SPrometheus

Car had some white smoke come out the back, idk if it was coolant or condensation

Car starts up normally nice and fast no delays.

Engine temp gauge has never gone above one tick before the center.

Oil seems fine no frothy stuff on dip stick

I'm doing a coolant flush right now I'll bring an update I'm a day or so if about how fast the coolant is decreasing if it does at all.

Coolant that was flushed from system was slightly frothy and brown and nasty, idk if it was a premix from the previous owner (some people I've heard but other stuff in their coolant) or if its oil however it didn't seem to separate and it wasn't flammable when I held a lighter to it.

The system is currently completely clean (ran water though it) waiting to fill it with new fl22 anti freeze.

On 2 occasions in the past the coolant bottle cap and neck of bottle where the cap connects to seems damage and brown goop came out.

I'm replacing both pieces.

Could someone advise me on what to do next? Are my seals destroyed? How long can I continue to use the car if they are destroyed and would I have to continuously refill coolant (if seals r bad) how much would a engine rebuild cost or a engine replacement? Could this be something else?

Thanks
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9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

test oil for coolant or test the coolant for oil. Or do a coolant system pressure test. A little white smoke if when cold or if catless is normal. How much white smoke though?

NotAPreppie

He could also test coolant for exhaust gasses.

SPrometheus

How would you do these tests to check for oil and coolant etc.
Also its quite a lot of smoke. The minute I saw it I went back home and started my flush. It also happened very suddenly. I drove it yesterday for maybe 10min twice with a 3hr wait time in between and today only for a min before I headed back. Never seen the smoke before until just now.

when I was doing my flush I ran a hose into the coolant bottle then turned the car on. Temp gauge when up to one tick before center them began to drop all the way to the far left as cold water was run into the bottle and out the exit at the underside of the car. Is this weird?


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NotAPreppie

The basic tool for testing coolant for exhaust gasses is called a "block tester". There are more advanced ways of doing it but this works most of the time.

Testing the oil for coolant requires you to send a sample of your oil to a place like Blackstone Labs.

SPrometheus

If i found exhaust gasses in my coolant with a block tester what exactly would that tell me?

Loki

iTrader: (1)

That your coolant seal is compromised and the engine's days are numbered. It's not going to explode or anything, but it will slowly get worse and worse until it doesn't start. On the bright side, if you don't find exhaust gases, then you don't have coolant seal failure!

Are you saying you ran cold water straight into a hot engine? That's really not a good idea for the same reason that don't put a hot pan in cold water. Metal warps.

SPrometheus

Is there a way to prolong its life? Currently starts up normally, would I have to constantly replace my coolant? Will it actualy be using my coolant? How long might it last and will I know that its end is comming in advance as it gets harder to start? Why does this happen? Will the engine over heat and warp and melt? or will one day it just stop working becausee the spark plugs are to wet? If possible could you explain what is exactly happening?

(That is if I found gasses in my coolant)

Also I am interested in how this all works, was wondering what the coolant seals do?

SPrometheus

Is something like this okay?

Do I just take my new coolant and place it in their and wait for it to go from blue to yellow after driving the car for a bit? Is this a 100% verdict that my coolant seals are fucked and that my engine will die at some point?

Loki

iTrader: (1)

If you have a bit of time, watch this:
It'll help you understand what the seals are (as well as other parts) and where they go. They're the thin rubber-band looking things that get applied during re-assembly of the big parts.

IF you find exhaust in the coolant, that tell us that when fuel/air burn in the engine, the pressure forces some of the gas past that rubber-band looking seal (orange in the video still, actually) and into the coolant passages that go all through the engine. On a healthy engine, those little seals are held securely in place and no gases pass.

There are a few different ways this failure can occur: previous overheating or beating on a cold engine warped the metal slightly and allowed the seal to move just a bit; installation mistake when the engine was built that pinched the seal or some defect in the material that over time allowed the seal to break. Perhaps others.

You may or may not lose coolant, depends where the failure is. It's possible it's a gap that only opens when under the pressure of burning fuel, and closes again under pressure from the coolant. In those cases coolant loss will be minimal. In other cases where the seal is permanently open, coolant will drain into the combustion chamber and you'll find out very quickly that you can't start the car if it has been sitting for more than a few hours.

As for how long you can continue to drive, there is no way to tell. Exhaust gases will keep making the hole bigger and bigger, so it's downhill from here, but a week? a month? a year? A year might be too long to expect, but there is really no way to tell. It's not going to melt or anything, just one day it will no longer start.

Hoping for the best, let us know how it goes.
A cooling system pressure test would also do it. It's pretty straightforward, any mechanic can do it.

SPrometheus

So as I continue to drive the car the gasses will enlarge the gap and damagee the rubber seal and at some point while the engine is at rest the coolant will make it so wet inside that the spark plugs cannot ignite the fuel? So it shouldnt just die on me somewhere along the highway correct?

What is a pressure test?

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Pressure test:
LMGTFY

It could start to overheat on a highway at some point, which will turn into stopping completely if you don't let it cool down. It's hard to call a car in this condition 'reliable'.

NotAPreppie

You can rent a tool from Advance Auto Parts or Autozone to pressure test the cooling system. They'll put ~$300 on a credit car and then credit it back to you when you return it.

SPrometheus

Thank you for all the help guys, still waiting to preform all these tests nd ill get back to you on what the results are.

If my engine is a gonner wich it seeems to be looking like could you direct me to where the best places are to buy affordable engines from reputable sellers? I will bee taking out the old engine and putting in a new one personaly as to cut costs or labor.

I have a 2004 Mazda Rx8
looking for a 1.3L R2, 6 speedManual, 13b Renesinse engine
Basicaly the same engine as I had befoor (237hp or so)
or better if engines liike that still go around on the market.

SPrometheus

Also just to make sure the car wont be smoking when i drive the car right? Only when I start it up after a long period of time as its burning all the coolant thats been collecting in the engine.

Steve Dallas

Don't jump to conclusions. Wait until you have test results to freak out.

In the meantime, engine rebuild / replacement options are covered ad nauseum on this site. Use Google or Bing to search this site for the info you need, using this format:

site:rx8club.com engine rebuild

site:rx8club.com engine replacement

There is a ton of information. Take the time to read through it and educate yourself on the vendors and the process.

SPrometheus

Wont panic yet but I was wondering if the engines silicon sealers are bad could I use bars leak coolant system sealer or some other kind of sealer to slow down the process? Would it allow the engine to last longer? Is this possible and wich product specificaly could I use? Would I use just thheirs or mix it in with my fl22 mazda antifrreeze coolant?

Also will the car be smoking the whole time I drive if the sealers are bad? or just on start up?

Loki

iTrader: (1)

I'd only use those leak-fix products as a last resort. They often do more harm than good, but you could get lucky.

No way to tell how it will smoke. Slow down, get the right tests done and take it from there.

wannawankel

Seal failures lead to lower coolant pressures and that leads to lower boiling points (and lower temp failure). Ensure your pressure is at target by getting the seal fixed properly. just posted this on https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...82#post4828082

shmyasir@gmail.com

hey going through forums, noticed white smoke as well from my RX8 2005 automatic


how I can check if this is not the coolant seal problem. Is there any video instruction. Thanks

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Testing info is literally in this thread starting from post #2.

That said, on a cool rainy day like that, it looks like that's condensation.

Redrotarycar

NotAPreppie

Well, when combustion occurs, the pressure inside the combustion chamber is much higher than in the coolant system. When this happens, combustion gasses will be forced into the cooling system if the seal failure is near the power stroke portion of the housings.

lOOkatme

K-seal works pretty well. I ran it in my car and stopped a leak. been racing it ever since with no leaks.

SPrometheus

thanks for the tip, if wworst comes to worst ill go with thiis option