ok i know wankels burn oil a little, but is it normal to put a small cloud of white smoke out when i get on it? its been babied forever really, maybe that has something to do with it? i dunno i wasn't goin too fast, but i was gettin on it more than normal. i pulled over and shut it off and let the fans keep runnin just in case. it got to about 3/4 the way up on the temp gauge so i turned on both fans because i forgot doh. i hope that wasnt too high : (. it runs fine now but i'm worried about my car.

 

White smoke? Sure you don't mean grey? Bluish black is oil, White is coolant or water, and grey is rich mix.

Are you losing oil? The smoke is probably from the rich mixture caused by a mis adjusted carb.

 

yeah it was more of a gray i guess, im a little color blind, it was light color though

 

Have you done the ATF treatment? I'd do that first.

 

not yet, never heard of it til just now, doesnt look too hard though. so basically i take off the emissions stuff, plugs, and air cleaner, put a bit of atf in each plug hole i think, thats part im not sure about. crank it over and let it sit a day, then start it up in the open cause it smokes a lot. then drive hard it til the atf burns off. then change the oil and put the old plugs back in. is that correct?

 

This is the procedure I did.
Instead of squirting the ATF in through the plug holes, I just poured some down the primaries(small holes), let it sit for about two hours, and pushed it backward in fifth gear for about 5 feet. Put it in Neutral and push it back where you started. Pour a little more in and repeat the push backward in fifth. I used the whole bottle, 12 oz, when i did mine. Every two or three hours, I added a little and pushed it backwards. Leave the ATF stewing for as long as you can, at least 24 hrs. I left mine for the entire weekend. I've heard ppl doing this while their RX was in storage for the winter. When you absolutely have to drive it, push your car out side and start her up. I did mine at night so nobody would notice the smoke. It was bad, next time I'm starting it during the day and I'm taking pictures. I let it get to operating temp and then drove it 6-10 redline runs to burn the ATF out. I almost **** my pants with the improvement I received. My car NEVER chirped the tires in third at 60 MPH until after I did this. When you get back, change the plugs and the oil. Add a quart of MMO to the oil and about half quart to a full tank of premium fuel. This is exactly what I did, and I am having a hard time trying to get the smile off my face when I drive now. It feels like a different car. PPL will add thoughts or changes to this, but this was just what I did. Check with other members and get their thoughts.

 

You don't have emission laws in Texas, do you?

 

Yes we do, but currently only for the selected metropolitan area broken down by county.

 

atf treatment pictures:

http://www.doomguy.net/images/therex/atf1.jpg
http://www.doomguy.net/images/therex/atf2.jpg
http://www.doomguy.net/images/therex/atf3.jpg
http://www.doomguy.net/images/therex/atf4.jpg
http://www.doomguy.net/images/therex/atf5.jpg
http://www.doomguy.net/images/therex/atf6.jpg


the pictures are a little decieving: there was a lot of smoke.

i didn't get a very drastic improvement myself. runs a little smoother. of course, my engine was in pretty good shape as it were.

 

Couldn't you just crank the engine backwards by hand? For some people who park in smallish areas, we can't push our cars backwards every few hours. I'm not critisizing anyone, I'm just letting them know there is another way.

 

Sure you can.

You don't need a lot of room...just about five feet longer than your car. Push it backwards in 5th gear and roll it in neutral back to where you started.

 

well i just emailed the previous owner who had it 2 years, he said he did the atf twice. must be tuning i guess. emissions laws here arent very tight at all, as long as it doesnt smoke when i get it inspected its ok.

 

Do you only have to do a safety inspection where you are located? We have the full blown emissions testing up here in DFW and it’s pretty darn strict.

 

I don't get why you need to roll the car - why not just turn it over using the starter with the coil wires off?

 

rolling it backwards will get the oil all up in the nooks and crannies that cranking won't get it into.