lookin at rx7

hey guys,

im new to this place, and im even newer to the mazda scene. im not yet there, but i need some advice. a family member of mine has a mazda rx7 in his garage, just sitting there. and he wants to get rid of it. i think its a 87 or 88. dont nkow exact year, but its the really rounded off model. not sure if its turbo charged or not, its a automatic, and i looked under the hood, and i didnt see any leaks around the engine. now, the car dont run, and he dont know what the problem is in it, he took the battery out a while back, and its just been sitting there (so long some of the tires when flat. neways, i was there today fixing my aunts car, and he told me, if i were to fix either that one, or a 89 mazda 626 (i think) that i can take either of them, no charge, he will just give it to me. now the car is black, moonroof, and it looks to be in pretty good condition. just really dirty from sitting inside for so long, and it has very minor rust on the front end. now, i was wondering if you think i should try and get it working, and take the car for free, or should i not even try it, b/c it might not be worth it. please i need your help. if you guys think i should do it, and get it to run, and just take it home, then ill try it and see. if not then i wont. okay. well, thanks guys/gals for all of your input, and i greatly appreciate it.

mike

lookin at rx7

ohh!!!! i think the car might have a coolant leak. there was some coolant residue by the left front tire, but i dont know where it was coming from. take this into consideration okay, i want to give this car to my fiancee. thanks again. also, is this car difficult to work on, or no. and if it is a coolant leak, besides the radiator, what else can it be. thanks for the help.

YakATK

I would say there's no harm in trying. If you get it running then you get a free car. If not you will have learned a whole bunch about the car anyways and will have greater overall knowledge. And plus it could be fun. I would say go for it, give it your best and see what you can get it to do. Could just be something simple, you never know.

1987RX7guy

iTrader: (3)

give the car to your chick are you NUTS?!?!?!?!?!?

Try to star her up put a new battery in there and try to crank her up. The only bad thing would be the AUTO tranny but it is still an FC. check all the fluids and air up the tires. Take out two plugs and put some oil in the wholes I think about a teaspoon should do. Then try to turn her on.

lookin at rx7

thanks for the replys! now about giving the car to my irl, is it b/c its a good car, or a bad car. im not trying to say anything about it, but i just dont know about rotary engines. and the main reason i want to give her this one, is b/c i already have a car, and she needs one, and she wants a sports car. i know it will probably be faster then my cavalier, but id ont care, as long as she is happy with it, then so am i, but if you think about it, its still my car too. lol. but the more i think about it, the more i want to try it. thanks again, and keep the replys coming, i need help with this

lookin at rx7

nothing new eh??

blackt2

i would say go for it no reason not too.

1987RX7guy

iTrader: (3)

I would not give an FC to my Girl because it is not a good car it is a GREAT car bro.




EDIT It will be hella faster than that cavalier of yours dude. Give your girl that car if you get the FC to run. The resources here on the forum are absolutely the best. They have helped me throught all the hard times I have experienced with my car but those were not that many. If i were you I would do my best to get it to run and clean it up buy some new tires swap to a Five speed tranny and start modding it.

Icemastr

iTrader: (2)

The 2nd gen RX-7's have great engines and transmissions that hold up really well. Its not uncommon to see 200-250K miles even on RX-7's used for autocross and such. If you have any questions or problems you already know where to look. Whether the car is turbo or not its going to handle awesome (with the tires not flat...) and be quick. My recommendation is to buy a Rotary engine repair manual. The engine should be a 13B. Also if you want some help by someone in real life, try posting in the regional forum for your area and see if there is a rotary owner near you that is a good mechanic maybe someone wouldnt mind coming and taking a look at the car for you. With just a few minor bolt on mods that car can be made really quick. Have fun.

Quentin Christensen

Ryde _Or_Die

So whats the question? How do you get it started? Put a good, charged battery in there and turn the key No seriously, you have done that right? If so, what does it do? Just turn over or does it not even turn over? Just a *click* *click* or what? How old is the gas? Lots of things to check, but we need to know what you have tried.

lookin at rx7

hey guyus, thanks again for replying to me. i dont care if that car is faster then my cavalier. just as the rx7, my cavalier has alot of potential, and plus that car is brand spanking new, and she has never drove in chicago, (not trying to start anything b/c i respect all cars) but it would be cheaper to have the rx7 fixed, or in the case it gets totaled, i would not be out of $19,000. but i do respect the rx7. but neways, i have not tried to mess with the car, and i am a mechanic, but i have no experence with rotary engines. but i am good at other aspects of cars. but i was just seeing if it would be worth it. but since you guys say it is, i am going to go ahead and give it my best, providing i have the funds to do that. thanks guys, and keep the replys coming!!
mike

ra ra rotory

if your a mechanic, you know what to do, since its been sitting so long, put atf in the 2 lower plugs, cuase the seals might be stuck, new spark plugs, new battary. actually............ put a battary in it and try and turn it over, tell us the symtoms and we can help you out, most likely it will start, just get a detailed description of everything. And to answer you question, it is worth it, no matter what you do with it

lookin at rx7

then its a done deal, im going to go for it!!! thanks guys!! ill let ya know how it goes, im going over there saturday and find out!!!! thanks guys!!!!

ra ra rotory

goodluck, do so searches on starting the car, there is alot of info on it and it will help you alot, rotarys arent that much different, as far as starting, there is just a few things you need to know.

lookin at rx7

thanks, but i know the basics, check the battry, and the starter, and a few other things, i wanna try the atf, but i heard from my teachers at school, when i was there, that little trick can mess up the car more then it can help it, but oh well, it aint my car till i start it! so ill give it a try!! also where can i find a compression tool to check that out, and when i check it out is it the same way to check it out as a conventional engine?? if so then i got the thing locked!! take care

mike

West TX RX-7

Good Luck bro!

lookin at rx7

thanks, ill need it, a guy i work with at work gave me a made test light, and that will help alot of there is a small drain on the battery, ill keep ya posted, thanks all!!

dr0x

This is what I would do:

First do a full tune up and flush all the fluids. Few drops of MMO in each side of the rotor (both rotors). Take out the plugs, put a 19mm socket on the front pulley and turn the engine over a few times. Put plugs back in, make sure the wires are in correctly. Then start it up and pull off the pressure sensor vac line, get a jug of water (3 or 4 liters) and put the vac line in the water. Rev the car to about 3k until the water is gone. Reconnect the vac line then you are good to go.

Jeseth Cloak

Before you try the ATF, try starting the car normally.... putting ATF in there should be left as your last alternative. It can damage your engine if you put in too much, or if the engine is already about to go. Make sure you also drain and replace the gasoline and all of the other important fluids (though if you know about mechanics then that should go without saying). Change the oil and air filters just to be on the safe side, too.

If the car starts, get someone to stand behind it and watch the exhaust fumes. If there is sweet smelling smoke coming out of tail pipes for a prolonged period of time, then you might have a big problem. Try driving the car for a block or two to make sure that the smoke wasn't just a bunch of residue being burned up before you pass a judgment on that. If there is any knocking in the engine then that's really bad, too. A rotary engine isn't supposed to knock, and if it does that could be a sign that the engine needs a rebuild.

As for your other questions and comments, it's worth fixing up any RX-7 in my opinion... they're great cars. But if the price of fixing it ends up being too much, you could even sell it for parts. Telling if the car is a Turbo II should be simple. The Turbo II models have a sticker on the side saying "Turbo II," the hood is scooped, and the engine also says "Turbo" right on it... It should be the first thing you see when you pop the hood. You could find all this info out by searching the forum too, but just in case your too lazy, I'm telling you all of it anyway. I'm in no way a rotary mechanic, this is just stuff I learned by lurking here and working on my GTU.

Oh yeah, and giving it to your girl might be a good way to show her you care, but if she drives a lot in the rain warn her ahead of time: RX-7s loose traction easily on wet roads. Make sure you've got really high grip rain tires if she's not a great driver, so she can avoid accidents or injuries.

edit: Edited out most of what dr0x already said before me. It took too long to write my post. >_<

lookin at rx7

I think giving the car to your girl is very sweet. You can show her how much she means to you.

lookin at rx7

only one more day, then i can play with the car!!! i cant wait, hope it starts. *crosing fingers* ill see if i can even start the car, if i can, then im already going to do a tune up, and full fluid change. but when i do that, im going to need more help, b/c i dont know how to bleed the system. so if i do antifreeze, look for me to post something like HELP! CANT BLEED COOLANT SYSTEM!! lol. but trust you me, i will let you guys know, it has been very worthwhile to post here. thanks again!!!
mike