Hi im mike, i bought my 1988 rx7 gxl about 1 year ago. from the first test drive i was obsessed with with everything about the car. but recently iv been having this coolant issues. you know, were the rad. spits out half the coolant, and the resevoir over flows and bubbles, and bubbles. . and my exhaust smells sweet when i start my car. now ive done some research on these symptoms and have come to the harsh reality that its time to "REBUILD!!!!". so i was hoping someone had some soothing input possibly a quick cheap fix.

thank you for your time.

mike

 

Moved your thread to this New Member tech board, Mike. Welcome aboard and I'm sure a 2ndgen guru will know the answer to your problem. I saw you were already reading up on some other coolant threads, so that's a big for taking the initiative!

Mario III

 

why have i only come across one or two posts about putting a sealer in the rad. that would be so much easier and much cheaper. iv read the posts i found, and they say it worked so far. but wouldnt it be an obvious solution? is there any serious problems with that.

 

My opinion may not be worth very much but I think you have already found your answer. If coolant is going into the combustion chamber and exiting via the the exhaust, it sounds like you need to rebuild the motor. Coolant o ring and side seal problem? also the bubbling coolant makes it seem like exhaust is also getting into the coolant system. I just looked at buying an FC and It smelled like gas in the coolant reservoir so I passed on it. You could have a smell there. Good luck and hopefully someone with more experience can confirm or deny your suspicions. Good luck. If you do decide to rebuild I would have everything checked for flatness/correct dimensions(plates, housings, etc.) in case the motor had been overheated.

 

You put sealer in the radiator but it doesn't stay there...it'll also coat the cooling passages in the rotary engine and create constrictions. Radiator sealer in a rotary car is generally a no-no. I did it and lost an engine half a year later.

Mario III

 

idk if this helps or not but i had the same thing happen on my mazdaspeed protege. it turned out that the thermostat was messin up. then it happened again and it was the radiator cap. and now no problem at all!! try that

 

working at autozone i try to discourage the use of 'quick fix' additives, they do nothing but hide the problem until it is a major one and create problems of their own. it is not worth the extra 2-3 months of no symptom driving. 315$ for a rebuild kit (http://www.atkinsrotary.com/store/pr...4&cat=0&page=1) or end up replacing both housings and what ever the radiator stop leak decides to destroy...

as i tell my customers 'dont cover up the problem, fix the problem.'

 

I was also wondering...
If I do buy the gasket set, how hard is it going to be to put together. Im afraid that Im going to spend all that money and time, and then at the end its not going to work out. When I has asked a family friend who is a mechanic how much it would be if he were to do it...He didn't even want to take it...nor did any other mechanics he knew. They said it was too much work and not worth it...Do they know something I don't know? There is no chance in hell I want to sell that car!!! And I need to get that fixed soon....

NEED HELP AND ADVICE!!!!

-Mike

Does anyone know any company here in Oregon that would take this on? Anything!?@?




-Mike

 

most mechanics don't know the first thing about rotaries, so that's why they don't want it. An average Joe with some basic mechanical knowledge who takes notes when he tears down the engine should have no problem putting it back together.

just take it slow, and be careful, don't bang parts against other parts, ect. I did my first 12a when i was 17, it was much easier than anything with pistons. I'd even go as far as to say that a briggs and stratton lawnmower engine is harder to do, except that the rotary you need an engine stand.

 

to vdub2002:

So tearing it down to the cooling seal...what all exactly would I need to rebuild it, would it be better to replace everything at once or that atkins rotary site that you directed for me to go is all I need to fix the problem or do I lso need to get something else..like apex seals or o rings...????


-Mike

 

If your going to go and tear it down best to replace all seals and springs. Meaning apex, side and corner seals also their springs. but if your on a budget then just the gaskets. sounds like you have a bad coolant gasket/seal.

 

it's not as simple as just replacing what has failed. that's why rebuilds cost in the thousands. chances r u'll need to replace all steel seals like apex, corner, side, and related springs. soft seal sets r relative inexpensive, it's the hard seals that's expensive. there's no use in tearing one apart to just replace all the O ring seals cause if all the hard seals r out of spec, u'll have a hard time getting it started due to low compression. that's what happened to my first build. i just got the gaskets and O rings to put it together and hot starts was a bitch. so if ur looking to rebuild it for under 1k it's not going to happen, especially if u want porting work done.

 

****, well.... idk what im gunna do. but thank you all for the input. i think ill just put some duct tape around the rad. j/k

 

Full Rebuild Kit for a 13B is about 800 Bucks... Cheapest ive found @least...Miqht as well move to a 20BT.. go big! ;x

 

Funny, nobody at DGRRX had any idea that I had blown coolant seals. Maybe that's because I've been symptom free for two years now. I put over 2,400 miles on the car in just that week. Maybe I'm just lucky?


To the OP: Have you read this thread? https://www.rx7club.com/new-member-rx-7-technical-256/head-gasket-sealant-apex-seals-899587/


.

 

Has anyone one considered uploading a rebuild instruction video, cause i'm in the same situation and in the end i've decided to rebuild it myself, but when i look at the rebuild kits online i have no idea what i'm looking at

 

most kits will come with a dvd or some kind of instructions