Dadude

ok back in september the car was running fine! i went to change the oil pan gasket. probably a stupid move on my part and found out i had to remove some things to get to it so i said forget it. i put it all back together and kept driving it. i a oilchange the same day. i had no problems wiht it till about a week or 2 later when i turnd on the car and it rev'd high and now i doesnt get as much horsepower and it smoke and backfire's sounds like crap runs like crap. so i quit driving it. replaced the distributor( kinda fixed it) replaced the spark plugs also. my question is does anyone out there know what is wrong and how to fix it?

85 FB

Don't know why you replaced the distributor, that was a waste of money. That wouldn't have caused the problem you are facing.

When you went to work on the oil pan gasket, did you remove anything at all? Check to see if you have any vacuum leaks or pulled some hoses off.

We need some more information to help you. Backfires shouldn't happen on a GSL-SE (I have one) and the only reason you would have backfires would be the Anti-afterburn Valve/Air Control Valve assembly.

Check this link to see what I'm talking about.
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-archive-71/engine-gslse-engine-pictures-706258/
The AAV/ACV assembly is on the passenger side of the motor, with a rubber hose leading into it from the air pump. Tho, I doubt this thing has gone bad. Good for you, Mazdatrix sells them and they are pricey.

How many miles are on your engine? And, you said it doesn't get as much horsepower. How do you mean? Does it feel like it's only running on one rotor? What color is the smoke from the exhaust? Do you let the engine warm up at least and see if it goes to a lower idle? If so, what is the idle after the engine has warmed up?

Please give us some more information so that we can help you. And, please proofread your messages before posting, so that we can understand you better.

Welcome to the Darkside, by the way.

84stock

iTrader: (5)

First, to either give yourself some peace of mind/ or perhaps save a lot if time. Disconnect the coils, pull each leading plug (one at a time) and crank it over to make sure it isn't engine related. You should get 3 strong chugs off each rotor. If it's the engine one will give 3 chugs while the other will give just one.

Dadude

WEll I believe i hook'd everything back up . not to sure.. smoke is like a blackish color coming from the exhuast and botum of the car.. prolly from the oil pan ima have to lift it back up and re tighten everything down to be sure,, im most likely gonna sell the vehicle sinec it has abou 200k miles or more on it .. plus i dont have the money to keep putting into the rx-7..

Dadude

the horsepower part is like i can give it gas and it barely do ne thing.. really bad lack of power..... i tried to drive it onto my trailer took a good headstart and me holding the peddle down to get on the trailor

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

i would personally do a compression test at this point.

mjm4jc

I do not think that your changing the oil pan gasket and all that that entails is correlated with your problem at all. It could be as simple as vacuum leaks or as serious an an engine seal.

Mike

Dadude

o0o crap well ne one want to buy it haha i dont got the money to keep putting back into it

85 FB

If you have a vacuum leak, here's what you do. Buy at least 2 cans of starting fluid. Start up your engine, let it warm up during idle, then spray around all possible areas (vacuum lines, intake, etc) with the starting fluid. If you get a jump in idle, you found your leak.

If it's a seal.......rebuild time.

Dadude

do you think i might have put in the wrong oil... would it have done that?

84GSLRX7

Did you check the igniters plug to make sure they are plug in all the way. Also check to make sure both of you're coils are working.

Dadude

well yesterday i went outside to start it up right.. it crank's over with no problem.. but it put's out white smoke and im not sure if it's a gas smell or oil.. not to sure and it putting out alot of it

85 FB

White smoke is coolant.
Blue smoke is oil.
Black smoke is too much fuel.

djessence

white smoke tends to be burning coolant. Have you checked the coolant level in the resevoir and rad to see if you might be losing some.

When its cranking over, does it sound like its trying to ignite or does it just sound like a dead engine turning (if that makes sense).

djessence

Damn 85fb beat me to it. Just realized i said something stupid. Obviously its trying to ignite if its blowing smoke.

You say it cranks so im assuming it turns over but doesnt start. Did u try using starting fluid to see if it will start up for a few seconds before dying?

Dadude

ok... mayb u guy's arnt understanding what im tryna saylol. im prolly wording it wrong.... ok... my car crank's over with no problem, it just has lack of power, and smoke's, and doesnt sound right.... ive changed the distributor rotor, spark plugs, spark plug wires.... since the day it quit running right.. i can get the car right now and crank it over with onw problem.. but when the car is on it put out's white smoke and it does'nt go away .. not even if i let it sit for a hour.

djessence

maybe im being an idiot, but you are saying it will start but not run well. Super rough idle and lack of power? In addition it has alot of white smoke coming out all the time

The white smoke sounds like you are burning coolant.

The rough idle and lack of power. Have you checked for vaccuum leaks?

Correct me if i misunderstood but thats what i read it as

Dadude

kk. well when it get's a bit warmer out ima start checking hose's and thing's liek that thanks. ill give u a report when im done

Slightly Warped

iTrader: (4)

Did you ever check the compression to rule out a bad seal?

Slightly Warped

iTrader: (4)

Looking for vacuum leaks won't do much to help your problem if the engine is running on one rotor.

85 FB

The ghetto compression test is real easy.

1. Disable fuel (remove the fuse that says Engine in the fuse panel) and ignition (remove the coil wires from both your coils).
2. Remove either trailing or leading spark plug from the front rotor housing.
3. Crank the engine over for no longer than 10 seconds (to avoid starter wear).
4. If you get 3 even puffs, you have good compression.
5. Put that spark plug back in and do the same for the back rotor housing.

If you have 2 good puffs, or 1 good puff, and the other puffs sound completely different, your apex seal is worn down beyond specs.

Hope this helps!

Dadude

where might the coil wire's be?

85 FB

The coils are right next to the battery on the driver's side. The ignition wires leading into those are the coil wires. Sorry, I should've said "coil ignition wires" instead of "coil wires" seeing as how the coils do have positive and negative wires leading to their side posts.

Remove both those ignition wires from the coils.

Slightly Warped

iTrader: (4)

Dadude. where in Dallas are you located?

Slightly Warped

iTrader: (4)

Check this thread under compression for some more good info.

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...light=no+start

And this one.

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ht=compression