RX7 reliability
09-29-06, 10:11 PM
#26
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i just got my 79 inspected and in the rear wheel wells there is a support bracket that was rusted through on both sides and i had to weld in big pieces of steel to reinforce
09-29-06, 10:36 PM
#27
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[QUOTE=gberg5]
Aviatior you said that these cars hide there rust really well. Are there some common rust spots that 1st gen rx7's have? He said there is a same amount of rust rear wheel well and thats it. Could there be other rust that you cant see but is there?
A couple of problem areas are the previously-mentioned storage bin areas and the front unibody subframe members under the hood.
This car is a '79 so it wouldn't have the storage bins behind the seats that were available on later models. But the corrosion problem could still be there.
Look inside the rear wheel wells just forward of the wheels at about the 10 O'clock position. You should see a somewhat corrugated metal plate that appears to be welded to the body directly behind the tire at that location. If there's signs of rust here it's likely worse on the inside--- the area where the storage bins would be if you had them.
This particular rust often spreads along the floor from one side of the car to the other, weakening the whole structure. Repair is labor-intensive and expensive if it's repairable at all.
Another red flag would be rust on the front subframe members, especially since this is where your steering system is attached. This rust can hide under the paint and look ok in bad lighting, but if it's bad repair will be difficult to not worth the bother.
The car in the ad you're looking at looks to be worth checking out. I don't trust odometer readings at all, but I do rely on things like compression checks, un-welcome noises and a clean engine bay.
Insist that the seller does not start the car and warm it up before you arrive! Warming the engine up will mask problems such as excessive oil burning and carb choke issues. If the seller does this anyway, walk away--- he's hiding something.
Before starting the car check the oil and coolant. The coolant should be clean with no traces of oil in it. The oil should not be too dirty (if the seller is changing it regularly) and should have no traces of water or coolant in it. If there is, that's a deal-breaker right there. The engine has a ruptured water jacket seal and will need to be torn down.
To do a "field" compression check on a rotary you'll need a standard compression tester that has a removable shraeder valve. (This is the valve inside the business end of the tester. It is threaded in and can be screwed out for the test so that the guage will not hold a reading. This is what you want if you're compression-testing a rotary).
Remove both of the bottom plugs (ie: the leading plugs. The upper plugs are for the trailing ignition). Now remove the coil leads that go to the distributor cap as an added precaution so that the car won't fire as the engine is being cranked. (Probably wouldn't start anyway with the leading plugs out but we can't be too careful).
Thread the end of the tester into the front spark plug hole and have someone crank the engine over for about 15 seconds or so while you read the guage. You should see a rhythmic bounce of the needle up to at least 100psi. 120 psi is better, but usually obtainable only near sea level. Any less than 100 psi would indicate a poor engine rebuild or no rebuild at all. Repeat this process for the rear plug hole. There should be little or no variance in the readings from the front hole.
When test-driving the car, insist on quiet so you can listen for unusual noises. A dealer or seller that tries to crank the stereo and leave it there ("great sounding stereo, huh Bob?) is trying to hide something from you. With the engine running and the car parked and in neutral, listen carefully for grinding noises. Now depress the clutch and listen again. Does the grinding noise go away? If so, the clutch release bearing or the transmission input shaft bearings are suspect.
During the drive, listen for clunking suspension components and any noise while braking. Watch the temp guage. It should not read at more than about 1/3rd of the distance from cold to hot. Oil pressure should be 60 to 90 psi at cruising speeds once the engine has warmed up.
You may see some whitish smoke on start-up and this is normal for the rotary. But if it doesn't go away after a few minutes there could be issues.
After the test drive, open the hood and check everywhere for leaks. If all appears well and you can agree on a selling price make the sale conditional on a secondary inspection by an approved mechanic of your choosing, not the sellers. (Conflict of interest.) You're simply safeguarding against any expensive surprises here. Most mechanics will find a few minor glitches, but they will be of the variety that's neither here nor there deal-wise.
Finally, confirm the ID of the seller (check his driver licence) and proof of ownership. Also, make the sale conditional on a successful lien check.
Aviatior you said that these cars hide there rust really well. Are there some common rust spots that 1st gen rx7's have? He said there is a same amount of rust rear wheel well and thats it. Could there be other rust that you cant see but is there?
A couple of problem areas are the previously-mentioned storage bin areas and the front unibody subframe members under the hood.
This car is a '79 so it wouldn't have the storage bins behind the seats that were available on later models. But the corrosion problem could still be there.
Look inside the rear wheel wells just forward of the wheels at about the 10 O'clock position. You should see a somewhat corrugated metal plate that appears to be welded to the body directly behind the tire at that location. If there's signs of rust here it's likely worse on the inside--- the area where the storage bins would be if you had them.
This particular rust often spreads along the floor from one side of the car to the other, weakening the whole structure. Repair is labor-intensive and expensive if it's repairable at all.
Another red flag would be rust on the front subframe members, especially since this is where your steering system is attached. This rust can hide under the paint and look ok in bad lighting, but if it's bad repair will be difficult to not worth the bother.
The car in the ad you're looking at looks to be worth checking out. I don't trust odometer readings at all, but I do rely on things like compression checks, un-welcome noises and a clean engine bay.
Insist that the seller does not start the car and warm it up before you arrive! Warming the engine up will mask problems such as excessive oil burning and carb choke issues. If the seller does this anyway, walk away--- he's hiding something.
Before starting the car check the oil and coolant. The coolant should be clean with no traces of oil in it. The oil should not be too dirty (if the seller is changing it regularly) and should have no traces of water or coolant in it. If there is, that's a deal-breaker right there. The engine has a ruptured water jacket seal and will need to be torn down.
To do a "field" compression check on a rotary you'll need a standard compression tester that has a removable shraeder valve. (This is the valve inside the business end of the tester. It is threaded in and can be screwed out for the test so that the guage will not hold a reading. This is what you want if you're compression-testing a rotary).
Remove both of the bottom plugs (ie: the leading plugs. The upper plugs are for the trailing ignition). Now remove the coil leads that go to the distributor cap as an added precaution so that the car won't fire as the engine is being cranked. (Probably wouldn't start anyway with the leading plugs out but we can't be too careful).
Thread the end of the tester into the front spark plug hole and have someone crank the engine over for about 15 seconds or so while you read the guage. You should see a rhythmic bounce of the needle up to at least 100psi. 120 psi is better, but usually obtainable only near sea level. Any less than 100 psi would indicate a poor engine rebuild or no rebuild at all. Repeat this process for the rear plug hole. There should be little or no variance in the readings from the front hole.
When test-driving the car, insist on quiet so you can listen for unusual noises. A dealer or seller that tries to crank the stereo and leave it there ("great sounding stereo, huh Bob?) is trying to hide something from you. With the engine running and the car parked and in neutral, listen carefully for grinding noises. Now depress the clutch and listen again. Does the grinding noise go away? If so, the clutch release bearing or the transmission input shaft bearings are suspect.
During the drive, listen for clunking suspension components and any noise while braking. Watch the temp guage. It should not read at more than about 1/3rd of the distance from cold to hot. Oil pressure should be 60 to 90 psi at cruising speeds once the engine has warmed up.
You may see some whitish smoke on start-up and this is normal for the rotary. But if it doesn't go away after a few minutes there could be issues.
After the test drive, open the hood and check everywhere for leaks. If all appears well and you can agree on a selling price make the sale conditional on a secondary inspection by an approved mechanic of your choosing, not the sellers. (Conflict of interest.) You're simply safeguarding against any expensive surprises here. Most mechanics will find a few minor glitches, but they will be of the variety that's neither here nor there deal-wise.
Finally, confirm the ID of the seller (check his driver licence) and proof of ownership. Also, make the sale conditional on a successful lien check.
09-30-06, 12:21 AM
#28
I'm going to college right now, and its a love hate thing.
I don't want to own/drive anything but a Rx, but at the same time I spend as much money fixing things that are wrong with a 20+ year old car as I do modifying and making it faster.
Get the Rx, every one on here is doing it.
I don't want to own/drive anything but a Rx, but at the same time I spend as much money fixing things that are wrong with a 20+ year old car as I do modifying and making it faster.
Get the Rx, every one on here is doing it.
09-30-06, 12:27 AM
#29
I've never had any problems in the snow with my 83 S with an open diff. The 50/50 weight distribution makes it nice. If you have concern then throw some weight in the back. It controlled nicely when I needed it and still had fun when I wanted it LOL. The only part that sucks is sitting in the cold *** car for 10 minutes holding a cold *** choke **** waiting for it to get warm enough for heat LOL. Sometimes makes me want a GSL-SE so I can just throw a remote starter on it LOL. Keep in mind clutch safety switch wasn't installed until 87
09-30-06, 03:52 PM
#32
Originally Posted by aussiesmg
If you can drive a RWD car well they work just fine the only limiting factor I found was deep snow, the shape of the car drives the snow under the car and lifts it up, not so funny.....otherwise I drove my winter 7 all last year without a hitch other than more rust accumilating on an already rusty shell. I didn't lose control once, never got stuck and had more fun than 10,000 Hondas in the slick.
I did use 2 rear snow tires and she is an GSL with LSD. Mind you it is flat here and I usually drive at 60 mph on open roads, but those ditches look bloody big in winter.....lol
Remeber that FWD is only good until you loose traction, whereas RWD still leaves you options to avoid an object.
I did use 2 rear snow tires and she is an GSL with LSD. Mind you it is flat here and I usually drive at 60 mph on open roads, but those ditches look bloody big in winter.....lol
Remeber that FWD is only good until you loose traction, whereas RWD still leaves you options to avoid an object.
I love driving rear wheel drives in the snow as much as the next guy, but I don't like leaving my car open to all the rest of the shitty drivers in the cold/ice conditions, everytime I take it out in the rain I feel like someone is going to hit me
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