What does this sound like to you...?
09-19-2006 | 07:33 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 7
To start of with the car in question is a 1988 RX7 Turbo II S4 Euro spec......
So I start my car this morning after it was running fine last night and it starts, but it sounds like it's only running on 1 rotor. It's done this twice before...once after a 3 hr drive to a friends house where I shut it off (after an appropriate cooling time) and let it sit overnight. I started it up the next morning and after idling for a little while the other rotor came back and it was fine. Then again after the car sat for a month and a half while I was in the states( I live in Germany)...again idled for a little while and it was fine. So today it never did even out. It did get a little better so I decided to drive it to the shop (about 10 Min. away) and see what was going on. When I got to the shop my friend wasn't there so I started the car up again and it was a little more rough this time. I didn't push it at all due to the fact I wasn't sure what was going on, but it seemed to run fine at normal driving speed. At that point I knew I needed to take it home untill I could get it looked at so on the way home I make a short stop at a bakery down the street and when I came out it wouldn't start at all. As a side note I have been running my gas down so I could add some fuel system cleaner so the tank was low, however, it was still just above the double hash marks on the bottom. I decided the maybe it was just to low to get any pick up so I put a couple of liters of gas in it and got it to start, but it was super rough,spewing white smoke out and the coolant buzzer started going off. It has never run hot and today the temp guage was reading the same level that it always does...nothing out of the norm. I limped it home and shut it off and noticed that there was still a trace of white smoke comming out of one of the pipes and there was a little water sitting in exhaust tips even though the roads were completely dry and I had gone thru no puddles. The coolant level in the run off tank was normal and the coolant in the rad. was just a little low (I could still see coolant on the top on the fins), but the engine temp was still nothing out of the norm. I also pulled the rear trailing plug and it was covered in what I think was water and alot of oil and carbon. I had the commpression tested in June and it was good...a little weaker in the rear rotor, but it was within acceptable peramiters (rear rotor gets more heat and is usually has lower comp. than the front). The plugs have been in there for about four months. The car as run really well for most of the time I've had it (since April '06). No major problems at all. I haven't run my car very hard, a few times on the autobahn at speed, but nothing crazy. I go back and forth to work mostly. Did I just bust a water seal and/or housing? More to the point am I screwed.....?
So I start my car this morning after it was running fine last night and it starts, but it sounds like it's only running on 1 rotor. It's done this twice before...once after a 3 hr drive to a friends house where I shut it off (after an appropriate cooling time) and let it sit overnight. I started it up the next morning and after idling for a little while the other rotor came back and it was fine. Then again after the car sat for a month and a half while I was in the states( I live in Germany)...again idled for a little while and it was fine. So today it never did even out. It did get a little better so I decided to drive it to the shop (about 10 Min. away) and see what was going on. When I got to the shop my friend wasn't there so I started the car up again and it was a little more rough this time. I didn't push it at all due to the fact I wasn't sure what was going on, but it seemed to run fine at normal driving speed. At that point I knew I needed to take it home untill I could get it looked at so on the way home I make a short stop at a bakery down the street and when I came out it wouldn't start at all. As a side note I have been running my gas down so I could add some fuel system cleaner so the tank was low, however, it was still just above the double hash marks on the bottom. I decided the maybe it was just to low to get any pick up so I put a couple of liters of gas in it and got it to start, but it was super rough,spewing white smoke out and the coolant buzzer started going off. It has never run hot and today the temp guage was reading the same level that it always does...nothing out of the norm. I limped it home and shut it off and noticed that there was still a trace of white smoke comming out of one of the pipes and there was a little water sitting in exhaust tips even though the roads were completely dry and I had gone thru no puddles. The coolant level in the run off tank was normal and the coolant in the rad. was just a little low (I could still see coolant on the top on the fins), but the engine temp was still nothing out of the norm. I also pulled the rear trailing plug and it was covered in what I think was water and alot of oil and carbon. I had the commpression tested in June and it was good...a little weaker in the rear rotor, but it was within acceptable peramiters (rear rotor gets more heat and is usually has lower comp. than the front). The plugs have been in there for about four months. The car as run really well for most of the time I've had it (since April '06). No major problems at all. I haven't run my car very hard, a few times on the autobahn at speed, but nothing crazy. I go back and forth to work mostly. Did I just bust a water seal and/or housing? More to the point am I screwed.....?
09-20-2006 | 01:46 AM
#5
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 7
Originally Posted by Seppuku' post='837717' date='Sep 20 2006, 03:27 AM
check the turbo maybe make sure its not coming from it?
And I'm sorry for the long post, but that was the only way to give a detailed description of what was going on.......Appearently there are a lot of people with ADD here...........
09-21-2006 | 05:51 PM
#7
Senior Member
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 22,465
From: California
Originally Posted by K.ronicRX7' post='837742' date='Sep 19 2006, 10:46 PM
The turbo is fine and the smoke smells like coolant, not like oil if it was the turbo.
And I'm sorry for the long post, but that was the only way to give a detailed description of what was going on.......Appearently there are a lot of people with ADD here...........
yeah, break it up in little chunks
09-21-2006 | 07:46 PM
#8
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 7
Originally Posted by Eric Happy Meal' post='837944' date='Sep 21 2006, 06:46 PM
was there any of the water/oil/carbon on the front plugs?
I pulled the rear trailing plug and there was what I believe to be water. The reason I say this is because the plug was coated in oil and a little carbon (4 month old plugs) and what I thought was water, but the oil wasn't milky (on the plug).
09-22-2006 | 02:13 AM
#9
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 983
From: redondo beach
Originally Posted by K.ronicRX7' post='838004' date='Sep 21 2006, 04:46 PM
I pulled the rear trailing plug and there was what I believe to be water. The reason I say this is because the plug was coated in oil and a little carbon (4 month old plugs) and what I thought was water, but the oil wasn't milky (on the plug).
09-22-2006 | 08:39 AM
#10
Member
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 74
From: Ft. Sill, OK
exposed coolant seal, most likely. Your Wankel is fucked.
If I were you, I'd pull the engine, and break it down. If it's just a busted seal, you can fix it... but, if you warped the rotor chamber, then you need to replace the engine.
If I were you, I'd pull the engine, and break it down. If it's just a busted seal, you can fix it... but, if you warped the rotor chamber, then you need to replace the engine.