TurboIIGuy

Imagine owning a brand new 1984 GSL, silver with that funky red interior.
Imagine it, its the year 2004 and its brand new. New brake rotors, pads, clutch, driveshaft, potenza tires, brake calipers, a/c, and brake master cylinder. All brand new, installed by the dealer with factory parts. That is my car. I bought it off an older woman that babied it and kept it in the garage. It was perfect and so was the price. The car only had 90,000 miles on it when I got it a year ago and I only added about 1,500 miles to that. The motor ran great, I had never driven a stock 12A with so much power and throttle response. I can only imagine all the hype that these cars had surrounding them back in their original day. Well I parked her last night, monday night, in great condition, full of oil and water. I didn't drive it all day tuesday but I went to start her up at 9pm and there it was. A cloud ofwhite steamy smoke surrounding my car and billowing on to the street, inhibiting your range of vision from across the street to within a few inches of your face. Within 20 seconds of starting her up, my drive way was invisible, all 30 feet of it and so was my neighbors front yard, and had I not shut it off so would've been the street. I could't believe it, I sat there in shock. The fantasy was over, I had gone from carefree cruising to joining the ranks of those that have chosen the darkside that is the "ROTARY". I knew of all the problems associated with rotaries, I had been there before with 1st gens, 2nd gens, and even a couple of 3rd gens. I have owned and driven them all over the past 4 years. But I thought it was all over, I had found the one, the "new" one. It made me feel like the original owner, bumping the stock amplified stereo to the tunes of a kroq flash back weekend. It made me feel like I was living it up in a new RX7. But alas, the fantasy is over. Reality has sunk in, it's not just a car, it's a rotary, adn with that comes many curses unimaginable. I must now contemplate what my next move is, invest my time and money into rebuilding a motor, or cut my loses and sell it. I even thought of parting it out but, that's not a respectable way for such a car to go out like that. What will I do? It was also my only mode of transportation to see my girlfriend and to get to and from school. I am in a slump. I will consider sellign it for the right price I sppose only because I will need to fix my other car to be able to get around. Oh it's a sad time in the San Gabriel valley for me right now.

Elysian

don't be a puss, rebuild that motor and get it back on the road!

IanS

iTrader: (4)

thats no good man. You need to keep it and rebuilt the engine. It will be all good once again when it roars back to life and you drive off with your girl. I personally, would buy a POS car that runs and drives and thats about it. Some 300-400 dollar car just to get around for now.

It'll be better in the morning, you'll see

bouis

It's probably real rebuildable for the time being. Don't let it sit!

TurboIIGuy

Thanx for the motivation guys, I guess I'm just in shock. LOL.
Realizing that the perfection that was my RX7 is flawed.

Rotor13B

Maybe intake o-rings? My first 7 did exactly as you said and it turned out to be the o-rings.

TurboIIGuy

Hey that's right I completely forgot about those little suckers. I'm going to check those out first thing in the morning!!!
Thanx!!!!

SERIES 1 XLR8

as long as the body is mint. The body is the main thing, an engine can be replaced/ rebuilt. If u got a mint body, even if it doesnt go, your 95 percent there. Keep with it, rebuilt it, and have some more fun. Good luck with her.

TurboIIGuy

Thanx for all the motivation guys. i guess I am just bummed out cuz my bubble burst. But it's still the cleanest all original 1st gen RX7 I have ever seen. I haven't even seen one this clean at Sevenstock. I just need to round up some money to fix it, if it is the internal seals that is, and not the water o-rings on the intake manifold like Rotor13B suggested. On the up side a buddy of mine can do the work of pulling the motor apart and reassembling it. I haven't had the chance to do a rebuild myself yet. Also there's a guy out here that sells Mazda OEM water seals and oil seals for like $100 I think. Full rebuild kit with apex seals and springs is $300 but i would still need to round up money. I am not working right now as I decided to go back to school, so I'm a poor College student right now. LOL......
Anyway, I just need to find a beater to get around town in. Maybe a nice 1988 honda civic, LoL, the damn ***** never seem to break. HAHAHAHAHA

SERIES 1 XLR8

true that, Little - No power = Little - No stress on engine = Little - No wear or breakage + last for long. But where's the fun in that?!

XLR8

iTrader: (52)

Rotarys are reliable. They don't like to sit and they like to rev and I'm sure the little old lady did both wrong. But a street ported 13b in her and enjoy years of good power.

bliffle

try the Orings first. then consider the internal seal fix. Before you rebuild make sure you really have blown apex seals.

B

Elysian

white smoke isn't a characteristic of a blown apex seal... dunno where u pulled that from

TurboIIGuy

Yeah I know that to. White smoke is water. Blue smoke is oil. Blown apex seal is nothing cuz the damn things won't usually run at that point.

Elysian

oh it'll run... on 1 rotor... i drove my truck like that when i lost an apex seal... will have an impossible time keeping it at 60 in anything but 4th

TurboIIGuy

Ok, I'm really not in a position to do a rebuild right now or anytime soon, maybe for a couple of months. So, after thinking about it for a day over, I have decided to do the block sealer crap. I have heard the pro's and con's, I am very familiar with the fix seeing as how I have a few years in the rotary game. I even did it to a 3rd gen before.
I made my decision bassed on the following incase anyone is curious.
1>the car though it smokes still starts, drives, and idles just fine.
2> the motor only has about 40-50 k miles on it, which I forgot to mention.
The motor was blown when I got it so I swapped it.
3> I can't afford the down time of a rebuild.
4> I can't afford th rebuild.
5> I have done my research and seen more than a convincing number of people do the fix and drive their cars for a year and more.
6> I only need the fix to work for a few months till I can put in my 13B, I still need parts for it.
So there you have it, I will do the block weld fix.
I'll keep you guys posted on how it goes.

cds00bsmg

iTrader: (1)

rebuild, port, modify. etc. Don't sell it, just get some cheapo car to drive around until you have to time to build the car how you want to.

bliffle

I've been running my blue 83 for 6 months with the CRC sealer in it. Works good: no white smoke.

B

LongDuck

If it only smokes on startup, it's likely that your oil control seals are going. Try switching to a lighter viscosity oil (5w30) as that will likely allow the worn seals to continue to wipe away standing oil from the side housings on startup. With high viscosity oils (when cold), their surface tension will be pretty high, preventing the seal from 'cutting' through on startup - this is what leads to the dreaded 'smokescreen' effect on high mileage engines.

If it's white smoke, it is coolant - and will have a sweet smell. Check those intake manifold O-rings, as that's a simple and sure-fire fix.

Take a look at my signature line; it's worth it to get it back on the road. Best of luck,

TurboIIGuy

Thanx for all the feedback everybody, this is where I am at now.
First, it is coolant thats causing the smoke, I am sure of that. I tis not easy to confuse them. You know when it's oil and you know when it's coolant.
I removed the intake manifold and it had no traces of leaking. I reinstalled the manuifold with a new gasket and o-rings. Still smoking.
I also checked the inside of the intake manifold for cracks that might let water seep into the intake, nothing wrong there.
So I did the only thing I could. I got some radiator sealer, did the damn thing. Let it sit overnight and now all seems to be good. I have since put about 40 miles on it with no smoke. Dammit, I think it worked. I had to try it after reading so many testimonies about how effective it was. Eveything is good for now.

TurboIIGuy

I do have another question though. On the oil filler tube, you know, where you add oil to the motor from, there are 2 nipples about 1/4 inch diameter or so. I know these are for ventilation but, I have removed all of my emmisions crap like the solenoids on top of my motor. Now what do I do with them. I drove around the block with them open and oil spurted out on to my engine, no surprise there, I expected that. But now what can I use to prevent oil spills, can I just plug them completely or should I not. Should I get breather filters.
Let me know what you guys think.
thanx

Unsupa

iTrader: (2)

i took a piece of hose to run off of the filler neck down toward the ground.. there's suppose to be a way to create a pcv system to properly vent the motor... i still haven't gotten it right.. do a search around here and you can probably find what i'm talking about.. using a caravan pcv valve, and some creative vacuum routing..

ch0g0nda

My car puffs a little white on startup to...

First time I started it though, lol, we were afraid someone was gonna call the fire department.

But yeah, replacing those O-rings will help with the white puffyness, kewl.

jays83gsl

First time I started mine right proper, someone DID call the fire department O_O

slashdawg00110

Look in the FAQ section. There's a writeup or two for using the caravan/whatever pcv valve. I did it. It works well. no more plastic breakable purge valve for me.