Hi from a new RX7 owner

[MattScott]

Hello everyone!
 
Well I’d like to be proudly announcing the fact that having registered on MRC a month or so ago, I’m now the proud owner of a 1994 RX7 FD3s Type-r, slightly tatty and in need of some TLC but mechanically sound ...... or so I thought!:o
Got insured through the guy’s at Sky Insurance, who are happy to give a 20% discount for MRC members and arranged to pick the car up on Saturday. The weekend arrived and I collected the car from sunny Surrey and enjoyed a little fine English weather on the journey home. All was good with the world.........
Unfortunately my ownership has not since progressed quite so enjoyably L In fairness, I was looking for a project car which I’m not afraid to touch and could learn on as things go wrong – so looks like I’ve just found my first job! [I had just hoped I would have driven it more than once!].
It’s not as bad as it sounds - or at least I hope not!. Went to go for a drive last night and found that the coolant system has decided to empty itself either on the journey home Saturday or while sat parked over the remainder of the weekend . Filling it up via the expansion tank simply creates a nice puddle on the floor - not the best way to start ownership! So I’m guessing either a hose or the plastic expansion tank has cracked (the radiator has been changed before so I’m hoping that is ok) – but haven’t had to check to see exactly what has failed and it’s now p**sing down with rain and I have no garage L. I’m hoping this shouldn’t be the hardest of jobs to cut my teeth on [when it stops raining!] although I bet you need small hands to get to all the fixings?!?!.
Anyway I thought it was time to introduce myself and hope to back up and running again soon.

[Wombat-007]

Welcome to MRC.
Good to have another rex in the London area, whereabouts in the big smoke are you?
 
The water system on 7\'s are probably one of the most frustrating things. When you say you\'re filling up the expansion tank, is it holding water level on the dipstick? (just to check the tank\'s ok)
You also need to fill from the filler neck (yellow cap to the left of the alternator as you look at it) pic of mine below

You will also need to "burp" the system after filling. The easiest way is to remove the water pipe at the back of the upper inlet manifold, by the throttle body as you fill it, this will push the trapped air out as you fill it.
 
If you\'re losing water, check all the hoses/rad and AST for leaks. If it\'s blowing water out of the expansion tank when running then it\'s time to do the champagne test I\'m afraid as could be a water seal failure that will require a complete engine strip down to fix :mad:
 
When I bought my first, it was losing water and turned out to be the hose from the AST to the expansion tank had fallen off, after re-fitting it was fine.
Best of luck and keep us posted, lots of London members around if you need a hand.
 
P.S.  Need pic\'s of the new toy!:Thumbs-up

[MattScott]

Hi. I\'m in Eltham, so right on the South East/Kent border. It looks like there are 2 rex\'s in New Eltham so I\'m in good company

As for the water system, from scanning this forum I\'m obviously not alone as it certainly appears to be a weaker link. Obviously I\'m hoping it\'s the cheaper of the issues!!

Filling up the expansion tank (engine off) simply leaves a nice puddle on the floor - so no it\'s not holding any water! Hopefully that means either the tank is cracked or a hose has failed? Will try and take a look tomorrow night after work (assuming the weather holds off!).

As for pics of my new toy........I think I need to make a few more posts before MRC will let me load images!?! (Either that or I\'m pressing the wrong button!)

[Wombat-007]

Good you have some people local to help out if needed.
Forgot to mention that the expansion tank has a vent hole in it to prevent overfilling. There should be no water loss if you\'re keeping below the full line on the dipstick. If you overfill is will pour out.
 
Keep up posted on how you get on (and photos)

[clive]

Welcome to MRC and good to see you have had help already :driving,

[MattScott]

Thanks for the help and advice. I\'ll hopefully get time tonight to take a better look. It was when I went to go for a drive that the warning buzzer sounded (glad that works at least ) so I turned everything off and checked the top filler. No coolant was showing (top hose also compressed easily) so checked the expansion tank. The level did not appear to be showing any reading and it was when I tried filling it up via the expansion neck that I heard it leaking and noticed the puddle forming underneath . I don\'t think it\'s over filled but I\'ll need to check again and see if I can see where the coolant is leaking out (willl add some coolent via the top filler too).
The engine was been rebuilt about 25k miles ago as it was one of the things I made sure there was receipts for! Will post again when I\'ve some more news - hoping lady luck is on my side! Cheers.

[MattScott]

Hi again and HELP!! This is not what I hoped owning a rex would start out as.........

Managed to get a look under the car tonight and am becoming increasingly worried! So what have I checked?

a) Checked for obvious leaks and all hoses look ok. Rad is holding water, hoses are old but not perished.
b) Checked the expansion tank and the level looked low. Tried to fill via the expansion pipe. Wouldn\'t take any water and leaked out from under what looks like the vent pipe you mentioned earlier (to the right of where the neck meets the tank) so it obviously has water?
c) Filled via the top filler cap above the water pump. Took a little water before reaching the neck.

Now here\'s where it get\'s worrying.....Turned the engine over and all was ok, no buzzer so turned it off to check level again in case trapped air had risen.
Noticed 2 things:
1) Fluctuating water level (even though engine was off)
2) Water went frothy Seemed to clear a little but there is no denying it was there.

So I\'m left wondering what is this champagne test or is it pretty clear already what the issue is? Are thee any other tests I should do to confirm the problem?
I\'m guessing the MOT doesn\'t check water systems as it\'s only just been passed and I\'ve only had the car a week and so far only managed to drive it home!
I bought the car from a mechanic who "said" he\'d stand by the car - I\'m now wondering if it is ime to put that to the test??

Gutted.......and what a way to introduce yourself

[Wombat-007]

Don\'t panic just yet dude, there can be many reasons for the water to fluctuate. I presume the filler cap was on. This can cause the water to drop when you release it causing the fluctuation. Happens on mine when checking the water level from cold. Has something to do with the back pressure to suck the water back through the AST from the expansion tank when the water\'s cooled.
Once you\'re happy the water level is good in the engine, it\'s probably best to run the "Champagne Test" to rule out possible water seal failure.
 
Basically you cut a plastic bottle in half, attach the bottle neck to the top of the metal filler neck on the engine and seal it with insulating tape to make the join waterproof. Add a little water so the bottle has a decent water level so you can watch out for any bubbles.
Start the car and look out for tiny bubbles (hence the champagne test name).  Try reving the engine by hand also, as this will exadurate the effect as in the vid below.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlS5alg4bcM
 
Thats a sign of the seals just going, the next is one with buggered seals and there is no way the seller wouldn\'t have known there was a substantial problem with the car as it would be pi**ing water out all over the place.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v5xndhkTsw
 
This test doesnt take long to do. It goes without saying that this is best done from cold so no hot water to worry about, and keep your head clear from the top of the open bottle just in case.
 
This will tell you deffo if there is a bigger problem to worry about or not.
It may well be that you just have an air lock or something. Easy to say, but don\'t worry until you\'ve done this test.
 
Keep us posted on how you get on
 
 

Hi again and HELP!! This is not what I hoped owning a rex would start out as.........
 
Managed to get a look under the car tonight and am becoming increasingly worried! So what have I checked?
 
a) Checked for obvious leaks and all hoses look ok. Rad is holding water, hoses are old but not perished.
b) Checked the expansion tank and the level looked low. Tried to fill via the expansion pipe. Wouldn\'t take any water and leaked out from under what looks like the vent pipe you mentioned earlier (to the right of where the neck meets the tank) so it obviously has water?
c) Filled via the top filler cap above the water pump. Took a little water before reaching the neck.
 
Now here\'s where it get\'s worrying.....Turned the engine over and all was ok, no buzzer so turned it off to check level again in case trapped air had risen.
Noticed 2 things:
1) Fluctuating water level (even though engine was off)
2) Water went frothy Seemed to clear a little but there is no denying it was there.
 
So I\'m left wondering what is this champagne test or is it pretty clear already what the issue is? Are thee any other tests I should do to confirm the problem?
I\'m guessing the MOT doesn\'t check water systems as it\'s only just been passed and I\'ve only had the car a week and so far only managed to drive it home!
I bought the car from a mechanic who "said" he\'d stand by the car - I\'m now wondering if it is ime to put that to the test??
 
Gutted.......and what a way to introduce yourself

[MattScott]

Hi. Thanks for the encouragement and advice. I really appreciate it.
I\'ve a receipt for an engine rebuild (including water seals) in 2004 from RE:WORX with the mileage recorded as 105k. The car is only showing 117k now (still reads in KM) so I had hoped the engine would be ok.
I\'ll have to wait until tomorrow now but I\'ll do the test and let you know the outcome.
(I still can\'t post images etc but will try and get a video clip for when I can).
Thanks again - it\'s a good job rex\'s are "pretty" !

[gonzodave]

I had this exact same problem shortly after buying my FD eventually took it to a reputable garage (powergains in essex) they drained the system and refilled it properly and i have not a problem since. The process for filling the coolant is quite along job and is not a case of tip in water and off u go. Give it a go urself but if you get stuck give kerim and jay a call from powergains they will sort you out,
Dave.

[MattScott]

Cheers Dave. Will do the champagne test and see what it shows. Either way at least I\'ll know. Will certainly keep in mind Powergains. Thanks.

[MattScott]

Hello again.
OK performed the fabled champagne test and attempted to record the results.
Extremely shaky camera work but I hope they will help show the level of bubbles.
I can\'t post attachments yet so I\'ve uploaded them to you tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOMTcA4Rshs

Is this the beginning of water seal failure or is this level of bubbles normal?
As always, really appreciate your views/help.

[Nik da Greek]

Looks alright to me, although water seal failure\'s about the one thing I haven\'t tried yet. I\'m still waiting for that so I can get the full set.

Seriously, that big burp is probably the thermostat and the little bubbles aftet that just air working its way out slightly slower. If it was water seal failure you\'d expect the bubbling to be more constant and violent, more like a jacuzzi. Last time I thought mine were on the way out it was actually such a stupid little thing... the pressure cap on the AST was a 1/4 turn from being fully seated and that was enough to let it come over all incontinent. Of course,it only did it after running for ages at temperature, so was impossible to diagnose until a mate noticed it by accident! Doh. Moral; check and doublecheck everything. Then panic if it still uses water. Just let it find it\'s own level after burping the thermostat and run it up to temp a few times before adding any more water.

As an aside, nice to see ReMarkLima\'s name in lights again on one of those vids Wombat dude linked to. I bought my titanium exhaust from him like, years ago.

[Wombat-007]

Yep, totally agree with Nik,
 
Deffo run the car up to temp a few times and get out and drive it. Double check the coolant level when cold after each run just to keep an eye on the water level and top up if necessary. (Shouldn\'t be more than a few shots worth) and see how things settle down.
 
Also be prepared to see some coolant come out the expansion tank the first time it reaches full opperating temp if the bottle is totally full when cold (overfilled). This is normal and mine did it when I overfilled it once. Just keep in mind that this should only happen once.
 
If there is still a water loss and no leaks, repeat the champers test once everything has settled down and check for any more air bubbles (shouldnt be any once everything been up tp temp a few times. Give the engine a really good rev to about 6k to get the boost up, this will deffo show up any seal failure.
 
That said, provisionally looks ok to me also
 
Forgot to mention, the first rex I bought was losing water, turned out to be the pipe from the AST to the expansion tank.
 
Keep up posted and need pics :Thumbs-up
 
 

Looks alright to me, although water seal failure\'s about the one thing I haven\'t tried yet. I\'m still waiting for that so I can get the full set.
 
Seriously, that big burp is probably the thermostat and the little bubbles aftet that just air working its way out slightly slower. If it was water seal failure you\'d expect the bubbling to be more constant and violent, more like a jacuzzi. Last time I thought mine were on the way out it was actually such a stupid little thing... the pressure cap on the AST was a 1/4 turn from being fully seated and that was enough to let it come over all incontinent. Of course,it only did it after running for ages at temperature, so was impossible to diagnose until a mate noticed it by accident! Doh. Moral; check and doublecheck everything. Then panic if it still uses water. Just let it find it\'s own level after burping the thermostat and run it up to temp a few times before adding any more water.
 
As an aside, nice to see ReMarkLima\'s name in lights again on one of those vids Wombat dude linked to. I bought my titanium exhaust from him like, years ago.

[MattScott]

Guy\'s you don\'t know how happy, relieved and grateful of all your help that makes me When I finally get to post some pics (how many posts do I need to make ??) you\'ll hopefully see what made me buy it as I certainly thought it had potential and needed some TLC.
I\'ll keep an eye on the water levels and repeat the champers test once things have settled down.
Let me know if you\'re ever around the Eltham area as I owe you all a beer