Stop the Leak

[Jim Innella]

Long story short- I bought an 84 RX-7GS off ebay three months ago. I had a stupid idea that I would use it to scuff race tires for my IT7 and teach my kids how to drive a stick.Needless to say, the car wasn't as represented . Three months later and more money and time invested then I would have ever imagined and I have a decent daily driver, that drives real nice and is safe and dependable, except for the leak.The upper front left hand corner of the block has an oil leak. When the motor is running the oil seaps out between the seam. I asked my local race shop and they knew exactly where it is coming from.Between the first and second stage of the engine there is an oil passage.There is a small seal or oring that seals the passage.According to the shop it is not uncommon that these wear and the leak occurs.Problem is that I refuse to spend anymore time or money on this car. It was suggested that you can drill a hole into the block down to the oring area and fill with JB Weld.This has been known to stop that leak. Does anyone have experience performing this process and if so can you provide details(IE, exact position of whole to be drilled , diameter, how deep).I previously tried sealing the area from the outside but that worked for about 50 miles then the leak returned.At this point I just want to sell the car and realize I am going to lose 2-3k for the experience but I would like to fix the leak before I do.I guess I have more scruples then the bum that sold me this heap on ebay.
Thanks
Jim IT7#60

[paulydee]

If the front cover is leaking, as I suspect, then doing the temporary fix that was suggested to you, is not some I would personally recommend. The front cover needs to be removed and the gasket and Oring need to be replaced. Not a small job as you have already surmised. Doing the rebel repair you mentioned, would only reduce the value of the car. Repairing it after this drilling of the hole would be iffy.

Paul D'Angelo
www.iridiumracing.com (http://www.iridiumracing.com)

[Quickshoe]

Jim,

Put the drill down.

I am assuming that the failed o-ring around the dowel between the front housing and the front rotor housing is the problem.

Don't think of it as putting more money into this money pit, look at it as building yourself a solid back up IT7 motor. Pull it out, pull it apart. If the rotors and housings are good...call Mazda and order a gasket kit, replace all the spring steel parts, check the wear on the apex seals and put it back together. You now have a non-oil leaking motor, your kids learn how to drive a manual trans (good for you), and you've got a decent spare.