lotus7racer

Born again Rotary! (because of my son) Well, to make the story short, used to have a Cosmo I think that year is 1981, also owned 14a rotary. This is when racing beat started thier business & fooling around with Rotary. I spent thousands to be the guinea pig hotrodding my 14A. You guys are still a baby or grasshopper then.

My son is twisting his brain and making a decision to buy
Audi S4 or the older (93) twin turbo Rx7. He is leaning toward RX7 TT. He found a few for sale here in New England but almost all RX7 has been rebuilt. He is suspicious and a bit dissapointed. Years ago, my 14A engine has been changed 3 times due to the oil seal problems. This is the 2004 and wondering and can't explain to my son what's the problem of this modern rotary.

Never been back to drive a rotary since my oil seals nightmare. I wonder if anyone here can help state the problem of this modern rotary so I can explain to my son before he buys. Is it still the oil seal problem?

Appreciate any help....thanks people.

WaLieN

Read up on the sticky threads... they'll tell you that the Rotary is still a pain in the ****.

Problems...
-Coolant seals going bad
-Vaccum line problems (leading to improper boost patterns)
-Blown apex seals
-Overheating problems (due to a poor radiator or blown AST -- part of the reliability mods)
-Possible clogging of the pre-cat (reliability mod -- downpipe)
...the list goes on. Once you get all the reliability mods done, most of the problems seem to go away. (I said most, not all.)

If you're looking for reliability, get a modular 4.6L Ford or a Civic of some sort.

lotus7racer

You look very dissapointed, so.....in other word
stay away with this car?

Let's say, he gotten a car that has to be rebuilt, I am only concern with the apex seal. If I perform a rebuild, is there any after market or any other method to cure this water and apex seal problems?
The rest I believe I consider minor.

Since 1981 when I started Rotary, is this still on going problem? If it is, wonder how Mazda get away with this.

Thanks...still crazy after all those years, but I migt have some dissapointment issue telling this to my next DNA sibling.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/buying.html

Androidmj

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...highlight=newb

good thread about some reasons the engines can fail and some general reliability mods...its much different than the older models of the rx7 because the turbos cause heating issues...these can be solved with some mods however

scratchjunkie

funny you say your 14a leaked oil. 13b's still do that from time to time.

Jesuscookies

iTrader: (1)

You Suck !!!!


On to the guys question. these cars are not known for their reliability. Know this though, no one here is going to be able to tell you what your son should do. He needs to read up on it, and make an educated decision. Read the sticky threads at the top of this forum. This should help.


P.S. I can sum this car up in 2 words LOVE/HATE

lotus7racer

That's why I am here to ask you. Tell me the truth
don't be ashame to tell the truth if this car's problem
still the one I experienced since 1981 (Apex seal). I lost contact in this car. This is the reason why I need you to help me. Why are you embarass to tell the truth?

I owned three Lotuses, the car is fast like your RX7
but the realibility is suck...I won't advice someone to buy
this car unless you want it and deal with it.

At this minute, my son is asking me about this Rx7
reliabity and performance.
I have to tell him the truth not the educated
decision you suggested. Educated decision deals with everyday's life.

Walien gave me his honest answer...I respected that.

johnisenglish

No one's "embarrassed to tell the truth" about rotories, this topic has just been covered about 500,000 times. As Walien said, read the stickies, or the multitude of other threads covering reliablity issues with the FD, and you'll have all the information you need.

That said, yes, there are still issues with apex seals and water seals. The vacuum system in the FD is often the culperate of all sorts of frustrating boost problems as well. However, that dosen't nessicarly make it a bad car. Plenty of people on this board are well aware of the problems common to the FD, but are still more then happy to own one and deal with those problems as they arise. To make an educated decission about weather or not this suits your son's needs, research those issues more throughly to really understand what it takes to own the car, and how well that would fit his situation.

lotus7racer

Yep! thanks...said enough.

I could careless on other issue. The biggest culprit
that will bite your pocket is the engine rebuild.
If the issue still the Apex and water seal that I experienced some years ago, my opinion, the car
still the same volatility as it was.

I am not a kid anymore, I mellowed but wiser too.
It will be very difficult to explain my kid the car he loves.
If I put myself in his current state of mind, I will
advice him.....
take it or leave it...love it or hate it.... What you see is what you get!

Just wonder after all those years the Mazda get away with this while Toyota, Nissan, Mitsu and so on up their
dependability almost 100%.

Thanks for all the input!