as you can see this is my first post, because recently i found a 91 rx for sale. im getting an incredible deal on it, but i wanted to see if there were any typical problems this generation has around 80,000 miles. the engine has a complete rebuild with less than 1000 miles. im buying the car from a friend's friend, so trust isnt really an issue.

The car isnt actually running, it cranks and the starter is trying to start it, but ignition never really happens. we're thinking its either the fuel pump, fuel filter or a distro coil went bad. many thoughts?

thanks for your help, i cant wait to get this thing in my driveway

 

How much is an "incredible deal" $$$?

 

well before buying the car i would try to find out what actually is wrong with it..... if it's going to call for a rebuild then maybe it's not the best for you money. If you don't mind letting us know, how much money are they offering it to you for?

 

sounds fishy

 

probably flooded. Read the FAQ and do a search. you can pull the EGI fuse under the hood, and if that doesn't work try pushing it and popping the clutch.

 

I have never heard of anyone push starting it when its flooded. If it won't start because its flooded how will that help? As long as the engine is turning it shouldnt matter whether the starter is turning it or the transmission. Im not trying to be an ***, im just wondering.
Pushing the gas down and then cranking has always worked for me

 

I've had my car severely flooded before and I found that push starting unflooded it while popping the fuse didn't. I didn't want to mess with ATF. Of course, most floods can be cleared by pulling the fuse.

When you let the clutch pedal out (1st gear, maybe 2nd) and the car is moving say 15 mph the engine is turning way faster than a starter could ever turn it, which is what, 300-400rpm?

 

I've had more luck with popping the clutch too. and plus it's a lot easier to do

 

i believe there was a post yesterday or two days ago of someone push starting a flooded motor

 

the "right way to do it" is to pull the plugs out and crank it, then put in dry plugs and be off....but all other ways work too. There is more than one way to skin a cat.

 

well if puttin in dry plugs were all that is needed, people wouldn't bother with ATF...

 

Yeah, just do all that bro. It's a great car, so if it's not blown, the motor sohuld be strong for quite a while. The FC is actualy quite a bit less "trouble-prone" than the Sleeker FD, but that's what you get with god looks i guess, haha.

 

well i bought it yesterday for 1000, thats the incredible deal. i figured the price justified the buy. and i just looked at the paperwork for the rebuild it was done 6/1/06 buy Lopez's garage in Hamilton, NJ.

we tried push starting it, and it sounded like the car tried to start and it burned gas for maybe a second or two but then just quit.

i did find that the large coolant hose is only bolted down with one bolt and the smaller line is leaking./ that getting replaced friday.

plus, there are about 10 plugs in the engine bay with no female connectors anywhere for them. ive never heard of that being ok for a cr before so what do you guys think?

well i gotta run to work, ill be on later tonight with more info. thanks fellas

 

oh also.....white residue all over the engine...that doesnt mean that my oil mixed with the coolant right? god i hope not. could just be dried coolant right?

 

those plugs can be stripped emissions, just a guess tho

 

those are test connectors, i believe is the right name. there is a thread with pictures about them, ill try to find it, if not can someone else help.

and this car sounds like more trouble than its actually worth. but i guess 1k is an ok deal. hope you have money to put out. if you do, congrats you will learn a lot more trying to get this car working than some people who have had their first 7 for a couple months.

 

$1000 is a good deal, but you better prepare to get your hands dirty and spend many hours on the forums researching..

 

well im hoping its not THAT much work lol. i mean with a rebuilt eng theres not much that could be horribly bad, if the kid took even close to good care of the car. i got my fingers crossed that its just flooded. im fairly confident that ill have it started by this weekend, got a bunch of buddies comin over friday morn to work on it

 

Check all fuses. Make sure that the airflow meter and associated piping is all tightened properly. White all over the engine bay means that a coolant line may have busted and coolant got everywhere.

Purchase a Haynes Repair Manual (you can get them at a bookstore or auto parts store) and keep it with you.

 

yea the coolant issue is a big one to me. i dunno how the kid had the car runnin with only one bolt on the main hose line and another bolt snapped in its hole. but eh cars are no fun without having to do work on it right? lol yea and he gave me one for free(i hate how expensive those f*ckers are) glad to hear that the white residue is just coolant and not oil+coolant.

alright so i got a checklist for friday's gathering of the idiots at my house

 

just depends on if he dogged it with the first 1000 miles or he broke it in correctly, if not you might be looking at another rebuild

 

People don't sell cars as non working when it's not that much work.
An RX-7 with a running rebuilt engine should cost about $3000 assuming the interior and exterior aren't mangled - there is a reason why you got it for 1/3 of that.

ps. I'm pissed because a guy was surprised that a boat I was trying to sell online for $5000 less than NADA guide had more than normal use. I'm not UNICEF, if the boat had the same qualities as what that NADA value was I would charge what the NADA value is.
BTW: perfectly running 1998 Mastercraft Prostar 2470 hours

 

yeah sounds fishy to me aswell

 

well only time will tell. and i just looked at the paperwork again, and the kid who i bgought the car from didnt have the rebuild done, in fact he only had the car for about a month or so, but it was running two weeks ago. tim, the kid i bought it from, apparently buys and sells cars all the time. well keep your fingers crossed for me on this one fellas, we'll know by tomorrow.

 

ok got some news on the car. we got it to backfire after doing the deflooding techniques, except it only backfired once we took the EGI out, cranked it for a few secs and after reinsurting the EGI it would then backfire. Just cranking it without doing that whole procedure didnt make it backfire.

so that makes me think that we got it unflooded but something else is keeping it from starting. through the ECU we found that the intake manifold pressure sensor is bad but im almost positive that wouldnt keep it from starting. by using a spark checker we found that there is a fuel system problem but thats pretty vague. im thinking i have leaky injectors but that also wouldnt keep her from starting, that would just flood the engine, no?

we did get it unflooded (i believe) and did the ATF technique which had it backfiring and pouring white smoke. the little walkthrough we got on the matter explained what the car would do throughout the whole procedure except it didnt actually start.

the plugs were a little fouled, but they didnt look horrible to me, but nonetheless they are getting replaced tomorrow.

what do you guys think about this? im hoping my injectors are fine, they are kinda pricey. ive got my fingers crossed that it just something stupid like bad spark plugs or something like that. later fellas

Sean