Street Racer

Hey Guys!...

I just bought an 1988 RX7 GX 5spd, for $800 canadian, runs pretty good and is in good shape, I’m excited with the purchase and cant wait to see what I can do to it, it’s N/A but that’s alright, I got a few questions I hope you guys could help me with….

1) Running temp - The engine temperature runs at about half way up the guage and at most goes to 2/3 the way up, is this normal?

2) Oil consumption - I noticed that the car will use a fair bit of oil, approx half a litre each gas fill, is this normal?

3) Shooting fire - Since my car is N/A I was wondering if it shoots fire like most 7’s do, I floored it after dropping my brother off at work one day, he called me right away and told me that it indeed shot fire, I tend not to believe this but what do you guys think…?

4) Rattling/Shaking - When I take slow turns in say, a parking lot, I notice the rear of the car tends to shake as I take the clutch out and is pretty rough, but only does it at times, the other 80% when it doesent shake it is actually normal and smooth, I’m new to driving a RWD 5spd so mabe this is normal…?

5) Shift boot - When I drive the car for a little bit I notice the shift boot on the shift lever warms up a little bit, I was told this is from the tranny being right underneath it so I haven’t put a severe amount of thought into the fact, is this normal?

6) Starting – Sometimes my car tends not to want to start properly, when I try to start it first thing in the morning it will start and the revs will slowly creep up to 1500rpm and sometimes bounce there a little bit, put I tap the gas and it goes to 3000rpm and revs normally, is this something to worry about?, when my car is warm it’s tough to start sometimes, I have to crank it 4times then it starts with a puff behind me which I believe to be from the engine being flooded, what you guys think…?

7) Reliability – How durable are these engines?, mine seams to be running really well, it doesent smoke or anything, is there anything I should be looking for in particular?


That’s all I can think of for the moment, I appreciate all advice and help you guys may have, thanx in advance!...


-Anthony

rs_1101

1- no its running hot. are you sure its not an 89?
2- use about a quart of oil per 1000 miles, anything more than that is leaky something or other
3-burnt out ACV causes that, or failed sensors do you have smog where u live?
4-that might be normal, maybe you should explain the problem more.
5-thats normal. if youre worried, change tha tranny fluid
6-thats fairly normal. sounds like your TB is sticky. hot start problems are normal, but mean that your motor has some wear on it.
7-do a search on 'premix' for best reliablility for your rotary.

i think you need a tuneup.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

Skip that last step unless you fully understand the implications.

1. No. That's too hot. Normal temp is around 1/4. Do a full cooling system service.

2. Yep.

3. Search. Once you remove the cats and stock catback, these cars tend to throw fire.

4. Might be normal, might be a chattering clutch and/or broken diff mount.

5. The insulation under the shift boot is probably missing.

6. Sticking hot start, and a TPS that is probably out of adjustment. If you are having hot start problems, first step is usually a compression test.

7. Read the FAQ.

#7 is important. The FAQ and search function answer 99% of questions.

Street Racer

no, my car is an 1988, i'm pretty sure of it.... i kinda figured that was a little hot, but is it a big problem that it runs half way and such...?

the rattling and shaking usually comes when i take corners, at slower speeds and release the clutch slower, i think i just take the clutch out too fast but i'm not sure, it tends to shake and rattle ( rattle is my exhaust actually ), but other times it's perfectly fine....

i dont have smog where i live, thankfully

is a burnt out ACV bad?...

whats a TPS by the way...?

and it's not more or less hard hot starts, it's more like at times it wants to be a pain in the *** and **** me off, it's done it 3times in the past 2weeks....



sorry, i'm really new to the lingo, out of the list i've given you what would i have to worry about, what seams to be pretty serious...?

the car has 178,380km's on it, anything i should worry about with it's growing age...?

thanx again guys!...

-Anthony

OneEyedJack

iTrader: (5)

ACV is the Air Control Valve. Its located on the intake manifold, and is connected to the air pump. If you do not have smog/emissions testing in your area, you can remove all of that and block off the ACV with a plate.

TPS is the Throttle Position Sensor. Usually its one of the first things to check when diagnosing poor idle. I have some hot start problems, i believe that i have leaky injectors (from what i have read)

You should pick up a Facotry Service Manual, and read the FAQ's here. You can learn alot and figure out alot of the problems!

as for reliability: its a machine. If you maintain it, it will treat you well.

good luck, and welcome to Rotary

Street Racer

yeah i've meticulously searched your FAQS pages and actually called an RX7 specialist here in calgary, he said everything sounds normal and i shouldnt worry about it.... he said i might have to change the thermostat because it's letting the car run too hot.... anyways.... one more....

when i press the brake peddle the revs die about 100rpm, is this normal?...

-Anthony

OneEyedJack

iTrader: (5)

Id assume you need a new alternator. Anyone else? I don't want to feed incorrect information.

I need a new alt and i have this same problem. I can also make my idle drop by holding my electric window switch down lol

gingenhagen

Don't want to make a mistake and insult a seasoned track driver, so a disclaimer first. I'm just throwing out ideas.

If you're new to manuals (I just learned over the summer) I think you're referring to engine braking. If you don't want that drop in RPMs when you switch from gas to brake, disengage (press) the clutch.

dorkman52000

My car does that too...I haven't gotten around to fixing it yet. Just check all of your grounds in the engine compartment, and maybe do a search because I think there's information on how to add another grounding strap. I don't know too much about electrical, but I believe that's caused because your electrical system is not grounding itself properly or something. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but if you clean all of your grounds the problem should go away.

OneEyedJack

iTrader: (5)

i think he was just referring to idle dropping because of the draw on the electrical system when applying the brakes.

dorkman52000

That's what I understood...oh yeah almost forgot, welcome to the forum, and good luck with your car! These cars are great and will serve you well if you treat them right. This is my second RX, and I learned from my first what I would like/need to do to my car.

Street Racer

yes, the idle drops about 100rpm when i'm stopped at a light or sitting there and put on the brakes, the tach and that, their light also dims slightly.... i'm sure it's nothing serious to worry about, i mean if my car stalled every time or even once when it did that, then yes, problem, thanx for the welcome to the forums guys!, i hope this car is good to me as i am with all my cars!...

-Anthony

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like a bad/sticking BAC valve. (search)

gingenhagen

My bad. Sorry about that.

Street Racer

BAC valve?, this is for which problem, the idle one?... sorry again, whats a BAC valve and how much would it be to replace...?

-Anthony

Street Racer

by the way, is there any way i can tell if i have low compression?, are there any signs or is getting it tested the only way...? thanx again....

-Anthony

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

BAC valve is for the idle problem. Search.

To test your compression, get a compression test done. Search.

Snrub

iTrader: (1)

Yes the BAC valve has to do with the idle. The first thing you want to get is get a Haynes manual so you can find/test the BAC valve. Canadian Tire can order one in for you and the larger ones often have them in stock ($20). Used BAC valves are fairly cheap. You'll learn quickly that Mazda charges obscene amounts for most parts so you'll probably want to find other ways to get such parts.

As for the compression test, there are various "how-to"s out there, but the bottom line is you need a standard piston engine compression tester (which can also be obtained cheaply while you're @ crappy tire). You want to remove the valve that holds the peak reading to make it work for a rotary.

Street Racer

interesting.... yeah i got one of those haynes manuals, it's helped a bit already, i know that i needed a relay for my heater that would have cost me approx $80, so i said "skrew it" and put my heater on a toggle switch, it was a quick fix for the time being.... hmm.... my car seams to run pretty decently, just starts rough and idles lower then normal ( 1500rpm-2000rpm when started ), but when it's warm it runs great, so mabe i dont need a compression test ASAP..?, other then that, i think i'm just a wee bit scared to take a compression test for some god-unknown reason....

-Anthony