Hello all, yesterday I bought an 82 base rx-7 from an older lady that claimed to keep the car maintained well even though it didn't run really smooth. She claims that in the past year she hardly drove it. It goes down the road ok, but has very poor accelleration and it doesn't idle very smooth, but has no smoke from the exhaust. After a minute or two of sitting still the exhaust overheat light comes on, so today I cut the cats off and replaced with a straight pipe thinking the problem would be solved. Now the exhaust overheat light comes on almost immediately and I was wondering what to do with the line that was plugged into the cat before I cut if off. It doesn't seem right to just leave it hanging down from the engine compartment with an open end.... Will this light just be on from now on and should I just get used to it? Also, the car still doesn't run the way that it should and I noticed that I could hear a vacuum line hissing really loud under the hood. It was cracked bad and I plan to replace that tomorrow as well and see how much that helps. I haven't driven the car since replacing the cats because it was late and the car still isn't running smooth and the car has no muffler. It had been cut off for some reason, so you can imagine how loud the car is with the straight pipe. Any other suggestions? I've ordered a cap and rotor and plugs and fuel filter to change out for good measure. I'm new to the rotary engine, so I've got a lot to learn but am really excited about it. Thanks for any and all help!

Chris

 

yo dude thats cool im new to it to and im from greeneville tn.maybe when u get it running we can meet in knoxville or something and check each others rides out.yeah i got a 1984 Mazda Rx7 Gsl 12a.my cats r stopped up and i lose power at about 5k.but theyre coming of thurs. morning.yea but its sucks to i just blew a rear gas shock today.

 

O.o well the Exhaust temp light could just be a bad sensor, its located beneath your passenger seat, beneath the carpet. To really tell if its too hot get under the car and just feel, dont touch anything, but feel if its excessively hot. There should be several rotary guys out in maryville and knoxville, I know of a few myself including a widebody 84 GSL-SE.
Fix the vacuum leak(s) and go over the rest of the bay with a fine toothed comb looking for anything, and congrats on getting a first gen.

 

if there is many rotary shops can u list these for me and tell me who is the best please

 

the only 'shop' im aware of is Kevin Landers out in morristown, but he mainly rebuilds 13b's for all generations, not too much on 12a's as ive asked about it a time or two. But around here there are a few guys knowledgeable about the cars, just not really any shops in eastern TN

 

Welcome to the forum.

First place to start is reading, lots of it. I've transposed my sig line into this post so you can access the links. Start with downloading the FSM and carb manual, read through those, then go through the FAQs, particularly on 'How to Bring your 7 Back to Life. While this 'little old lady' may have paid dearly to keep up maintenance, it most likely spent most of it's time parked in the garage, not good for a rotary. They need to be driven and driven a bit more aggressively than a piston engine.

Start off with a full tune up, complete fluid change and flush/clean the entire fuel system. New fuel filter is a given, drain and refresh the fuel in the tank, then a can of Seafoam to clean the rest of the fuel system and carb.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Download YOUR copy of the FSM Then read it.

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

I won't tell you again.

Attention: newbies. READ THE FAQs, OR

Upgrade your beehive oil cooler here. https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-archive-71/cooling-oil-how-install-fc-oil-cooler-1st-gen-write-up-pics-478521/


My toy. https://www.rx7club.com/build-threads-293/unvieling-12a-bp-widebody-462184/

 

Thanks everyone for all the help. I'm still wondering what to do about the hose just dangling below the engine that was attached to the cat before I cut it off. I wouldn't think that I should cap it off, but I don't want it to suck up water or anything else either........

 

this kevin landers guy do u know were he works or maybe have a phone number for him.i am really wanting a 13b in my rx7 and he seems like maybe someone to do it.

 

Jenkins the thing to do with that pipe is take the car back to the exhaust shop, and tell them to weld the pipe into the new sections they installed, that would be your split air tube, I know on the 13B 6 port engines its used mainly for opening the 5th and 6th aux ports.

And 75beetle his website is www.rotaryresurrection.com his number and email address are there as well as pricing for all the work he does. Though to put a later model 13b into your FB you will need to use the FB front cover and oil pan

 

No. That hose comes from the air pump, and is used to help keep the cat alive and reduce emissions.

One of the most common causes of poor performance together with overheating exhaust, is retarded timing or loss of leading ignition. Verify that you are getting spark on the leading (lower) spark plugs. That will help narrow things down a bit.

.

 

Welcome to the forum. If you want to meet some of the local rotorheads, check out the Southeast forums. We have an East Tennessee thread there that we all congregate in. There will probably be a few of us at Pellissippi State this Sunday (West Knoxville) for the autocross as well. I'm hoping to run my first gen this time if I can sort out my vacuum issues.

Most people just bend and clamp that split air pipe (that's a 2nd gen term for it) shut. It's not hurting anything though. I'll go with Kentetsu's suggestion since I doubt the car is running too lean being stock and all.