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Please tell me its not dead

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Old Nov 6, 2012 | 02:00 PM
  #1  
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From: St. Francis, Minnesota
Please tell me its not dead

It started having trouble starting recently which i attributed it to being colder outside ( i haven't driven it in the cold weather for 2 years ). It also flooded on me twice so i replaced all the spark plugs and replaced the spark plug wires. It still has a very hard time starting, i have to give it gas for it to start and when it does start its super rough for about 5 seconds and then it pulls through to normal.

The real kicker and the reason i think its dying is because it smokes like a mother coming from the front rotor after i start it ( especially a hot start ) ( true dual exhaust makes this easy to diagnose ). However it does fade away when it runs for a little bit.

I feel like its dying but im hoping you guys can tell me its a simple fix

My questions are; How long does it have? Is there anything I can do to slow/fix the problem?
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Old Nov 10, 2012 | 05:48 PM
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Bump

Update: could it be a leaky intake gasket? I know now that the smoke is coolant and not oil.

It smokes very little on cold startups and gives a pretty good puff on hot starts, but it fades away after a few minutes or when im driving.
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Old Nov 10, 2012 | 07:19 PM
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Is it white smoke? If so it sounds like a coolant seal, which would require an engine rebuild. I'm new to rotaries though, so hopefully someone who knows what they're talking about will chime in soon
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Old Nov 13, 2012 | 11:59 PM
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Originally Posted by TAZMAN2010
It started having trouble starting recently which i attributed it to being colder outside ( i haven't driven it in the cold weather for 2 years ). It also flooded on me twice so i replaced all the spark plugs and replaced the spark plug wires. It still has a very hard time starting, i have to give it gas for it to start and when it does start its super rough for about 5 seconds and then it pulls through to normal.

The real kicker and the reason i think its dying is because it smokes like a mother coming from the front rotor after i start it ( especially a hot start ) ( true dual exhaust makes this easy to diagnose ). However it does fade away when it runs for a little bit.

I feel like its dying but im hoping you guys can tell me its a simple fix

My questions are; How long does it have? Is there anything I can do to slow/fix the problem?
You indeed have a leaking coolant seal.
Do a search for Alumaseal.....It may delay the inevitable for a while. The only real fix is a rebuild. The alumaseal fix has been quite succesful for some members.
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Old Nov 14, 2012 | 09:02 AM
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Coolant seals. If not fixed soon well... I'll arrange the funeral
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Old Nov 14, 2012 | 09:03 AM
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Coolant seals if not fixed soon well...I'll arrange the funeral
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Old Nov 14, 2012 | 09:04 AM
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Sorry about the double post
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Old Nov 15, 2012 | 03:43 PM
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Since your coolant is being shot out of the exhaust, Alumaseal may indeed take care of it for you. Just make sure that you get Alumaseal, and not some kind of block sealant that will trash your motor. Alumaseal is actually a radiator sealant.

It works great on 12a motors, but usually not so well on 13Bs because they usually end up shooting exhaust gases into the coolant system rather than coolant out the exhaust.




.
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Old Nov 15, 2012 | 07:41 PM
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forget alumaseal and get the engine rebuilt if you plan on driving it daily my opinion.
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Old Nov 16, 2012 | 06:10 PM
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Yeah, why try a $4.00 solution that has a good chance of working when you can spend $2,500 on a rebuild. After all, aren't we all made of money?
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Old Nov 17, 2012 | 10:06 AM
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I'm extremely skeptical of anything that goes into antifreeze/oil that isn't antifreeze or oil, but if others have had success, who knows, it might work for a while.
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Old Nov 20, 2012 | 01:27 AM
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When I installed my current engine, the coolant was going straight out the exhaust. The Alumaseal cleared it up within 30 minutes, and I've since put over 30k miles on it without any trace of an issue.

I routinely jump in the car and head down South for events, putting on a couple thousand miles over the course of a few days. Never a worry.

As long as the coolant is being forced out the exhaust (rather than exhaust being forced into the coolant) it will work.
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