White scum in Oil filler neck?

[Ada7]

Went to check the oil in my car today and top it up, and noticed that i had got some white scum around the oil filler neck.
My car has been loosing coolent for a little while now, but i got it looked at and it was coming out of a join where a gasket may of slipped out a little. Didnt consider that water could be going in to the engine as well as out!!  

I do know that water getting in to the engine a piston car can leave a white film around there,  so was just wondering if its the same on rotarys? If so, how bad is it and what is the likely damage.
I only had the engine build last year, so i\'m hoping its not anything to bad

Adam

[Brett]

Moving this to the correct section.

[fro]

it may well be nothing.. mayo in the filler neck is pretty normal, especially as the weather gets colder.
Cheers

Rob

[gmogle]

Yeah I panicked about this when I got mine first, turned out to be normal.

Gareth

[Brett]

As long as its not showing on the dipstick I would\'nt worry! (Meant to post this when I moved the thread..having an off day...again...)

[gsb876]

if in doubt keep checking your dipstick for signs of water, do so for a few weeks until you are happy everything is ok  :wave

[Jono FD3]

I do know that water getting in to the engine a piston car can leave a white film around there,  so was just wondering if its the same on rotarys?

Adam

I asked the same question last week, and my but cheeks were pukerd waiting for someone to say REBILD TIME!! But more than a few people told me that it was just a winter rotary thing!
More than a bit disconserting tough, I was filling my shorts for weeks thinking rebild, rebild, rebild!!

Jono

[Ricco_04]

Ooh, just in case you panic - I filled mine up the other day and when I checked the dipstick there was mayo on there but it\'s just what washed thru when I filled her up

[Ada7]

Cheers for the replys guys. Can hopefully breath a big sigh of releaf now then PHEW!!!  :p
Still need to get the coolent leak looked at fully, and will keep a good watch on the dipstick and neck to see if the \'Mayo\' returns

Adam

[gsb876]

Ada,

If you have a leak somewhere with the coolant system make sure you carry loads of water with you just incase it does run out, do you have means to checking the water temp ?

If not i suggest you regularly check your coolant level, as if the water does run out you have a major temp jump which will lead to a rebuild.

Something to consider: the stock temp gauge will remain in "normal" zone up until 120oC, at which point it is almost too late  

Power FC saved me a few years ago when driving on m-way glanced at water temp and it said 105oC when the air intake was like 18oC (Autumn time) pulled over straight away and there was no water left as had leak on the rad.

[Kieron]

Make sure your commander is set to monitor water temp.

Like I said on msn though, its probably nothing to worry about.

[Ada7]

Ada,

If you have a leak somewhere with the coolant system make sure you carry loads of water with you just incase it does run out, do you have means to checking the water temp ?

If not i suggest you regularly check your coolant level, as if the water does run out you have a major temp jump which will lead to a rebuild.

Something to consider: the stock temp gauge will remain in "normal" zone up until 120oC, at which point it is almost too late  

Power FC saved me a few years ago when driving on m-way glanced at water temp and it said 105oC when the air intake was like 18oC (Autumn time) pulled over straight away and there was no water left as had leak on the rad.

Ive got a PFC and so far it hasnt gone over 90/95oC on the water temp, but when i get in the car at the end of the day to go home the buzzer goes off.
I carry a bottle of water with me now since its been going on, just to top up the level before i go anywhere. I dont do any longjorneys at the moment anyway. Max of 20 miles and there\'s garages along the way to stop at if things get a bit to hot.
Cheers again

Adam

[Ada7]

Make sure your commander is set to monitor water temp.

Like I said on msn though, its probably nothing to worry about.

Yeh cheers dude. 1 step ahead of you already :cool

Adam

[Bobfish]

adam, sounds like a coolant seals gone - what you will find is that as you drive, the longer you go on the car gets hotter and hotter. Basically when you stop the water forces its way into the rotor chambers, meaning the car is low on water. You fill it up and drive off. As your driving, the combustion gasses pressurise your coolant system and force the coolant out the AST into the overflow tank.  As you go on, the water heats up and expands into the space the ejected water once filled. After a while, so little water is left in your coolant system it starts to boil, but your low coolant warning will not go off till its too late because the water expands.

I recommend you do a champagne test - open the water filler next, and shove an upturned bottle in it with the top cut off (or the bottom, if your looking at it right way up) make sure its sealed around the bottom!

Start the car, wait for the thermostat to open and the car to come up to temp - the bottle will gradually fill with water. If you see a constant stream of bubbles coming to the surface, you have a problem. Engine rebuild or Radweld - i used radweld on mine and its still holding up fine.

See my site:
http://www.face2faces.co.uk/RX7/howto/oring.htm

The reason you MAY have scum in your oil is because the water is getting past the oil seals on the rotors when the engine is cold, but ive not heard of this before.

[Kieron]

Great post Bobfish but I do hope you are wrong, IIRC Adam hasn\'t done alot of miles on that engine, probably only about 1000 on boost after the rebuild and re map.

Adam, if you need a hand give me a shout.