coolant getting in combustion chamber
 

just bought 2004 rx8. hard to get started at times and has a antifreeze smell coming from exhaust with little white smoke. was told maybe apex seals were going bad and letting coolant get in combustion chamber. when car starts runs and sounds good. need any kind of help i can get please from people that have had similar problem. thanks for any feedback

Apex seals don't touch coolant, but there are silicone coolant seals that can fail causing coolant to leak. This isn't really fixable without taking the engine apart, at which point you're better with a full rebuild or a new engine.

Silly question, but is your coolant level actually going down? Have you pulled the spark plugs to check for signs of coolant? I ask because there are other causes for hard starts: the starter, bad ignition, bad compression, a few things. Wouldn't want to go down the coolant road if there's a possibility the coolant is fine.

also, find out when the car was originally sold.
slim chance, but it's possible that you're covered under the 8yr/100k mile factory warranty

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If you want to know if there is a coolant system problem just pressure test your cooling system and/or send an oil sample to Blackstone labs, it's only $20.00 and that is what confirmed my coolant seal failure a couple of years ago.

If you do have a coolant seal failure then driving it will only makes it worse and do irreparable damage to the engines internals.

Check your TB for a leak (insane rare) otherwise if you have coolant in the engine its a rebuild

Easier way of checking is pull a plug and turn the engine over... coolant = rebuild

coolant level is going down pretty fast. i can smell soon as i start engine. seems to have good compression. anyone know where i can get new motor or is it cheaper to have rebuilt. i have the 1.3l high preformance model for 6 speed manual

ty i will pressure test coolant. also havent pulled plugs was told when i bought they were jus replaced i guess id beter check myself. loki it sounds like not getting compressing problem. i have already had to deflood it twice in two weeks

what kind of serious damage can be caused if there is coolant leak in combustion chamber and still drive some

The damage would be the potential of destroying the core value of your current engine, and also the risk of getting stuck somewhere if the engine quits altogether.

Ken

Coolant doesn't work well as a lubricant. But you could be losing coolant anywhere, if you are not going to get it properly diagnosed then why ask questions here? Just drive it until it seizes.

Coolant in engine also
 

Just had the manifold shutter valve replaced by dealer.
Wife drove to Maryland and back. Shortly thereafter I
started it and filled the garage with white smoke (vapor). The
dealer says a coolant seal is gone and and a new engine
is the only option (4800.00 + tax).

Do an oil sample test to confirm that diagnosis, $25 with a Blackstone Labs kit.

Assuming that it's true, you can do WAY better on that price. The dealer cost for the reman engines is $2,001, and many dealers will do close to that, several vendors will beat it. And you can certainly get the labor of the install for under $1k.

That dealer is raping you, a Mazda Reman is only $2,000.00 ish so that means they are charging you $2,800.00 just to pull and engine and reinstall it.

Ty u guys for all the imput shelled out 80 bucks for the test. Came back poss for mixture. Bought new engine thru mazda for the high preformance 1.3l all together 2600 with all gaskets and seals. With warranty also found out throw out bearings were bad as well. Rebuild kit was 800 bucks warranty as well now I have 10 g in a 7000 car either that or lose 4000 grand and sell as is

Hey i know this happend a while ago.
Did you buy a new engine and sawp it in or buy a rebuild kit and do the rebuild?
Did you get this stuff direct from mazda? I may have a similar issue so I was wondering.

There are a ton of threads about engine replacements and rebuilds. That process is all the same, whether the need for replacement is caused by low compression or coolant seal failure. Time to get searching!

[Or, you could send an oil sample to Blackstone and/or perform a pressure test to confirm the problem exists.]

Too easy, must do things the hard way.

As my old research adviser used to say, "3 hours in the lab will save you 10 minutes in the library."