Every time I get in the damn car something else is wrong...now it won't even idle after the choke pops back in.

It idles for a couple seconds and dies, when driving it gets high rpms at low speeds, slow acceleration, second gear sticks and 4th gear makes the car bump/vibrate.

I have no clue what's wrong with it, nobody nearby to help me figure out what's wrong with it and no money to fix it if I do manage to figure out what's wrong with it because I got the bloody thing to get a better job to have extra money.

After searching I could have a clogged fuel filter,bad carb,bad clutch or bad transmission, or god knows what else...

 

Sounds like a fuel delivery issue... easiest thing to do is to change out the fuel filter just to eliminate that and run some seafoam in the tank. Did this happen all of a sudden or has it been getting steadily worse?

As for the transmission... I'd drain the fluid and start running fully synthetic to prolong its life just as a precautionary measure. Is it only 4th gear that causes this bump and vibration?

Please provide as many details about the nature of each issue as you can and some history if you have it.

 

That sounds a lot like what I've got.

 

It's only 4th that causes the bumping, it's been happening for about a week or week and a half. Same with the RPM/Accel issue.

The idle problem just started, it was fine at 2pm when I went to work and now it won't idle. It's been idling rough when cold but other than that there hasn't been any issues until today. It didn't even respond to the gas pedal twice when idling.

The only other thing I can think of is that with the choke halfway out it stays at about 1500 for 30 seconds or so then slowly jumps up, when it hits about 2k rpm any time it gets really rough and fairly unresponsive to giving it gas until it breaks about 2700.

With the transmission, I have no idea how to do anything with that. On my past cars I never had to do anything other than change the oil/brakes because they were fairly new.

I've had the car for about 3 weeks and the first week everything was fine, carb is supposed to have been rebuilt in the past couple months before I bought the car.

 

Hmm, change the fuel filter anyway, then let us know how it acts

 

I don't know how to change it, I was told there are two of them, one near the gas tank and one in the engine, which would I change?

With the one in the engine bay I could do it, but if there is one near the fuel pump and tank then I won't be able to change it.

 

There should be only one fuel filter unless someone added one in the engine bay. Its easy to change it, takes like 10 minutes, unless the guard is there...Im 15...changed mine

 

I had bad gasoline do this, which was later pinned to a going fuel filter.

I will add this as well. My 7, back ~6 years ago was in the same boat as far as breaking down to the tune of ~$376/mo. The stupid starter went bad on me every other month 3 times in a row which was blamed on my "racing" suspension by the repair shop. I ended up parking it and buying a new car until I finally got squared away financially. I never gave up on my 7, and in fact just towed it to my house last week; I'm super glad I didn't let it go. If it's just a car to you, maybe it's for the best to let it go, but 1st gen 7's are so old now that they are begging to be impractical as DD's for the youth on a budget. Mazda, as were most Japanese car companies, wasn't the name in reliability in the 80's like Japanese manufacturing is known for now.

 

I'm basically chalking it up to bad luck that it's having so many problems all at once, the problem is that I can't fix any of them without the car to get me to work.

Though, there is one thing I keep noticing, any time I say "I don't know how" it gets ignored and people just keep telling me possible problems but never how to fix them or even where the thing is located so I can look at it to try and figure it out.
When I search to try and find it, I get 30+ posts talking about my problem but there's never an explanation on how to do it.

For this problem, there's 4 1st gen threads about fuel issues that mention filter, but none say how, there's a couple 3rd gen that say how but 3rd gen filter is in the engine bay, so it doesn't help.

 

If you have a haynes manual, that will help. The fuel filter, is right next to the fuel pump which is located next to the left rear wheel. Turn the key to on and listen for the fuel pump, then go and find it and the fuel filter will be next to it.

 

Ok thanks, I don't have a haynes manual because I haven't had the money to even spend $17 on that after buying the car.

And until I learn more there's no telling I'd even be able to understand what it means right now. If it reads anything like the FSM then it wouldn't help because the FSM assumes knowledge of where things are but not how to change them.

 

I've been under my car 3 nights this week looking for the cover to my fuel filter. =)

I'm about to start her for the first time in years and going through all that checklist in the FAQs, which my nature would normally ignore, and so far, the hardest part is locating that Fn fuel filter. So, believe me, I feel you. Plus, I'm afraid to ask where it is in case it's right in my face when I check it out tonight, or worse, there are 400 posts on the same question.

Here's what I know about the fuel filter (me, 85gslse), it's between the middle and rear of the car close to the gas tank, but closer to the fuel pump. Some have described it as being under a bolted cover, which I have yet to identify. Everything under my car near the fuel pump (I assume it's my fuel pump) which has bolts appear to be frame related and not simply for a panel to cover a bitch *** fuel filter. I've got the car on 4 ramps (up about 1ft) and I keep looking. When I find it, I will take a picture of where it's at and try to describe how I rip it out.

Like I said though, I've had some odd behavior with surging and power loss due to bad gas which was later (months later) blamed on a fuel filter. I would totally try to get this changed if I were you since the filter is a few bucks, plus probably under $100 to have someone else take care of it.

Incidently, if I fail to tell you how to do something, 1) it's cause I don't know how, and 2) don't listen to what I say if I do. =) In other words, YMMV

 

http://www.wankel.net/~krwright/cars/rx7/manuals.html

Don't give up just yet. take a look at the manual for the 7 on the link above. It'll tell you where and how to change the fuel filter and all kinds of info for your 7.

 

I have that bookmarked, but it assumes I know the location of it already. As of right now I know it's under the rear of the car near the gas tank, but I don't see anything under there, it's all covered on that side.

It says "Raise the rear end up" "Locate clips at both ends of filter" "remove filter" "install new filter" - Page 4A-48.

For a novice, that is completely unhelpful.

 

If you take a good look under the car by the rear driver's side wheel; you should see a cover that protects the fuel pump from debris hitting it. The fuel filter is right by it.

 

It has 2 pre bent pieces of wire holding up the fuel filter. Make sure you note the way the flow is going on the filter before removing and changing it.

When removing the filter; you will have fuel flowing out of the hose so you may want to just pinch the hose lightly with a small pair of vise grips if you don't have the fuel cutoff clamp tool.

 

Ok, thanks for the info Rxnos, it's started raining and I have to work outside so I'll have to wait until tomorrow(hopefully) to look into it.

 

Let us know. Keep at it. You're going to have to learn one way or another.