hi all, hope i dont sound to to dumb but im going to look at a sed gen 7 tommarow and i dont know **** about them, i have read the buying a 7 thread and found it really help full, but i have some more Q
1:the car has 175,000 miles on it, is this a lot of miles for a 7 and will it need a rebuild?
2: if so.........how do you rebuild a rotory? and weres the best place for parts?

thanks for your time and braines
Sean

 

Maybe, maybe not. It depends on how well the car has been cared for, and in what condition the engine is. A compression test will give you an idea of the current condition of the engine, but it cannot predict if it will blow.

Step one is to purchase the Haynes manual, and download a copy of the Factory Service manual. Step two is to buy the Bruse Torrentine video from Rotary Aviation. Step three is to then decide if you are up to the task.

 

1. Depends on if it turbo or not, how it was driven, maintained, and if the engine has been rebuilt. Since the bulk of these cars are non turbo Ill assume thats what your looking at. If it has been rebuilt and taken care of(strict oil changes, coolant and other services) then it may have a few more years before a rebuild. If service was neglected(just as any car) and it was driven like crap then its probably on its last leg. A lot of things to look for is how is the exterior and interior of the car?? if there is all kinds of trash inside, accesories dont work and dents outside with rust and paint that has never been waxed your odds are it was not taken care of. Driving it there isnt too much that tips off other then if you quickly let off the gas and it smokes a lot then it needs a rebuild. If it smokes a lot idling or driving it needs a rebuild. If it feels like it has 50 hp then it probably needs a rebuild and if it burns TONS of oil or coolant or you can seen oil in the coolant it needs a rebuild. Basically use common sense and all your normal things to look for when buying a car.
2. Short answer..there isnt one....Long answer search...To rebuild a rotary You can buy videos and books which walk you through it step by step and if you want to do it I would recomend getting one. As for parts there are tons of places mazdatrix, atkins rotary, or you can send it somewhere to be built. Or you can do the cheapest option which is find a running engine from a lower mileaged na and swap it in but of course that all depends on the car. Go there. Stat it let it run see if it idles well and drives good give it a little lead foot and watch for smoke then let off quickly. Listen for weird sounds.

 

thanks for the help guys, i am up to the task, my last job was at a mazda/chevy dealer were i was a tech, i just never took one apart thats all