koolmoe

iTrader: (1)

The other day I noticed a puddle of coolant under the car. Upon closer inspection it was coming from right behind the cross-member on the turbo side. Figure a hose had cracked, no biggie.... Limped the car home, jack it up, hmmm, can't really see where the leak is coming from. So begins the disassembly.

Remove everything to get at the turbos where the leak appears to be coming from. Holy Hell, removing the intake for the secondary turbo is a pain! Finally get things striped enough to spot the leak coming from the coolant return(?) line (hard pipe) from the turbos (underside of turbos). Unfortunately there doesn't appear to be any reasonable way to access this pipe without pulling the engine. Suggestions?

The leak is drop wise, and IIRC that line doesn't get pressurized much by the water pump, so it's not a critical issue... yet. But I would like to solve the problem without having to pull the whole friggin engine. Are those 'Leak Stop' products bogus? Do more harm than good?

Thanks

-b

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

First off, ANY coolant leak is MAJOR. There is no coolant line that's less important. You overheat the car, you cook the engine, that's the end of that motor.

Stop leak products won't work. Not only won't it work, it'll gum up the coolant passages in your engine.

There are 2 coolant hoses that feed the turbos - it's quite likely one of these is bad. If you remove the air pump, you should be able to see both of them. These are pretty common culprits to fail.

If those hoses are the problem, get NEW hoses from MAZDA. Generic parts store hose WILL NOT CUT IT. Mazda re-designed all the coolant hoses a few years back, and they're all quality, high-temp rubber that fits perfectly and is bent to fit properly.

If this starts getting outside your level of ability, take it to a shop. DO NOT DRIVE IT until you fix this problem. Small hose leaks will split and burst VERY quickly.

The water lines on the turbos are metal lines and they pretty much never leak, just the rubber lines connecting the hard lines to the water pump housing.

Dale

koolmoe

iTrader: (1)

agreed.

But HOW do I get access to this line? I removed everything that I could remove without pulling the engine. It's the return line on the bottom of the turbo that's faulty. Could be the rubber, could be the metal pipe. To be honest with all the heat shielding it was not really possible to isolate it beyond "it's coming from the return line".

jacobcartmill

iTrader: (6)

the waterpump doesnt pressurize the coolant hoses, the heat does. and yes, you can access the hard water line if it's the return, but if it's the feed you'll have to remove the turbos. you definitely shouldnt have to remove the whole engine

grimple1

iTrader: (1)

i agree with fixing it... but disagree that those stop leak products don't work. they do. I've used them on other vehicles (not my 7) and they work.

with that said, i probably would't use one on a sports car.

badddrx7

iTrader: (7)

Putting any kind of snake oil stop leak into your coolant system only invites more problems.....like plugged heater core, or engine passages.


Later

gafu mazda

m in the process of removing my turbos AGAIN and both lines are accessible through the front after taking out the air pump.Good luck

Oliv

Epidemy? https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/can-damage-coolant-seal-cause-smoke-engine-bay-792376/

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

I recommend that if something like this happens again, you don't try to limp it home. These engines overheat very easily if the cooling system is compromised, and the result is often an engine rebuild.

My approach is that if I see coolant, I stop the car and stop the engine. Right there.

Dave

Oliv

Not to mention the risk of fire!

Well I say that but when the same happened to me I drove it home, 2 minutes away...

koolmoe

iTrader: (1)

good stuff.

I forgot to mention that this is a RHD fd... so maybe that's why I can't access the lower coolant line (more heatshielding, steering rack in the way?). But i can't stress enough that there didn't seem to be ANY plausible way to access either of the coolant lines where they connect to the turbo assembly without pulling the engine.

ArmenMAxx

iTrader: (21)

I had a similar issue. Mine was my banjo bolt leaking. U probably need new crush washers but I replaced the whole coolant hard pipe + washers.

IT could also be your lower rubber coolant hose going to the turbo. Mine came loose on me too and the coolant travels towards the back of your turbo and burns up there. Check that first before ripping out your turbos.

Here is when I took the turbos out and replaced the coolant hard line.

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/just-pulled-twins-719907/

koolmoe

iTrader: (1)

^^^^ wow, ok yeah, looking at the pictures in your thread you have a heck of a lot more space to work with that I do in the RHD. Crap.

ArmenMAxx

iTrader: (21)

trust me it was tight for me too getting the turbos out. The A/C lines got in the way.

Check out that lower coolant hose, its the most common one to leak.