ok tonight i was coming back from NJ, picking up some stuff for my RSX with my GSL-SE. i was driving in the higher RPM's a lot, letting it backfire but only around 5000-7500 RPM max. was running just fine, backfiring a lot towards the end. i come upon a toll booth and slow down. clutch in and brakes down, the car stalls. i restart it, VERY hard to start and had to gas it to keep it running, plus i can smell unburnt fuel. no whirring, grinding, or scratching noises, just lost about 40% power and it backfired a HELL of a lot more often and chewed thru gas like a rabid dog thru hamburger.

since i got the car i never changed the spk plugs, 3000 miles i have put on them and dont know how many the last owner used these plugs for, and considering how i didnt hear any terrible noises i am beginning to think it could be that one or two of my spk plugs are not firing. tomorrow ima pull the plugs and clean them off real good and hope to god thats the problem and i dont have a scored rotary housing from an apex seal disaster.

i really dont know what else it could be, so plz help with any thoughts etc. im really bummed and i was really freaked at the prospect of having to ditch my RX-7 in Newark NJ at 7 pm...thanks

 

that sucks.. compression test the motor

 

compression check while u got those plugs out

 

you mean spin the crank and listen for the phut phut phut right?

 

yes.

BTW, just out of curiosity, why did you never change the plugs?

 

Don't even bother with cleaning those plugs, They're more than likely trashed. I would bite the bullet and buy two new ones and also check the ignition.

 

didnt get around to it yet lol. i know im supposed to do it every 10k to 15k miles and i was going to order some when i ordered new rear hatch struts...man i hope its not apex seal related...PLEEZ be the spark plugs...

 

going to check spk plugs tommorow, car felt like 2nd rotor was trying to fire cuz it would occasionally tug harder and no weird noises (i.e. no scraping/scratching etc), maybe its the fuel filter....

 

My guess? Backfiring @ higher rpms = rich mix. rich mix = fouled plugs.

Once you get the new plugs in, you'd better track down your mixture issue or it will be back again. Could be timing too though, causing it to run richer. Throw a timing light on her and you'll know for sure.

Anyway, I wouldn't start crying rebuild quite yet. Hopefully it is something simple and you'll be cruising again in no time.

 

50 miles... pff, i drove 187 miles on the front rotor, a lot of it was uphill, and the damn carb kept flooding and i'd have to go down to 20mph or so in 1st/2nd gear to clear it out and then slowly work back up to 65-70 (took about 40 seconds).

that was a living hell.

 

A friends car was running on one rotor. Dont know what you would call this but we took the blue top off the carb, covered the top of the carb and revved the car quite hard. Number 2 rotor kicked in and all has been fine since. Maybe blockage in the carb????? Worth checking out

NB I too have had a motor run on one rotor due to a carb problem.

Regards Sue

 

Yet another reason to own a RX7, we can run off one rotary, can a piston engine run off one piston!

- Tech

 

well mine won't move on one rotor lol. I took the front rotor out and it sluggish. It doesn't want to do anything. It won't even start now.