I bought a 87 Turbo II recently from a buddy when I was stationed in GA. He told me the engine didn't start but was running great until it simply failed to start. His brother was taking a bunch of things apart to see if he could fix it and ultimately I had to tow it from it's location to my house where it's sitting.

Aside from the obvious need of a Inter cooler and fan (will get those pics up later) I have no idea why the engine didn't start (friend never figured it out.) I'm sure the millage was around 50,000 and from what I heard (I am a noob to RX-7s) that's around the time A-pex seals can go out.

I have a uncle who know's rotary engines and said my engine is fine we just have to fix it, but I also have a friend who has a brand new RX-7 engine still in the crate which seems to be the better option in my opinion.

So what would you more experienced guys recommend for now? She's aimed to be a daily driver that's clean and passes all of CA's regulations legally.

 

Probably something small or could have been flooded. At 50k your motor should have another 50k+ of life at the very least unless someone severely abused it.

Just try to find the problem and get it running. Then compression check, and replace all fluids and look at them. Coolant in the oil is bad.

www.fc3spro.com and this forum are your friends now. Good luck!

 

Hell, a new (probably reman) engine in a crate?
No brainer, get it and be done.

 

no offence to your uncle but ... I mean ... NO ****

Apex seals does NOT go out at 50K miles, but an engine that has seen nothing but "abuse" can blow up in 50 miles. Turbo II engines can go 100-150K and NA can go over 200K, assume that you don't beat the **** out of it every day and you Actually change oil and coolant at the required interval.

if your friend has an engine in the crate, you should ask him why is it still in the crate, like where it came from, 99% chance its a rebuild and you should ask how long as it been sitting there, chances are when an engine sits long enough, the moisture inside might eventually turn into water and rust all the stuff.

of course if he can explain everything then hell yea use that engine and send me your old core.

 

i would do a compression test on the engine in the car, that will tell you if its good or not.

 

How do you go about a comp. test?

I should note that there are a bunch of things such as the inter cooler, probably the piping for it, the exhaust are removed, would that cause problems for a comp test?

 

nope! all you need is a compression tester and a working starter.

 

sweet, how much does the tester cost?

 

$10 at harbor freight

 

Thanks man you guys are really helping out! So if the compression isn't were it's supposed to be then would it be time to pull the engine out and rebuild it just to be on the safe side, if not at least use it as an excuse to inspect it? I found the thread for rebuilding from Icemark if it comes to that

 

compression bad, engine no good

 

Would that result in a instant must rebuild? Or Then would the whole engine be considered useless?

 

depends on what caused the compression loss. could be stuck seals or seal failure. stuck seals could be fixed without a teardown and rebuild, whereas a seal failure will require a rebuild and/or replacement of hard parts.

 

you won't know until you open the engine up, things could have flown around embeding themselves into different metals, or it could of caused no damage resulting in just a simple rebuild.

 

Woah woah woah... Let's not jump to conclusions here. It just didn't start once and so it sat. Not that it stopped running while racing or drifting or something. It just didn't start. I'm guessing it probably runs, and something small is the issue. Fuel filter, weak battery, flooded, fuel pump failure, something came unplugged... at 50k I doubt it's blown.

Fuel, compression, spark.

 

Ok now that I have money and begin working on the checks and everything, I know I'm missing things. I know for a fact Im missing the intercooler and the fan along with the battery bracket but what else can you guys tell me that I'm missing from this pic?

 

Found a battery bracket. I've been scouring the web for stock clutch-fans, but I can't seem to find any... Is it absolutely necessary to have a fan clutch for the engine to run?

Besides that I'm working on that inter cooler and new belts for obvious reasons

 

Looks like it may need a throttle cable. End looks fraid or maybe just a crappy pic.

 

Yes, unless you plan on overheating your engine or installing an e-fan. Also, if you mean ditch the clutch, install the fan anyway and have it engaged at all times, this will be bad also.

 

No I was going for normal operation, and got the picture of its importance lol (I'm normally a AE86 guys so removing clutch fans was normal) so does a site exist in which I can buy the NORMAL clutch fan and not the e-fan because that's all im getting on searches. On my trip to the pick and pulls all the fans were um... inoperable to say the least.

 

I'll try to get a better picture tomorrow, also you guys could help me figure if my car is Brave Blue Mica or not (off topic but it's been killing me lol)

 

mazdatrix.com will have the stock fan, as well as the classifieds section here (used), and your local dealer.

 

I found the fan clutches, but no fans and shrouds (thanks by the way for that link much appreciated) any where can I find the fan itself and shroud?

 

the color code is stamped onto the VIN plate on the passenger side firewall. looks to be 5A which is sapphire blue metallic.

 

I got a working clutch fan from my t2. $20 and its yours