My 88 gtu n/a has been sucking up water, and setting off the "add coolant" light/buzzer more and more and more since I have had my rx7. (about a month) Finally a week ago the heater hose sprung a leak and I fixed it thinking that was the whole issue. It wasnt. My car is still sucking up water like a fish (at least a 1/2 to full gallon a day) (water and antifreeze) but there are no leaks, or puddles on the ground!

Lately, at wot my car has also been hesitating at higher RPM, but my TPS is set / reading perfectly. Im thinking maybe a coolant seal is blown? I Dont know exactly where it is or if the only way to get to it is to tear down the engine?

If thats the issue, wouldnt it be better to put a TII engine in there instead of rebuilding this n/a?

I just fixed the tranny also. Got the car for 3K$, and spent another 1.5k just trying to get her to run right. Still not working good. :0( *depression*

 

welcome to rotaries. lol

seriously though, it might be a coolant seal. Is it overheating or running warmer than normal?


try this, take the radiator cap off the water pump neck. Add collant til the system is filled again. Remove the EGI and ING fuses from the block under the hood. Crank the car for about 5 seconds. Try to have someone watch the coolant. If it surges up or has large air bubbles then you probably have a bad coolant seal.

From here, you can rebuild the motor. I suggest have one of the credibile builders do it. You might need a replacement housing. doing the tII swap would be nice, but you will be spending alot of money and more importantly time.

 

Best I can say is to REALLY check the motor for a leak before taking the **** out. It could be something easy like a water pump. Don't wanna pull the engine unless you're sure.

 

yeah, im about 1 step from giving up on the fc3. its just to old and way to picky of a car. I have to add oil, water, a new tranny, looks like new engine..... every week or so .... ( had car 3.5 weeks, on the 3rd tranny) Im going to try and check the engine again, but if the engine is blown, she is going to go 2 a junk yark. A rebuild kit looks like its going to be at least 1000$. I paid 3k$ for the car thinking it ran perfectly fine, and how i have WAY 2 much $ into the car. Doesnt get exactly nice gas milage either. :0(

 

Don't get discouraged, RX-7s are well worht the effort. Besides, if you're sending it to a junk yard, you may as well just park it and rebuild since you already paid $3000. Every used car needs money put into it.

I've popped 3 Wankels, and I'm not giving up yet. It's such a unique drving experience that you shouldn't giv eup on it yet.

 

^good advice^

If you're looking for gas mileage and no headaches - go buy a new car...VW's get nice mileage,or perhaps you're a hybrid man?

Bottom line is don't expect love from your rotary until you have about 10,000 into it - then you start to get back some investment in the form of tire smoke and nice looking time slips - don't EVER expect it to be anentirely happy relationship.....its like a woman

 

its is much like a women, only we here on this forum do not condon any penetration of a sexual orignation in to rust holes or any other openings for that matter.

 

Ouch. That hurts just thinking about it. And mine only took 4 grand over the cost of the car to become a happy relationship. lol Seriously though, theres a reasonable chance an RX-7 you buy will need something relatively major in the first 6 months you have it. Mine needed a rebuild due to a bad coolant seal about 3 months after I got it, but it ran wonderfully with no problems after that.
If it turns out to be a coolant seal problem, don't keep running it until you overheat it. That can cause much more damage and raise the price of a rebuild. You can get one done at www.rotaryresurrection.com for a very reasonable price. If you have the time and space to do it yourself, you can do it for 600-700 (maybe even cheaper) by only replacing the neccesary parts. If you need it to be running all the time, then its prob best to get another car. While they can be used as daily drivers (I did it for a few years) you should always have a backup in case they crap out on you.

 

Except cheaper

What if they're not rusty? I was drunk... and....

 

Hell, if you end up rebuilding it, just get a TII swap that is streetported. That is some daily driver stuff right there and you won't mind the gas mileage when you can accelerate like a bat out of hell!

 

ok I did the test where I take out the fuses and turn over the engine, and tons of bubbles were comming out. In like 5 hours I will be home and im going to do a coolant system pressure test.

yes, now im looking for a t2 engine tranny and such ... :0( is street porting it a thing that needs to be done? how long does it take? how much is it?
(how big of an improvement? would be cool to beat my friends 350z)

88 Black Turbo II - Weekend Warrior
-150 rwhp @ 7500 rpm

am .. I missing something? 150...

 

streetporting makes huge difference but requires the motor to be rebuilt so if your are rebuilding a motor then you might as well do it.

 

Well I was just going to put in the t2 engine I find. How many miles should I be scared to not rebuild the t2 engine? I found one that has 133k miles on it for 500$.
so are we talking 10 hp or 30 hp with the street port?

 

i could be curious as to the compression because odds are it approaching the rebuild.

And for the price what does it include? everything you need to swap? if so, thats a deal regardless of miles.

 

No its just engine (w/ turbo) , ecu, and wiring harness.