Ok guys this is my first post . so before i start hello everyone :)
K right then, i wont bore you all with the long story but lets just say i have just bought my childhood dream car a 3rd gen rx7 .. on the way home i notice the temp gauge starting to point to the heavens :( i was on a main road with no hard shoulder and no slip road in sight , then the coolant alarm started to bleep and i get the red light telling me to pull over asap.
after about 3 miles i manage to find a safe place to pull over and at this point the engine just dies and cuts out.
after about 1.5 hours the RAC guy turns up and has a little look. telling me that the pipes to the radiator are cool but the water in the engine is still steaming hot , after a few turns the car started again and with the engine water cap off the watter was jumping out (RAC guy said somthing about air lock) anyway i was not prepaid to risk driving home so thay stuck me on the back of the truck and got me home.
so not knowing anything about cars :( and reading some posts on this forum i can tell there are some guys here that really know there stuff. is this gonna be a big problem? i do have a mazda garage close to me but i did read in a few posts that people have had bad experiances with main dealer workshops as thay tent not to have rotory qualified tech guys. or do i save up and get the car towed to a specialist?? anyone got any recomendations im in the thurrock essex kent border.
so what im really asking is .. does this problem sound like a new engine or maybe just somthing that is common.
the car has done 61k miles but had an engine rebuild 2 years ago buy a company that no longer is trading what does that tell you :(
is as far as i can tell a standard engine Twin turbo . the coolant water and oil was dry when the RAC guy checked them after topping up on oil and water the car still seems to have the same problem all comments welcome.
thanks in advance
Scott
Hello mate and welcome to the club.
Overheating generally isn’t good for the life of the rotary engine…do you have an after market gauge for the water temperature? How high did it get?
You are very close to a very good RX7 specialist Powergains Motor Sport which I have been using for a while now. They are based in Romford. You are better of taking / transporting the car to Kerim at above company. The guy is a genius.
Incidentally, do your fans kick in?
Could be the water pump not working...
Regards,
Michaelb
Sounds more like the thermostat was stuck closed: if the engine coolant was hot and the rad pipes cold, it seems pretty obvious: also explaions why it got so hot as the rad wouldn\'t have been able to cool the coolant.
When the stock gauge moves, it means temps have hit 120: if you were quick and shut ff quickly it may be ok. Alternatively, you may not. Does it still start cold? How easy is it to start?
YOu need to take the thermostat housing off, and get that replaced. It\'s only a few quid.
where abouts in essex are you mate
wow thanks for the quick replies guys, ok it starts on the button from cold but after a few secs, mins its sounds abit lumpy , as for how long was the engine beeping at me when it was overheating well about 4-5 mins amd the needle whent all the way up :( i had nowhere safe to pull over and as i said the engine cut out i did not shut her off :(
i have just been out and started her again abit lumpy and when i give it alittle throttle it backfired ..
and im not to far from romford thats great i guess i really need to get someone who knows whats what to look at the car.
thanks guys :)
pps and yes the fans do kick in
im in thurrock , close to lakeside :)
if you want me to have a look mate im only in chelmsford and have to go out tonight anyway or im going to my mums in Romford tomorrow if you want me to have a look
ash that would be great , im not back into work untill tues so if you have a spare hour or so , and your down this way :) the wife will do you a nice brew :)
my email is scottinessex@blueyonder.co.uk (scottinessex@blueyonder.co.uk)
let me know mate, number is 07772534961
Thanks ash it was great to talk to someone on the phone that knew what thay were talking about :)
thanks so much for the quick replies
Scott
no probs mate will probably be tomorrow now as its getting dark. Ill let you know when on way tomorrow