Well I bought my 2nd RX-7 not knowing the clutch was going to give in. RX-7's from what I've heard from everyone is a bitch to take care of, even with a job. I don't have a job, I owe my bro $200, clutch is basically gone... I have huge amount of time to get this thing fixed. What I'm scared of is, should I keep it? Work on it? Learn about it?

Engine has been rebuilt so I won't have to worry about that for a while... Starts, runs fine, clutch is gone...


What should I do? Keep it or sell it? I love this thing to death. But is it right for me?

 

It's just the clutch, not really a big deal at all. A stock replacement is cheap enough and only some simple tools are needed for the replacment, except a pilot bearing puller but there are ways around that. If a clutch going out makes you want to sell your car a 7 isn't for you.

 

It's not that, it's when people say this thing is impossible to take care of which bothers me...

I'm going with my gut on keeping it.

 

diy clutch job with a stock replacement kit is cheap as hell. run you $200 or under if you do it yourself.

it's not impossible to take care of.

but its old. stuff WILL break. and you will need to spend cash to fix it. and you might even find yourself with a dead car now and then.

 

Read, learn, and get used to tools. The car is at least seventeen years old at this point. It's a great car, but you will run into the same problems as with any 17+ year old vehicle.

-bill

 

I could send you a clutch. I have like 3 I'm not using. I don't know if they are good but I can probably send you all of them.

 

Clutch job is pretty straightforward, only downside is that its time consuming. Nothing overly complicated, taking out bolts and pulling the tranny out, just takes time.


The rotary is a finicky beast, you have to stay on top of things in order for it to be happy. Unfortunately, most of the time that means pulling out the wallet.

 

I`ll give you the $200 you owe your brother for the car lol

There should be a write up on the forum in the 2nd gen section on how to do it. If you have the time to do it and have the tools then I say go for it. Post up a WTB ad in the classifieds section asking for a good condition FC clutch. NA or turbo depending on what your car is.
Good Luck!

 

God I love the forums, every one is so very helpful. I'm way more confident on keeping this car.

 

How bout this then........................ It will catch fire at some point

 

eh, I'm not so much afraid of that since I'm not doing anything to make the car combust like that

 

if you remove it, use a trans jack. also, check the archives for the clutch job writeup.

 

ahha my clutch went out on me the same night i bought the car...WHILE ON THE FREEWAY....so i had to wait for the tow truck on the side of the road for more than 2 hours....just sitting inside the car....thinking to myself....wow this car is mean.....

 

Will do!


hahaha, I have a similar story, when I bought my first seven it was a GXL 86 N/A, I didn't jack **** about the rotary and a seal went out while driving it home... I was like ******* head gasket! Thank god I came on to these forums, I don't think I would have found out what a Coolant seal was in the first place.

 

My cousin was in the same boat you're in, having his first RX7 while still in High School. Too many problems with it though, even though none had to do with the motor. The clutch was sticking, no AC, messed up interior, messed up shell, and some other stuff. He ended up investing about 2 grand into it, and selling it for like 1200...

 

Yeah I had that mistake. This was funny. I trade my 77 dodge truck for my 7. Well we had to get it push started. We drove it home and we got pulled over because there was so much white smoke coming out of the exhaust at that time.lol. So when we got pulled over he told the cop and we got out of the ticket. Then we tell the cop to see if he can give up a push start so he rams the 7 and goes about 20 and we pop the clutch and get on the high way. I had a headlight and a tail light out. Not only that the brakes didn't work.lol. So we had to down shift and hand brake it the whole time. That was a fun night.

 

Interior is clean, Shell is fine, came with Enkei Rims , Rebuilt motor... Just need the clutch and I'm good. Has Original paint look at this.




Can't beat $200 and a Desktop computer trade for a car like that

 

200 bucks and a computer...lol! seems like the seller just wants to get rid of the damn thing....good save..haha

 

2nd generation RX-7's don't take more work to take care of. It's the 3rd generations that are trouble. The issues are often twin turbo related.

At the same time, the condition of all 20 year old cars varies greatly. If the car's in good shape then keep it, if it's not then don't. If it just needs a couple repairs then fix it.

 

Yeah I will be keeping it!


Yeah he was into Subaru's and STi's and all that BS... He's like "Idk wtf a rotary engine, nor do I care, just give me what you got and take it away!"

 

I was looking to buy this car from you but it looks like you want to keep it.

Good Idea

Honestly just read as much on these fourms as you can. I've been reading since november and i've learned so much. I always try to talk to my friends about 7's and they're like "Idk dude...that rotary seems like too much work"

Just try and learn as much as you can about anything on these fourms. Everyone is nice and pretty much will help you as much as they can.

If you fix the clutch and you still don't want it let me know. I'll buy it and drive it back to nor cal. haha.

Good luck!

 

Haha yeah dude for sure! There is so many people reading! Here are some more pics of the car, I took them today.









Ugliest dent ever...

 

You want to um sell me those tail lights.lol for your clutch.

 

Haha, I would totally send it to you if I had something to replace them with. I have no money what so ever :[

 

if you've never owned one before and you've only been wrenching for a little while, a 2nd gen non turbo will be a handful, but manageable. I hope you have a backup source of transportation.

Dropping the tranny isn't bad, although I initially found it difficult to get the slave cylinder bolts off until I used 1/4" ratchet with a universal joint and an extension I think. When you pull off the tranny bolts make sure you label each one and draw a picture of where they go because they are all different. And use extensions and a universal joint to get off the tranny bolts.

When you are pulling off the driveshaft, mark it in one spot so you know how it goes back on. Also I found it really hard to get the driveshaft off even after I had removed the bolts, until I used a rubber malet and wood chisel to break it loose from the joint. Also use this as an opportunity to put some Redline MT-90 fluid in your transmission which should improve shift quality a little bit.

When you put the tranny back in, of course double check that you put the clutch stuff in properly. I found it easier to get the tranny to line up if you jack up the crank pulley of the engine which tilts the motor down a bit.

Oh, and use a **** TON of pb blaster on all your bolts (especially exhaust) and let it soak overnight before you start wrenching.