cross-pipe behind the motor into the upper heater core inlet. It's about 3-4" long - mine was brittle and split.

 

Thanks Guys!
Let me check on those hoses and I'll let you know how it goes.
I'm still trying to figure out why the tach and speed meter doesn't work... could it be the contacts or a fuse?
Wrankin, the car is a lefty.

 

The closest thing to a rotary specialist on guam is the Mazda dealership. I just got back from guam 2 weeks ago yesterday. Spent 3 months there. If you don't trust yourself doing the work then take it to Mazda.....Russell

 

When it comes to the FD,.....a Mazda dealership only specializes in Proctology!!

 

with the gauge cluster remove it from the dash and see if any solder is broken..if it is jsut resolder, there is a post dont rememeber the name but do a search.

as for the coolant leak i wouldnt be worried, looking at the front of the car the right side(driver side-if you have a left hand drive) theres a coolant hose hard pipe on the firewall that goes to the block above the spark plugs. also pull the manifold and Throttle body together and check and replace the coolant lines goin from the TB to the block and block to the throttle body, you;ll see all the coolant hard pipes on top of the block under the rats nest, just follow and replace. now if the leak is on the turbo side...i never had a twin turbo set up on my car so i really cant help you there, sorry

hope this helps

just do searchs for coolant leaks, you'll get everyhting.

brandon

 

I trust myself more than the Mazda Dealership... I can give you a one to two page list of friends that had their cars screwed up by bringing their cars there! From Mitsubishi Eclipses to Ford F-150's...
At least if I do the work, I know what I did... instead of finding out that they messed up. The previous owner brought it there once and they cracked the housing for the guage cluster. My friend with the Eclipse had his Trans replaced under warranty and they broke three motor mounts, snapped one of the bolts that hold the trans (we had to drill it out and re- tap it) and they denied everything. oh well...

Maybe they have better techs now... But I still ain't gonna risk it.

 

Thanks r1dreamer!

 

Hey man, welcome to the board! As others have said, check that line that goes to the throttle body. It's in the area that you're describing as the leak source.

If that hose is baked, chances are that the rest of the them are either just as baked or are not far behind. This would probably be an excellent oportunity to replace them all. I don't know if Malloy Mazda sells all of the hoses in a kit, but you should definitely consider replacing them all.

Sonny

 

a great tool to use would be a coolant pressure tester. Simple way to find your leak.Or hell even easier.On your inlet coolant hose.Meaning the big coolant hose that connects to the filler neck housing.Squeeze this hose and have a friend look for coolant gushing out.Or have the friend squeeze the hose and you can look.not hard at all. Haffa Day.

 

I totally agree. My specilist used it and now I know where my leak is. All in jsut 2 minutes. I will have to replace my water pump probably because as he suspects it is begining to show the first signs of breaking down and I do not want all my coolant on the floor.