Water leak

[leefitz]

hey, think iv found an ideal second rx7 that i want to buy but the man said "it has a severe water leak which i suspect to be a rotor housing main water seal" i dont know much about the cars yet so advice needed. is this as bad and as much a pain as it sounds to fix?? or is this the road to more trouble as the car has had a rebuild??
cheers lee

[memski]

If it\'s a visible leak then it\'s not an internal seal, maybe a hose/rad or ast leak. If you suspect an internal leak then yes it will need to be rebuilt so add on a few more £k

[trotter]

If it\'s a visible leak then it\'s not an internal seal, maybe a hose/rad or ast leak. If you suspect an internal leak then yes it will need to be rebuilt so add on a few more £k

^^this

The good thing about water seal failure (if there is such a thing), is that assuming it hasn\'t also overheated and wrecked the internals. A water seal rebuild is relatively cheap. Pop the engine out, strip it, replace seals and put it back together. Thats compared to when apex seals go however, when its a whole new ball game for ££££s.

Quick way to check......

Get the guy, (or go see it and you do it) to take the coolant filler cap off (its the one in the middle of the engine next to the alternator) and from cold start the car. If you see bubbles come up start to worry. Next, get him to rev the engine slightly, or you do it from the throttle cable under the bonnet and observe. If the bubbles get worse or coolant starts p!ssing out then really start to worry \'cos its the seals.

youtube "champagne test" to see what i mean

HTH

graeme

[Prof]

Although if you do have waterseal failure, it\'s a good idea if the car isn\'t being run to drop the coolant out and strip the engine before the end plates get rusted up or marked.  I was lucky to catch mine in plenty of time.

[leefitz]

A water seal rebuild is relatively cheap. Pop the engine out, strip it, replace seals and put it back together.
 
graeme

well if it was as simple as this would that be somehting that i could do myself or is it still a pro job? dont have any experance with these engines but have a deacent pair of hands lol

[turbotoaster]

i suggest you download a rebuild video and watch that, least then you can see what your getting yourself in for

[trotter]

well if it was as simple as this would that be somehting that i could do myself or is it still a pro job? dont have any experance with these engines but have a deacent pair of hands lol

depends mate, it\'s still an engine out and strip down job. These engines are relatively simple to take apart, but it\'s a PITA as it takes time. A proper workshop in your garage would help, but it\'s been done plenty times in peoples kitchens!!

As said, get a rebuild video and have a looksee.