so i bought this car last weekend, drove all the way to indiana for it. i checked it out did alot of my checks to see if the car was in good mechanical condition and it really seemed to be, and it seemed to be taken care of.
i am now starting to think that the car has a coolant leak in the front rotor
there are 3 reasons i believe it has this, the car is a '90 tii
1. the exhaust smells sweet, more so when its colder or has just started
2. it is a very hard start, the car will crank and crank until i finally have to give her some gas and keep her at a high idle until it warms up or it will die
3. when started and cold the low coolant light always comes on (i did not want to add more for diagnosis reasons), once its warm it goes away

these all seem like telltale for sure signs of a coolant leak but there are a few reasons why i am un sure/ am in denial
1. when i bought the car the seller told me that there was a problem with the iac valve which would explain the hard cold start/idle
2. i compression tested the rear rotor and got good compression 115psi, since the front rotor is alot more difficult to get to and the car ran fine at the time i decided to skip the front rotor.
3. i was also told that alot of rotary motors burn coolant as well as oil. (i don't believe it but i would like to because that would explain the smell from the exhaust)

i plan on taking the car to school and compression testing the front rotor as well as having my instructors take a look at the car.
until then im pretty worried, what do you guys think?

 

First off add coolant, if it comes on again its going somewhere for sure. If not well your good.

#2. Should never skimp on checks when buying a used car.

#3. Rotary cars are designed to inject a small amount of oil into the motor to lubricate the rotar seals. NO it should not burn coolant, none zip zero at all, no engine should burn coolant ever.

Hope it doesnt turn out bad for you but if it does i bet your more thorough with your inspection before you buy another car lol

 

i was kind of thinking if the coolant light stays on once the car is warmed up i know for sure, since it is a very slow leak. i didnt want to add coolant because that would just prolong the process.
yes next time i will be more thorough, it was a mixture of trust and laziness, or stupidity if you prefer.

 

does the buzzer come on when u have coolant..? prob have air bubbles in the coolant fooling the sensor....but yea if u think its burning coolant that engine is rdy to give up...look out for white smoke...coolant burning

 

well the exhaust is very thick and white when its cold but you cant even see it when its warm

 

did you do the bubbles check in the top coolent cap. (Someone explain it, im on my phone :p)

 

start the car cold and look for bubbles? shorter than your reply. :p

 

my car isnt an n/a and i have a long plastic funnel off the top of the rad instead of by the waterpump.

 

from the faq section
is he talking about filling the overflow all the way up, or the radiator neck, or both?

 

Hey so the answer to your question is yes and no. Let me explain, I have an 86 rx7 that i bought from someone who overheated (most likely) the poor thing, messing up the seals. Anyways, I have the same issue, when cold and I rev past 3000, white smog leaves a trial for all to see, however when it is warmed up, everything is good. I do not have to put water in daily, but at least 2-3 days a week. Point is I have been driving that car for over 2 years now, yes I still have smog coming out in the mornings, and on cold starts. But my Tll engine is almost finished so I will no longer have to worry about those nasty busted seals. So just let the car warm up before you drive, also just a hint for smog, you will need new O2 sensor, as well as all smog hardware in very good condition, this includes the precats and cats.

Personally I like to think of cars like a phoenix, when a car reaches its end, it car be brought back to life depending on the owner.

 

Haha... I was talking about explaining where the cap was and... it seemed much more long winded at the time... I was also getting frustrated with my phone as it was being very laggy

 

certain counties in wisco (the ones i register my cars to) have no emissions regulations :P haha. i suppose i will just have to have my teacher take a look at it with me tomorrow they will know better than anyone despite it being rotary. i will update tomorrow though

 

This seems to be a case were you car doesnt over heat on you. i ve had coolant seal problems that were simlar but over time got worse and worse, until the radiator eventually blew out.

 

I'd see if your school has a coolant pressure tester and make sure your cooling system holds pressure. Also, don't assume your teachers will know how you diagnose your rotary engine, a few of mine think rotary engines blow up every 10k miles and haven't been produced since the 1970's. They're also scared to death of the prospect of actually touching one.

 

Agree'd.
I bought my 90 gxl from my older brother after he overheated it because the radiator cap had a malfunction. Mine does exactly what he describes and as long as I make sure the coolant is good I don't have any trouble once it warms up. I've owned mine close to a year now. So if it is the coolant seals just take very good care of it and it/she/he will take care of you.

 

i like to beat my cars though
i didnt have time at school today so i just decided i am going to take it to a nearby mazda dealership for a checkover. its just 100 bucks and they claim to have "the best rotary technician in wisconsin" so they will know better than anyone and in that case i can get the diagnosis on paper. will update on weds when i pick it up.

 

i took my car to a shop to have diagnostics run. told me something about my temp sensor and i had poor fuel quality.

turns out the fuel quality bs was because a coolant seal went out allowing it into the combustion chamber.

easier and cheapest way to find out if its the coolant seals is the test from the FAQ or the "champagne bubble" test. its essentially the same thing though.

 

just to clear a few things up since this was my wife's car.

it has never used coolant. it did at one time leak from the heater hose behind the t-body. Chris Ludwig went through the motor in July, checked everything, and replaced all soft seals. I have never smelled coolant from the exhaust, nor have we ever had the light come on. The only thing I did to it recently was re-install the BAC. It's possible the one I installed may be faulty, but I really have no way to confirm that.

I did the champagne test myself before I even put the car up for sale, and it was all good. This was not the first rotary we've had and I sure as hell wouldn't try to screw anyone over. The cold start issue was something that was very clearly explained in the for sale thread and through numerous text messages. As I've mentioned before, a bad coolant seal gives trouble starting when hot, not cold. My wife's n/a had a bad coolant seal, so I know exactly how they act.

I'm sorry if you feel you've gotten screwed, but I was very up front with all known issues. I hope the dealership can confirm that the motor is in fact, in great shape.

 

im sorry i have owned other rotaries before myself i just have never had an issue like this before. i was not trying to badmouth, you or try to insinuate that i have been screwed over, just trying to resolve the issue. this is why i never associated yourself in anyway to this.
either way there is an issue, and the exhaust does smell strongly of coolant, which to me says i may have a major issue here.
i appreciate your patience with the whole situation, and i am very pleased with the car in every other regard.

 

i'm sorry too, because this statement is false.

coolant seal failures have more than one symptom and actually give more trouble starting cold than warm.

 

You're not trying to screw anyone, just come in their thread and call them a liar?

 

My old high school auto teacher is a certified mazda tech that used to work on rotaries back in the late 80's/early 90's. He came in handy when it came to rebuilding my engine.

 

its confirmed, i have a internal coolant leak, they did a leak down test on it and it failed. they could not tell me exactly how bad it was because i declined the compression test not wanting to stick more money into it.
also i had a long talk with thier rotary tech and believe me he knows his **** about our cars.
heres his website/business rssporttuning.com

 

Sorry to hear that. What are your plans?

 

It looks like you got the right guy to check your car, Randy. He's a good guy, have him do your rebuild. He owns a sick fc too, so he's very familiar with fc's.