Long story short, I was having a couple issues and thought maybe the plugs were bad so I replaced them. Car sat for a couple days before I could fire it up again. Wouldn't start so I pulled the plugs and when I did water came out of the rear leading spark plug hole.

Since this is basically a neon sign saying that the motor is dead my questions are as follow:.

Is it possible that a coolant seal was bad and just took 20k to show itself? Im really baffled at this. The highest temps the engine saw was about 117C twice I think.

I assume all seals need to be replaced? The motor was running strong before this and this was not really expected.

Is it possible to start the car one more time so I can move it ?


I have tons of questions about rebuilding and what hell the I need to do next (I haven't got a clue!) but Ill save those for searching and probably another thread.

 

Its more than likely that one of the irons broke in the coolant passages. Seen it a few times. I would doubt you could get it started, if it is as much water as what I think you are describing. Maybe on one rotor. But more than likely that chuck of iron is in chambers, so I wouldn't start it as it would cause more damage.

Not all the hard seals need to be replaced its up to you and your budget.

Good luck.

 

Dead, but I hope it is only seals

 

How much water came out? Last few times you drove it, did you notice any white smoke at start up?

Tim

 

If rotaryinspired is right, then I too wouldn't suggest started it again to move it. But if it's just a bad o-ring then you can just take the plugs out, crank the motor for a little bit to get all the water you can get out, then try starting it back up. But the question is how much water came out? Did it gush out? A few drops?

Jeremy

 

Luckily for you Gotham Racing isn't too far away. Call 817 788 8726, and ask for Steve or Alex .

 

its more of a trickle now. when i first removed it there was a small gush(maybe 2 seconds?) that I assume was trapped on that face of the rotor. I havent checked in the last couple days or so to see if water is still flowing.

The car had a small puff of white smoke on start up before this but only for 5 secs>. I thought maybe I had a bad seal but the car held pressure and didn't have the tiny bubbles and never dumped into the overflow tank. so I figured I was wrong. **** happens I guess


I dont think anything is in the chamber area, I would be able to hear that I would think. Ill throw the plugs back in and try to start it when I'm ready to move her.

My budget is as big as needed I guess to get a "perfect" running car
As for a round trip to DFW that would be very difficult for me to pull off. IIRC they will only sell you an engine if they install it and I want to do that part.

I really havent looked into my rebuild yet, didn't think the engine would do this to me this soon (bad engine, BAD ENGINE ). Like I say I need to search and figure out whats best to do. Thanks guys

 

How much water is missing from the radiator cap area?

Tim

 

hey buzz i had a similar incident 3 months ago. i didn't find anything wrong with the engine and its running 100% normal now. im stumped, i'll watch the thread to see what u discover.

 

Just checked. No water at the spark plug. AST has maybe 1/2" of water and water is just below temp. sensor on the filler neck.


AH what the hell Ill just type the long story maybe it will help someone in the future.

First cooling problem happened when I changed radiators back in Jan 06. An OEM hose clamp was weak causing water to spray, coolant warning went off I parked the car, temps went to 115C or so (according to Commander). Waited, added water drove home replaced the clamp(along with all other OEM ones), problem solved.

The last few start ups the car would not hold idle without gas for 20secs or so, then it ran normal. Once warm it fired right up ran like a champ.

The last couple trips I noticied the PFC was giving me funny water temps, see thread: https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/two-wierd-problems-557137/
I never got time to check out that problem fully other than it didn't seem to be low on coolant.


I will post what I find when somone cracks the engine apart. I would think that some water should be present on the trailing plug too but there wasn't, just some gas drops .

 

My coolant issue never really popped its head until a year after the "first incident". Initially, the stock endtanks were damaged due to flying debris on the highway (flying tire). This caused all coolant to fly out. Just my luck, too, since I was stuck in rush hour LA (I405-S) traffic. After replacing the radiator, everything was smooth sailing. A year and something later, I began noticing the overflow tank poop coolant. I tried to trace the issue, but never found the problem.

On a really hot day, I parked my car at a local In-N-Out with Dhahlen and his wife. When I got out of the car, I turned it on to find the car's thermometer rocketing to the top and the coolant buzzer going nuts. After a few seconds, it puked its guts out. After filling it up, I was unable to find any leaks. I left it there for a few days, thinking that the coolant seal finally went bad. The first time starting it up was awful. It would just run like utter crap for about 30 seconds, then clear up as if nothing happened. After a bit, it would start leaking coolant from the overflow.

I left it alone for a few days again. I finally decided to remove the spark plugs and turn it by hand. Coolant came out of the spark plug holes. NICE! It was dead for sure. I would start it up once in a while, since I was going to rebuild it anyways. I thought I should leave the motor alone until I decided to rebuild it. Then I read something that really caught my eye. Apparently, the worst thing you can do with a blown coolant seal is to leave it sitting, since it'll rust all of the irons and rotors. After turning it by hand, the car would start up just fine. The shitty idle was due to the motor trying to compress and ignite the coolant. Turning it by hand and removing some of the coolant smoothed the idle out.

After a while, the issue seemed to fix itself, as it no longer leaked/overheated/idled like ****. This was probably due to the fact that the seal might have lodged itself back in or something lodged into it, as when the motor was rebuilt, there was coolant seal damage.

Not to alarm you or anything, but your coolant seals are most likely shot since you can turn your motor by hand and have coolant come out. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Cliffs:
1. My motor took a while to see the blown coolant issue and I did see coolant come out of the spark plug holes when turned by hand.
2. Don't leave your motor sitting with a blown coolant seal, as it will rust.
3. You should take up male prostitution to save up funds for a rebuild.

 

I will be sure to make time to drain all the coolant and crank the engine a few times to remove any water left in the chambers. I should of thought about it rusting.

I have the cash for a rebuild just don't have a place to do it at. My problem now is figuring out what to upgrade while the engine is out and easy to get at.
Its killing me already not having my car.

As for male prostitution I should do that anyways lol
Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

...yup take it apart before things corrode.

...you described the typical blown water seal after an overheating problem. don't skimp, buy a master rebuild kit and replace everything. get your parts professionally cleaned. etc etc

 

If you do plan on letting the engine sit for any period of time you need to squirt some 2-cycle oil (or ATF, MMO, etc) into the engine. Crank it around by hand. This will at least lubricate the internals and act as a rust inhibitor.

We have seen many engines that have only sat for acouple months that the rotors had already started rusting in place on the irons.

 

I cranked the engine yesterday after draing the coolant and it looked liked a steam engine. I plan on pulling the motor out Monday and maybe getting into it Tuesday. Should be ok (no rust) between now and then correct?

This home rebuild stuff is blowing my mind! I think Im too stupid to do this myself.