Oem Inner water jacket joint
 

I am currently putting my motor back together. Got new oem inner water jackets and noticed that the joint has a slight break. 3 of the 4 jacket are like this and I am wondering if this is normal and can still be used? Thanks!


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...0086688f32.jpg

That's not normal. They may have been damaged in shipping/handling. I'd get up with whoever you got the parts from to get it resolved. Don't rush it, and try and use those somehow, that's a surefire way to have to do it all over again.

Dale

No good. They are notorious for being poorly packed and mishandled. Old stock also tends to dry out and crack easier. I'd return them and get replacements.

Alright thanks guys! Getting the dealer to replace these might be an uphill battle unfortunately 😕

Worst case just buy another set, they aren't crazy expensive.

I'm a big fan of OEM water seals, never been happy with aftermarket. Keep your coolant temps where they should be and you'll never have a problem.

Dale

If you weren't in Canada I'd say send them to me and I'll get them warrantied. I order these things 40-50 pieces at a time and get messed up ones here and there. Mazda has no problem changing them out for me.

Funny as I was just about to make a thread about this. Ordered 2 from Ray and 1 was cracked so he sent another and it was cracked as well. Went locally to Mazda and ordered 4, all were cracked. At this point I'm tired of dealing with this and might go aftermarket.

I'm wondering if anyone has tried or heard from others who have used these aftermarket coolant seals:
Freelance Motorsports SureSealsTM - Mazda 1986+ RX7 RX8 Coolant Water Seals 13B S4 S5 S6 N326-10-B71A - Freelance Motorsports LLC

I've done a little searching but there's not much info online.

I've never been impressed with aftermarket water seals. Many of them don't fit well, I installed a set once that jumped out of its groove on assembly and it wasn't caught until the engine was in the car and was barfing coolant. Had to tear everything down, re-clean, and build with stock water seals.

Most aftermarket water seals are out there to fix a PERCEIVED problem - the OEM water seals fail. The big problem isn't the OEM seals but the system. Stock the FD runs REALLY hot, like 108-120 deg. C. Then you have the pre cat heating the engine bay to crazy levels as well. Top that off with a plastic AST and MANY water seals that were on the edge got cooked wihen that AST let go and the motor's temp spiked.

Run sane temperatures, get rid of the pre-cat, and flush/fill the coolant system yearly and you'll have a happy coolant system.

Dale

Surprised he's even still in business. Last I saw his own personal car was overheating and his "upgraded seals" failed. None of the aftermarket seals fit well and there is nothing wrong with the oem design providing you don't overheat.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the insight.