Hi everybody! I'm new to this site and read quite a few posts about the cooling system etc., etc. This is such a great site to help others with suggestions about their cars and problems.
Here's my dilemma; I recently upgraded my radiator and AST to aluminum, new radiator hoses, cap, and stock thermostat because there was a big leak in the radiator. And yes, I did drive it which I shouldn't have, when the engine got hot trying to get it to the dealer. After finding out that a dealer was way too expensive I got it towed to Tri-Point where all the work was done. After Tri-Point did a pressure check they told me that i'm getting too much hydro-carbons into my engine. They did a cold start and told me that white smoke was coming out the exhaust. After this post, I'm going to be driving to Tri-Point (45 miles away) and take a look at it. Hopefully the rotor housings aren't warped!
My questions are:
1) Is there anything else I should check before I go ahead and do the rebuild?
2) Does anybody know of a place in southern california that may be cheaper than Tri-Point ($3500) to do the R & R other than Rotary Power in Gardena? Distance (towing reasons) and cost is a concern for me here.

Thank you in advance for your help on this matter!

 

how much white smoke was coming from the exhaust? Was it like a small cloud or a James Bond smoke screen? Was it thick white smoke that comes from coolant or was it a thin white maybe blue tinted colored smoke that comes from oil burning? Its common for older rotaries to burn oil on start up. Its not as easy for all the oil to drain back to the pan in a rotary, and on older engines it will seep past the seals and get on the other side of the rotor and get burned off on start up. The if its burning coolant, then it will need a rebuild. Anti-freeze is corrosive and can destroy bearings and corrode other metals if it keeps getting exposed to it. When I bought my RX-7, it had a coolant seal that was dislodged because the metal that forms the seal channel on the housing broke. I heard of people putting stop leak in the engine to stop block those types of holes and I tried it and it worked like a charm. And my engine was leaking so much coolant, that if I shut the engine off, the whole combustion chamber would fill with coolant and 10 seconds later the engine wouldn't start. After using the stop leak, I could let the car sit for days and the next time I turned the key it started right up. Its not ment to be a permanent repair, but it worked good enough for me to save the $$ and wait until I had time to pull and rebuild the motor. I've heard of people driving the car like this for over a year no problem. Stop leak is supposed to plug small radiator leaks, so its not harmful to the coolant system. I should have taken pictures of the engine plate when I took it apart, that way I would be able to show you how big of a hole it successfully plugged. Its up to you if you want to use it or not. If you use it and it stops the engine from burning coolant, you'll be able to drive to what ever shop you are talking about instead of having the car towed.

As far as a warped housing, I don't think you did any damage unless your engine was pegged out on redline and you drove til she shut off from the heat getting so hot that the hot metal was burning the air/fuel mixture before the spark plugs were igniting it. If the temp gauge climbed up a bit and you shut it off, you should be ok. Make sure you use a Mazda pressure relief cap, not a Stant or what ever else they make for piston engines. You need to get one from Mazda for a RX-7. Same goes for the thermostat and oil filter. No fram oil filters.

I don't live in Cali so I don't know any rotary shops. There is a regional forum on this web page. Find the one that includes california and ask in there. You're sure to find other rotor heads in your area.

 

project84 - thanks for the quick reply!

went to check out my car yesterday. when i got there it wouldn't start. looks like i'll be doing the rebuild.

since i'll have the engine out, does anybody have any recommendations as to what else i can upgrade that i'm forgetting? i was thinking about the vacuum hoses and the clutch since these are still the originals. it's got about 71K miles on it.

thanks again!