murdo

This is my first post as I have just stumbled across the website and don't belong to any RX7 Websites.

I have a 1985 GSL-SE that I have owned for almost 7 years. When I bought the car, there was no work history as the woman I bought the car from had inherited it from her mother. She did not drive it, but replaced the clutch, throw out bearing and pressure plate in order to sell it.

Converting from kilometres to miles, the car has about 115,500 miles on it, of which I have put on about 36,000 miles.

I previously owned two 1979 RX7s, a 1974 RX4 and a 1970 R-100 and have driven many a mile in a rotary powered vehicle.

I would like to know how frequently members typically change:

1. Oil & filter.

2. Spark plugs

3. Fuel filte

4. Distributor cap

5. Rotor

6. Air cleaner element

I have to do some maintenance soon as I don't want to fail Air Care (emission testing). I had a problem about 5 years ago, but ended up getting a 2nd hand air control valve and have had no problems since.

I am not conversant with the website and maybe my questions are answered somewhere else and someone can steer me in the right direction.

Thanks

LongDuck

Hey, welcome to the forum. Thanks for posting to give us an idea of what you have, and stating your question in a clear and concise method.

My 84SE gets the following interval on your posted maintenance:

1) Oil and Filter - 3k miles - filter at every change, and I run 10w40 in summertime, 20w50 in winter (mild winters in AZ!). The filter you use should be a Mazda factory replacement (best filtration) or a quality aftermarket manufacturer (FRAM, etc.).

2) Plugs - about every 25-30k miles - depending on condition when removed. Usually, a quick cleaning with a brass brush will get them back into good working order, but if they're fouled, you may want to look into fixing the real problem, not just replacing plugs frequently. They should be a light brown color on the leading (lower plugs) and a darker brown color on trailing (upper plugs).

3) Fuel filter - your care is EFI, so a filter change every 2-3 years is likely sufficient. If it's never been changed, get a Victoria British catalog and order yourself one for next weekend (www.victoriabritish.com). Fuel filters that clog can lead to poor performance and/or idle or rpm specific stumbling at speed.

4) Dist cap and rotor - replace at the same time, and about every 25-30k miles. Rarely a problem, the dist cap and rotor should be replaced to maintain good fuel mileage and if you see yours drop off, along with hard cold starting, give this a shot. Many times, a cracked cap or rotor will lead to ignition problems that you'll have to track down - usually this happens as colder weather approaches.

6) Air cleaner - remove and shake out every 10-15k miles - a K&N filter is a good, low-maintenance alternative, but due to my cold-air intake system, I clean mine about every 2-3k miles due to leaf and rock ingestion (see signature line). A stock SE enclosed system will not have this problem, and you can go at least 20k miles without replacing it entirely. Better filtration leads to better performance and fuel mileage.

Emission testing shouldn't be a problem with this car, as my stock exhaust passes every 2 years (biannual inspection). Hope this helps, and post back if more questions,

bouis

Oil and Filter: 2000-2500 miles. I use walmart brand oil and filters. The best!

Spark Plugs: 5000-6000 miles. Autolites are $1 apiece and last this long just fine.

Frequent changes with average quality components beats infrequent changes with expensive parts and it's cheaper too.

kiker14

iTrader: (1)

Thank you for having such a good first post, many times people do not give enough information about the problem for the experts to help them. That being said, the way to learn this website is really to just explore it. there is an EXTREMELY helpful FAQ that is a "sticky" post at the top of the first gen posts (probably something similar for all the generations). I recomend going through that to find answers to many questions. Also, at the upper right you can click on "search" or use the serach feature at the lower right hand side of the web page. It works just like yahoo or google, you type in words, and it searches the forums for those particular words. For instance, you could type in "clutch" or "ignition" or "gas mileage" etc etc etc. Welcome to the boards, and hopefully we can all help you out (although owning numerous rotory's, maybe you can help US out!)

murdo

Thanks, LongDuck. I have been replacing my oil and filter on this car about every 6,000 km (3,750 miles). My oil consumption has increased in the last year or two, from one litre every 3,000 miles to about one litre every 1,500 miles as I have a leak.

I replaced the plugs, rotor and distributor cap about 16,000 miles ago and will check them out. I should be ok for awhile.

I was guilty of not inspecting or shaking out my air cleaner element for some time. I replaced it today after 29,000 miles, long overdue I'm sure. I got a good deal on a K&N panel air filter, which shows some optimism given the vintage of the car.

The fuel filter hasn't been replaced just over 32,000 miles. I replaced it not long after I bought the car as I had no idea when it was last done.

The car is stock. It has a Bilstein shock sticker on the hatchback and given the stiffness of the ride and cornering ability, I trust it has those shocks installed.
Everything else is stock. Sunroof but no leather. Velour interior in great shape as is the car for the most part.

I seem to notice a difference after replacing the clogged up air filter with the K&N air filter.

What kind of life expectancy can I expect from this engine? I'm not sure what to do with the oil consumtion increasing. If its seals I am not inclined to rebuild the engine.

kiker14

iTrader: (1)

the rotary engine (13b at least which is in the gsl-se) can last 200,000+ miles pretty easily before a rebuild is needed. I'd assume that the 12a has very compriable numbers. keep an eye on the oil consumption, but as far as I know (but I don't know too much about the engine) a little more oil consumption is ok (Old car, probably different variables could account for a higher oil consumption), just MAKE SURE THERE IS PLENTY OF OIL AND PRESSURE AT ALL TIMES!! no oil or oil pressure is absolutly horrible and will destroy your engine in no time. Also make sure that it does not overheat as a hot rotory is not a happy rotory.

murdo

Thanks, kiker 14. I check the oil periodically. The car starts fine at all times and doesn't blow smoke particularly upon start-up, just a bit of vapour/smoke initially. The plugs, points, and rotor went in last time because I was experiencing startup problem one cold December morning.

I am fully aware of overheating problems and what they can do to a Rotary engine. In about 1984 I blew a heater hose out of my first 1979 RX7 en route from Vancouver to Kelowna, BC in the dead of summer and it can get hot there. When the engine cooled down the water seal wouldn't seat properly and I had to get a rebuilt block sent by train from Toronto. Consequently I had to get back to Vancouver (250 plus miles away) with no car and go back and get it about 3 weeks later.
The car met its ultimate demise when I pulled it off the road in 1992, with some 172,000 miles on it. Had two clutches replaced, but never a problem with the transmission, rear end etc.

LongDuck

84SE, 13b EFI, 177k miles and still going strong (with only minimal cold-start smoke-screen - see other post!).

The engine will last up to 200k without any major problems provided that you take care of it along the way. The biggest single contributing factor to rotary engine longevity is checking and changing the engine oil; but with 4 rotary cars behind you, you already knew that...

murdo

I caught myself up with the conversion of kilometres to miles. Initially I would add one litre of oil after close to 2000 miles with this car, then change the oil at about 6,000 km (3750 miles). Now I am adding a litre about every 1,000 miles and extending the oil change last time and likely this time to 7,000 km ( 4,350 miles).

Is this cause for alarm?

murdo

I am currently running Castrol 10-30 and am in need of an oil change. Perhaps I should switch to Castrol 20-50 for the summer and back to say Castrol 10-30 or 10-40 for the winter. It's fairly mild in the winter, but sometimes I drive to Whistler where its colder and to the Interior at Christmas where its colder than at the Coast of BC. Would the 20- reduce my oil consumption. It seems to me I ran it in my two 79s when they got up in mileage, but I'm a little vague on this. Is the high-mileage oil any good, or is that just smoke and mirrors? Any thoughts?

murdo

bump

slashdawg00110

There are several threads on what people use for oil. I think there's a link to one in the FAQ. FWIW, I've been using Castrol 20-50 for a couple years with no problems. Nothing that tells me to try something different.

Tanjo

You probably already know this, but make sure your coolant is clean. If its never been done, you might want to have it flushed sooner or later.

murdo

Thanks, Tanio. I had the radiator replaced last year. I am guilty of not flushing radiators often enough and have become more cognizant of that need in the last few years with my RX7 and my Maxima. I have seen what years of neglect can do to a rad and shudder at what goes through the vehicle. The same logic applies to fuel filters.

I will switch to 20-50 Castrol GTX for the summer and see what that does to oil consumption.

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

Where were you a couple days ago? Did you get a chance to see the engine oil filter study webpage?

murdo

I just got on the website last night for the first time. I the engine oil study webpage still available? If not, is there a Readers Digest version of its findings/recommendations?

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

I thought Long Duck would have seen it.

Here is a link. http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/oil_filter_study/

I use Napa gold filters.

murdo

I am not sure what one can glean from the above filter study. I would be more interested in finding out what oil filters are best suited for a 1985 Mazda RX7 GSL-SE, and what are definitely out of the question.

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

I personally use the tall Napa filters on my pre-RX-7 rotaries. I'm not sure what number the '85 short filter is, but have a parts person cross reference a Fram PH3593A (fits RX-7s and Hondas etc) to whatever brand you decide to go with. Others will know more than I do about other filter brands.

murdo

Well I got my oil leak problem fixed. There was a hair-line fracture on a sleeve leading into the oil cooler. I got it welded along with the o-rings replaced on the oil tower. Also replaced the heater hose as it had deteriorated as a result of oil coming from o-ring problem. Original heater hose as it was I suspect. Changed coolant at same time.

Replaced plugs, cap, rotor and fuel filter. In conjunction, with recently acquired K&N panel filter the car runs strong and am sure the oil consumption will go back to where it was, ie. a litre per 3,000 kilomeres, rather than 1,500 kms.

The car was previously lady driven and has not had the p!ss run out of it, so I think the engine will last for some time to come.

Hadoken

What oil pressure is about right for a GSL-SE?
Does 80-90 degree summers constitute the use of 20w50 oil or should I stay with 10w30 all year?

murdo

I was told by my local RX7 race shop (very knowledgeable people) not to use 20W 50 as it is too heavy. I run Castrol 10W-30.