maiku

I'm in the Ft. Lauderdale area.
My fd3 died last time I drove it and I could use a little assistance diagnosing the issue. I'm very tech savvy with regular engines but I'm still learning the ropes with rotaries. If there's anyone in the area please PM me your phone number so we can discuss a time to meet up.

I'd like to get it back on the road as soon as I can.

A little background on the issue

Factory twins with FC, oem boost parameters.
I was driving on the highway when it suddenly started losing power. I quickly scanned my gauges when I noticed the temp gauge started moving rapidly hot, I watched it go from ~180 to 210 within seconds, where I quickly turned it off and coasted, but the temps kept rising to 250.

While it was hot I inspected the engine compartment, but came up short. No fluid leaks or anything abnormal looking. Bottom of engine was dry.

When it cooled I checked the coolant level and it was normal but I found a few strange chunks of grease in the AST reservoir, and noticed it was lined in a greasy film on the inside now, which I hadn't noticed before.
I pulled the top plugs and they were both white and crusty.

I was not on level ground but I check my oil level and wasn't getting anything on the dip stick. This was startling to me because I checked it before the trip. I removed the oil cap and it had a weird smell inside, almost like a burnt smell.

Thinking back before this all happened, I had a couple signs that were abnormal behaviors. First, the car only smoked when it was cold before, but since the last two starts, it smoked even while warm, but not a great deal, and I run the red oil in the gas so I didn't think much of it. However I also noticed after I started it for the trip that when I was idling for a bit, there were a few minor hiccups at idle every now and then. It didn't happen before.

I did crank the engine while each plug was out, and did hear the 3 whooshes.

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My Theory
Due to the white crust on the plugs, I was thinking maybe the water seal. Although it was strange that the water level was normal. And some of the other issues lead me to believe there may be more to the story. I am going into this with the anticipation of having to rebuild it, but I want to understand what went wrong and make sure nothing is hurt since it got so hot and somehow ran low on oil.

Obviously the best way is to physically look at the vehicle, which is what I'm looking to do, preferably with a knowledgeable individual who knows rotaries.

rogrx7

iTrader: (11)

Do a coolant flush and do the heavy flush with prestone and inspect your oil coolers for damage.