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I think whatever the mechanic put in the fuel tank to clean the injectors might have fixed the idling issue. I had the car out running errands the other day and it didn't happen the whole time. I'm not going to poke around with anything else unless it happens again. I will work on the interior until something mechanical breaks. Unless there are some proactive things I should be doing. Feel free to suggest things.
The boy at Les Schwab said I should rev the engine up before turning it off because that was good for rotary engines. Is this true?
Oh, and what kind of gas should I be using? I think I read on here that lower octane was better, but mechanic says high octane. He used to have a 3rd gen. if that's relevant.
Also, I saw the light blue version of my car in Lynnwood last week.
87 octane is fine. 2nd Gens have been known to have leaky injectors that flood the motor when the car is off. I don't think the -SE has that issue but revving it then cutting the ignition usually sucks out any residual pressure from the fuel line and dumps it out so it doesn't dribble while the car is off.
Good quality name brand 87 octane gas is sufficient for a stock rotary,carbed or fuel injected.
Contrary to advice given to rev your SE engine before shutdown,there is no purpose to this. The FI system runs from a pressurized fuel rail and when key is turned off at idle or 3k rpms or wherever throttle is depressed,the ignition is cut,fuel pump is turned off but fuel system holds that line pressure for hours at least. This allows car to start up immediately without extended cranking to build system pressure before injectors open and car will start. All fuel injected cars operate in this manner,FI rotary is no exception.
One thing you do NOT want to do is to start your SE for a very short time and shut it off,can cause a flood condition/no start when trying to start car again. FI rotary injects a lot of fuel to start when cold,ecu leans mixture as engine warms by using input from coolant sensor. Trying to restart a cold FI rotary after being run for a short time(especially cold ambient temps)and shutoff injects same amount of fuel on initial startup causing a flood condition in which spark plugs need to be cleaned and dried and/or replaced and engine deflooded before attempting restart.
Easiest way to prevent this is to leave car running until it has warmed enough to reach base idle speed at which point it can be turned off and restarted normally.
+1 on not shutting off a cold rotary EFI or carbed. Same this will happen in both cases, flooding. If you have an aftermarket ignition this is probably less of an issue but with stock ignition it can't burn hot enough to clean the flooded plugs.
Be wary of random retail folks trying to give you rotary advice. It never ends well. The intentions are good but the information is usually bogus.
Be wary of random retail folks trying to give you rotary advice. It never ends well. The intentions are good but the information is usually bogus.
Yeah. He sounded like he was really interested in RX-7s but had never owned one or anything. So I figured he was just repeating things he'd read about. Which is fine, but it wasn't anything I'd ever heard of. I did know about not starting them for short periods of time when they are cold. That's what started the whole conversation. I had to leave it with them, and I wanted to make sure they let it warm up if they had to move it.
Nice pick up!
I just picked up an '85 SE as well (with 12k miles) but more so to have as a complete parts car.
My mechanic suggested I look for a parts car, but I live in the suburbs and I can't really collect old RX-7s here.
I have the seats out of my car now so I can shampoo the carpet. I'm going to try and get down to the interior people this week to see how many millions of dollars it will cost to fix them. Only the driver's side is torn, but I'm assuming they will want to redo both seats so the leather matches.
What was the cause of the leak on the oil pan? Sorry if I missed it above but I don't recall you saying what it was.
Having a parts car is nice, but I need to find a car I can DRIVE and ENJOY!
Carpets have been shampooed. Seats are at the upholstery place. I'm removing all the trim pieces from the inside to clean them and get all the crud out from the screw heads. I noticed that the rear speakers have been replaced. Not sure if I should find a set of original speakers or just upgrade them.
Car looks pretty clean, nice find. First thing I addressed for my 85 GSL-SE was suspension and steering. Once suspension and steering are hashed you need to decide if you're gonna go turbo or stay NA. If you stay NA and keep stock block keep in mind we (84-85 gsl-se) have the stock witchcraft analog ECU wich doesn't translate into FC engine management.... Eventually you're gonna want to go standalone with ITBs if you stay NA once you have all the supporting mods done. Check tuners in your area to help decide on ECU.
I'd love to build a high comp NA w/12a ends, gsl-se center and housings and S5 rotating bits but I have a strong 50k original mile engine not ready to rebuild yet.
Don't worry there's plenty for you to do Start w suspension and once you need more powa start the engine mods. There's lots you can do to simplify the engine, clean up the engine bay and increase reliability. Hopefully your close to a track or SCCA event so you can test as you go. I live deep in central Pennsylfuckingtucky where all you have are dirt ovals or drag strips.
Anyway, you're in the right place to find all of your answers. These forums were all that saved my 7 from doom.
Go to foxed and eat sleep breathe the manuals and search the forums you'll have no problems. Steep learning curve w na vs turbo but worth it.
Thats all I got... Good luck!
Car looks pretty clean, nice find. First thing I addressed for my 85 GSL-SE was suspension and steering. Once suspension and steering are hashed you need to decide if you're gonna go turbo or stay NA. If you stay NA and keep stock block keep in mind we (84-85 gsl-se) have the stock witchcraft analog ECU wich doesn't translate into FC engine management.... Eventually you're gonna want to go standalone with ITBs if you stay NA once you have all the supporting mods done. Check tuners in your area to help decide on ECU.
I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I don't really know what you are talking about here. Suspension and steering I understand. But what are ITBs? What is FC engine management? Do I need these things?
I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I don't really know what you are talking about here. Suspension and steering I understand. But what are ITBs? What is FC engine management? Do I need these things?
He's talking crazy talk about swapping out motors and using ITB intakes (indivdual throttle bodies) and using FC or stand alone EFI engine management. None of which is pertinent to your goals of keeping it original. He does get points for commenting and enthusiasm as you pointed out.
He's talking crazy talk about swapping out motors and using ITB intakes (indivdual throttle bodies) and using FC or stand alone EFI engine management. None of which is pertinent to your goals of keeping it original. He does get points for commenting and enthusiasm as you pointed out.
Lets see some pics when you get the seats back.
Oh. Okay. Yes, all of that sounds more intense than what I had in mind. I just want it to look cool and be mostly reliable. :P
I'm excited about the seats. I had them keep the original leather on the backs and sides because it was all in good shape. They are putting a medium gray leather on all the seating surfaces. There's a lot of burgundy in that car and I'm hoping the gray tones it down a little and ties in with the center console. If it's ugly, I'll just cry.
I tracked down a shift surround that is new and has all the little connector points for the boot and a window switch/fader control panel that has all the tabs, but I'm not sure I want to actually use them. I think I'll just keep them safe for now and use some double-sided tape or something. I might also get a leather shift boot. I will keep all the original stuff, but that rubber boot thing is just not as nice as leather.
I'm still not sure what to do about the outside. I'm inclined to just clean up the original paint, but it does need some work on the back. The paint is cracked because it rolled back into something once and the kid that I bought it from beat the dent out. I could probably do it myself, but i'm not sure about getting the right color paint to finish it. Can you just buy color-matched spray paint? Or would I need a paint sprayer? I have an HVLP sprayer that I use for woodworking, but I don't know if that would work with auto paint.
At 180k miles, the inherent value of the car should be the least of his worries. It's a perfect opportunity to do whatever you want with it. GSLSE specific parts should certainly be saved, or sold at premium prices to fund your own preferred modifications.
As far as paint is concerned, your primary goal is to prevent any sort of rust from forming, even if that means spraying some rattle-can primer over any exposed metal. If you want a perfect match paint job repair, you should get some price quotes from auto body shops. You could still do it yourself, but getting the color matched and blended perfectly is tough. It's probably better to wait until you need to (or can afford) to paint the whole car. But again, with such high miles, I'd just patch it up and drive it.
Car update. Still working on cosmetic stuff mostly. No serious mechanical issues have popped up. Just the inconsistent idle and a leak at the oil pan(I think) I'll check the torque on the bolts when I get around to jacking it up. And wipe it down to see if I can tell exactly where it's leaking.
Seats came out great and I have enough leather leftover to do door panel inserts and a shift boot. Maybe the steering wheel too. I'm still not sure what color I want that. The original inserts for my doors are in good shape. I'll keep them safe so I can put them back on if I need to.
These pictures make it look like the gray in the door is different from the seats, but they are from the same piece of hide. I'll take a picture when they are back in the car so they are in the same light.
02-25-18, 08:57 PM
Start w suspension and once you need more powa start the engine mods. There's lots you can do to simplify the engine, clean up the engine bay and increase reliability. Hopefully your close to a track or SCCA event so you can test as you go. I live deep in central Pennsylfuckingtucky where all you have are dirt ovals or drag strips.
