2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992) 1986-1992 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections.

Anyone Who Knos Rx7!!

Old Jun 18, 2007 | 05:14 PM
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Anyone Who Knos Rx7!!

ok i need some help cuz i am in some ****, i didnt check my oil in a while and i ran out completely! i changed it 2000 miles ago and as far as i knew i was leaking or burning any, so my car died on me, just died when i was coming to a stop, when i tried to start it it did nothing!! not turned just nothing, i pulled it off the road and popped the hood, the place where you put in oil was smoking, i checked the dip stick, and it had none, i ran to a gas station grabbed four quarts, put it in, when i tried it this time, it turned over but still would not start, wat could it be wat can i do! im 17 this car is my life i worked all last summer and bought this off here for my own bday present, this is the only thing i can call my own, please someone help!
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 05:37 PM
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maybe you got lucky and just flooded it while trying to start it. but you might be looking at a rebuild..
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 05:39 PM
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Keep in mind you HAVE to check your oil all the time, the motor is designed to burn a little to keep the seals lubricated or whatnot (sorry I am not an expert but I do know that it put oil in there for the seals, it maybe for a different reason lol).

Does it crank? By that I meen can you tell the rotors are moving?

Is the engine flooded? Try deflooding it. Peddle (sorry if spelt wrong im on perks and can't really talk well nvm spell) to floor and turn over or pull EGI fuse and crank for a few seconds and replace.

Did your plugs get fouled? Check em and clean em.


Check everything man you don't want it to turn out the motor blew, though running out of oil with one of these does seem doom al la mode.


Edit: (after reading dude tho got to posting before me lol) If you end up needing a rebuild at leaste it's a good learning experience. From what I have read and seen the community on here is awsome.
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 05:40 PM
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Have you pulled the plugs, yet? Just curious...
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 05:41 PM
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well...

you really should have saved the money you put into those 4 quarts of oil because i guarantee you your motor is toast, live and learn..

and btw, do not even bother tearing the motor apart, lack of lubrication failures commonly result in 5% parts recovery and reusability, consider it a total loss and find a good used engine or purchase a rebuilt one.

up to 2 quarts oil consumption per 1000 miles is not too uncommon in rotaries and not all too noticable depending on what is worn in the engine or how fast it is leaking.
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 05:45 PM
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Did your buzzer not go off when it was low?
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 05:53 PM
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I was wondering the same about his buzzer, but ya know cars this old who knows. My buzzer for instance if it tried to go off will only do it for a second then you can hear it die like it lost power slowly lol (I had to listen to it for almost a month till I figured out my coolant sensor had nasty crap on it... or at leaste I think it was that it fixed when I pulled cleaned and put it back)
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 06:20 PM
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the buzzer did not go off, only like half work and that pisses me off, if the engine is done would it still crank? and wat do you mean by pulling the plugs??
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 06:26 PM
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if you have a compression tester it will tell the whole story
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 06:27 PM
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wish i did...
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 06:44 PM
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What about the method that Aaron Cake describes on his site?
http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/blown.htm
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 06:56 PM
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Originally Posted by ItsTimesLyke
ok i need some help cuz i am in some ****, i didnt check my oil in a while and i ran out completely! i changed it 2000 miles ago and as far as i knew i was leaking or burning any, so my car died on me, just died when i was coming to a stop, when i tried to start it it did nothing!! not turned just nothing
The failure to crank is probably electrical, especially since the engine started cranking later. Failure to crank at all usually involves the starter motor/solenoid or the ignition switch. It could even be corroded battery connections.
i pulled it off the road and popped the hood, the place where you put in oil was smoking, i checked the dip stick, and it had none, i ran to a gas station grabbed four quarts, put it in, when i tried it this time, it turned over but still would not start
Some smoke from the oil filler isn't unusual for old cars. Unless it was pretty thick it probably means nothing. Same for the oil being off the dipstick. That just means you're at least 1.5/2 quarts low, which is dangerous and scary but not, by itself, the kiss of death. Now that you've added four quarts how does the level look? If it's overfilled you weren't out of oil when you added them.

As for the current starting problem, other posts recommending deflooding the engine are on track. A hot engine with leaky injectors can flood easily, and a rotary engine low on oil is going to get hot.

While it's cranking listen to the sound it makes. If it sounds pretty much like it always did, with no obvious rhythmic changes in speed as the engine turns it's not likely anything catastrophic has happened.

Don't panic (or at least stop panicking ). Check your oil level, do a poor man's compression check (the link Jpk3200 posted) and see what you have.
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 07:09 PM
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PO was probably somebody that posted one of those "How do I remove that annoying buzzer" threads....
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 07:15 PM
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And now you have learned a valuable lesson about taking care of your investment.
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 07:53 PM
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up to 2 quarts oil consumption per 1000 miles is not too uncommon in rotaries
Are you serious? Holy crap. I didn't think it was that much. I don't have the OMP so I never have to think about this.
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 08:10 PM
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thats a ton of oil usage...you gotta have a leak. they say a quart of oil per oil change is common. before you spend a ton of time and money doing all the crazy methods above, i agree, do a quick compression test and that will tell you if you need to jack someone else's car, take the engine and leave the car on the side of the road somewhere in the next county....haha jk.
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 08:21 PM
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Sorry about your luck, but if your engine took all 4 quarts you bought, its Done.
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 09:22 PM
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yeah any engine piston or rotary u run out of oil completly , and your fucked!
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 11:03 PM
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well you negetive ppl! lol i have an update, both rotors show 70psi which is the perfect compression(thx to every1 who told me to do the compression test, my friend was reading it with me and was like, i have one of those) when i took the plugs out tho, the tips are covered in burnt oil and they wont spark, not one of them, so i am replacing the spark plugs and will update soon, thx for all ur help, its been awesome!
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 11:13 PM
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70 psi? hmmm, thats actually very very low, you should be looking for 95-100 for a decent engine, also your oil seal need to be addressed, they may have cooked.
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Old Jun 18, 2007 | 11:13 PM
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Since when is 70psi perfect? A well broken in rebuild with new housings is like 100, a decent engine is 80-90....
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Old Jun 19, 2007 | 01:37 AM
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If you did in fact run low/out of oil I'd say you spun a bearing. Even if the engine continues to physically spin later, you've done damage, and it will let go pretty soon now. You'll also lose a lot of compression as the extra play in the rotors lets the sides rub the irons, chewing away corner and side seals, and also scorching the iron surface.

I agree with karack that you'll sometimes see oil starvation motors have no reuseable parts except the rotorhousings. Sometimes you get away with just bearings and a rotor, and e-shaft which is not too bad.

A lot of people with less-than-perfect condition turbo II's don't realize that you have a rotary engine that burns oil by design...then the fact that it is worn out, it burns 2 or 3 times as much as it should. Plus you have a turbo that is burning some oil too. Put all that together and it can drink 5 quarts sooner than you think.
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Old Jun 19, 2007 | 02:07 AM
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I agree with Karack and RR. Most often, when an engine runs out of oil while driving, they can seize (lock up) and may not crank over when you turn the key. After the engine cools down and all the parts start to contract a bit, it may crank over, but the damage is already done. Toast...... with no jelly. Sorry but it looks like rebuild time.
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Old Jun 19, 2007 | 02:57 AM
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yep, oil starvation basically is not only what lubricates the surfaces but also helps cool them, metal on metal contact can cause a bearing to sieze to the e-shaft immediately but after fully cooling off it could let go and spin again but the scarring has already started at that point and will start to gall the bearings and moving parts immediately after starting the engine again, it may go 50 miles before completely blowing up if you are lucky. the 2 cases i had which lost all lubrication resulted in loss of at least 75% of the motor core parts in each engine.

70 PSI of compression is rather poor and will cause difficulties starting the car, this was also taken when cold and the compression is actually highest, i would imagine it would be under 60 when warm if the test is being done correctly. on an n/a engine 110-120PSI is good, 100 is average and 80 is borderline rebuild time.

if someone tells me they lost oil pressure and the motor stopped running i generally will tell them to start looking for another core motor as well, its either that or completely build an engine from scratch.
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Old Jun 19, 2007 | 06:13 AM
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On my old S4 it was kickin out about 60-70psi, but both rotors were trashed so depending on what elese you find you may need a new engine, thankfully thier not that expensive
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