I just put a new starter in my 91 RX7 to get it ready and running for spring the good news is it fired right up after receiving a jump. The bad news is that the add coolant light is on and the warning buzzer. I immediately shut off the car and looked under it to find a little puddle under the drivers side/front part of the engine. The coolant is dripping off the drivers side of the oil pan toward the front of the car and then on to the cross member.

Any ideas what could be leaking?

My worry is that the car came from Florida and may not have had enough anti-freeze in the coolant to survive the New England winter and it is leaking between the front housing and rotor housing. Would it start and run if the coolant actually froze?

 

If you could get us a couple of nice clear pics of the area it would help lots .. If it was straight water I would say you very likely have freeze problems but if there was at least some anti-freeze in it, it should just jell up and not expand like water does when it freezes You should never run your engine with straight water,, antifreeze ( is also a anti corrosion product and helps stop cavitation in ALL engines ) is also an anti boil fluid that can absorb extra heat before it starts to boil it also helps to keep corrosion down in the whole cooling system.. A 50/50 mix of a good quality antifreeze with good clean mineral free water is what you should run all year around .. It will increase the boiling point by about 10 deg celcius and be good for around -40 in winter ..

 

I took a bunch of pictures. It is pretty tight in this area so its hard to get a good look/pic. The bottom view shows where on the cross member and oil pan the coolant is going. The top view shows the general area where I see the coolant. Its under the rats nest. The other pic shows the side of the engine where it is wet. There is also a pool of coolant in this pic. I also think there is basically no coolant in the car right now and that it all leaked out over the winter.

 

Well the coolant looks pretty green unless you have added so I doubt that it was freezing .. it is hard to tell but it needs to be cleaned up and then you should be able to tell where the leak originates from .. even if you blow it off with air you should be able to watch and see where it starts .. One of our members swears by alumiseal but I wouldn't add anything until you know for sure where it comes from.. be patient clean it up good and you should be able to find it .. A car wash would help if it is mobile so long as it's not leaking to much and if it is it should be easy to spot just don't get your ignition components wet wrap every up with some plastic wrap or something to keep it dry .. good luck

 

Thanks. I think what leaked out is part of the little bit I added and otherwise the lines are almost completely empty. I'll clean it up and add enough coolant so I can get a clear idea where it is coming from.

Is there any harm in running it with the coolant level low for a short period? That way I can see where it is leaking from without completely filling the coolant system and I'll shut it off before the temp gets above normal. Hopefully its coming from some thing easily fixed. I searched before posting this thread and saw that alumiseal thread I'll try that as a last resort.

 

hmm maybe waterpump housing gasket? also no it wont really hurt it unless it gets hot

 

I wouldn't run it low on coolant if the liquid is lower than the temp sensor it won't tell you when it is getting hot because the sensor needs to be covered with coolant for it to work proper .. Never run it low on coolant .. just use a clean container and drain the stuff out when you are done finding the problem .. If you get a little crap in it when you drain just filter it through some cheese cloth or even just a plain cotton cloth before you fill the rad after the repair.. NEVER RUN YOUR LITTLE ENGINE LOW ON COOLANT !!!

 

Go to Autozone and rent a coolant system pressure tester with the adaptor for imports. Use it to find the leak. Easy as pie.

 

I'll give this a try

 

Thats just the coolant lvl sensor thats buzzing. Has nothing to do with the temp sensor. It will still tell u if it gets hot when its low

 

I didn't end up having the time to fix this myself so I took it to my mechanic. I figured I'd post the problem/solution for others with this problem. Turns out there were two places leaking the water pump and from behind the front cover. The shop resealed the front cover and replaced the water pump which wasn't cheap due to the amount of labor involved, but at least I can enjoy the car once it stops snowing.