kaos

Hey ~~ my name's Kari. I bought a '79 RX7 a month ago. It has 103,000 actual miles on it and the major upgardes have already been done. ($1000 - STEAL!)
However, it got messed with in a parking lot the 2nd week I had it and had to buy a new side mirror and wiper blade arm for it. I went to my local RX7 Heaven (the only place around that houses anyone who'll work on rotaries) and bought the parts. Before I could leave, the guy working there (the only person there) took a look at my engine to see if it had the electronic ignition and new exhaust system. It did and I didn't miss the look of diappointment cross his face. He played with the distributor and ignition wires... making sure they were all tight. Then went into a speech about how much oil rotaries burn and reached in to play with some kind of lever (maybe the oil regulator?) attached to the manifold. I could hear metal clinking, but a pump was in the way and I couldn't see the actual part he was touching. He told me to make sure I could always move that part. Check it often because if it ever didn't move, I'd have big problems.
I took off, but barely left the parking lot when I realized my tach wasn't working and the car ran like ****. I went back and said, "This is funny. You touch my engine and my car breaks." We laughed, he joked about sabotaging my car and then he found he'd accidentally detached one of the ignition plugs. So he tightened it, I made sure the car was back to normal and I left.
THEN an hour later, I notice blue exhaust billowing out of my pipes and realize the next day that I'd been dropping oil out from the middle of the engine.. right around where that lever was. Hmm...
I check the oil and it's pretty low, so I put a quart and a half in and was going to call the guy the next chance I got. I didn't get the chance until the car had died.
2 days after my visit to RX7 Heaven (which was my birthday!), I'm driving 70 down a freeway and the car quits. After a few minutes, I try to start the car and it cranks, but doesn't turn over. After about 20 mins, I try again and it almost turns over, but as soon as it gets close, a loud thumping starts under the hood and it sounds like it's banging against the firewall. What the hell did I do to my baby??
I called dude the next day and asked him (without too much accusation in my voice) what the problem could be and he won't say word one until he sees the car. No Way! He then goes on to say that he likes to call rotary engines "prototypes" because they can just quit at any time without provacation or any symptoms. Well, there were symptoms and my guess is there was provocation, too.
But... there's nothing I can do about that now. I'm just desperate for some advice as to what extent the damage could be. Am I looking at a new motor or is this something I can fix? I've worked on a lot of cars, but never on a rotary.
So I'm looking for ideas as to what the problem could be... and if anyone knows any rotorheads in the Twin Cities area (Minneapolis/St. Paul MN).
Every second I can't drive that car is like a dagger to the gut. I really love it.
Thanks for any help... sorry for the ranting. I'm a little pissed. And VERY heartbroken.
kAOs

OtakuRX

iTrader: (1)

hmm, can you give a better description on the placement of the lever. He could've made the car run too much oil which would fowl your plugs up.

kaos

If you're standing on the passenger side looking at the engine, the lever is on the right side of the exhaust manifold. Stick your hand underneath the pumps, along the manifold, there's a thin, round bar with a joint that moves up & down. That's what he was playing with.

kaos

After looking through the archives, the part the guy messed with is probably the oil-metering pump. It's under the water pump. But it still moves. It's not stuck, the spring is prob. okay, so the problem is something else.

inittab

yeah, he was mess'n with the Oil-Metering-Pump.

Chances are pretty good that your problem has nothing to do with the rotary engine. It's probably carb or ignition related. My bet is on the ignition. Good luck!

--Bob

kaos

Thanks for the info, Bob. I'll check it out. Hopefully the Haynes will offer up some insight. I have no idea where to begin.

Pittdp

start with new plugs, wires, and coils

Manntis

properly maintained, Rotaries are as reliable, if not moreso, than piston engines. One of the big things though is to be sure to get an oil change every 5,000 miles. Not one mile more.

It might look clean (the rotary motion doesn't shave off metal like a piston forced up and down by a rotating shaft does) but the oil must be immaculate for the engine to work properly.

As to your more immediate issues, I'm going to hazard a guess here that matches the evidence at hand.

What might have occured is that your oil was old and sludgy. Your OMP wasn't delivering the 'right' amount of oil, but enough to keep your car running. When Joe Larry Lunchkit fiddled with your OMP he dislodged a clot of old oil. This clot then spewed into your engine and is allowing more of this foul oil to get in there and gum up your plugs.

Again, just a hypothesis.

Damage control might include an oil and sparkplug change.

kaos

Thanks a lot, you guys. I'll do the plugs and oil change tomorrow and if there's still a prob., I'll find someone to take a look. Since it's probably not a problem with the motor, the regular mechs. should be able to figure it out.

FuLLsMoKe

Take a crowbar to that mech's head!

No one fiddles with my engine!

Ultralights

Nothing makes a rotary engine harder to start than fouled plugs, My bet is with manntis. plugs, and oil. and change the filter while your at it.

kaos

Here's an update:
I did the plugs and oil yesterday... I don't think anything's changed.
The car runs, but it sounds lawnmower-ish and it starts shaking BADLY at 1000 rpms and lower. And it's blowing TONS of blue exhaust.
My guess is the shaking is caused by ignition -- I'll do the coils as soon as I can find some.
And I figured I'd play with the screw that regulates the OMP. Maybe that ******** f-d with that and got it to spray WAY too much oil into the carb.
Is there any other way it could burn that much oil? There's oil ALL over the place under the engine.
The spark plugs I got were standard... they work, don't they? They didn't look the same as the ones I pulled out, but the book said they'd work.
Thx Thx ~~ kAOs

anthrax

Any thing I have read in print and on this site says you should stick with the Original NGK plugs (I don't know the part #). They are pricey but your best and safest bet on street rotories.

best of luck

anthrax

EDIT: I found the part # in the archive for the plugs NGK BR8EQ14

Good luck

kaos

Maybe that's why it's running rough at low rpms?
I'll switch them right away... thanks!

Manntis

er - when you say 'standard' plugs... you DID get rotary engine plugs, right? Ones with the electrode flush with the plug end? Regular plugs for piston engines have a completely different electrode that could do serious damage to the internals of the engine.

In addition, now that your oil is good there could be other things going wrong; timing might be out, or not enough air/not enough fuel (hence rough idle) and so forth...

Matty's first 1st Gen

possiably the Omp regulator got stuck, in full pumping position, hence the blue smoke, and the rough idle?


is this possible

bliffle

Yeah, be careful about plugs! "standard" plugs have an electrode that can protrude into the engine and clip the apex seals, thus causing disaster.

B