Hello all,

My name is Gabe and I am new to this forum. I am not new to cars really, I own mostly Mitsubishi but came over here to ask for your expertise and knowledge as I know nothing about this platform.

I have a chance to pick up an 1990 RX-7 N/A GXL. It is a silver 5spd with 88k miles and in pretty decent condition; a lady here at work owns it and it is well taken care of for the most part. However, just recently something went wrong with the engine. It drives, but won't go over 30mph and wants to die; she took it to a shop and they said one of the rotors lost compression. I have the opportunity to buy it for around $500, hopefully less if she'll take it as the shop wanted to charge her 4k to rebuild it .

Now, I have searched a bit on here and have found write ups for series 4 rebuild kits, which are fairly cheap. As i understand it, I have a series 5 motor so a rebuild kit is more expensive, but still relatively cheap (~$600?). what are the chances that the motor is still good and it is only something simple like an Apex seal? Would rebuilding the motor be the best option or should I look for a used one? I have built a few piston motors and am pretty decent about mechanics and what not. I have a 500hp Stealth TT and a 4G63 swapped Conquest so I THINK i am capable, lol but rotaries are kind of intimidating because I know little about them.

Do you all think this is a good buy? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Gabe

 

if you are mechanically competant then following the factory service manual, which can be found for free online, will guide you through rebuilding the engine without a hitch. if it is a simple apex seal that let go, hopefully it did not nick any of the housings before coming out the exhaust. you won't be able to tell if it did until you open it up. rebuilding yourself can be done for pretty much the price of new apex seals and all the gaskets, coolant seals, and rubber seals for the minimalist. 500 bucks for an S5 NA with a good/straight body? yeah i'd say thats definately worth it. if you decided not to you could part it out for more than that.

 

Atkins Rotary has a video on how to rebuild 13b engines and they sell the rebuild kits
http://www.atkinsrotary.com/store/cu...71&cat=0&page=

 

thier video isnt the best its more of a once over, while the RA video is better and more detail IMO

 

Thanks for the replies. Hopefully she will take less for the car, but I'll let you guys know. Hopefully the rotor or housing aren't damaged, I guess my best option is just to crack it open. I'll try and find that online service manual.

 

question

does it have a check engine light ?
dose it want to die if you touch the gas?
will it rev past 4K?
dose it shake violently at idle?
dose it use water?

if you know them it would help me find out if the motors junk

kyle

 

Kyle,

I will be sure to take note of that when I take a better look at it this Friday. From what the lady told me, she said that it won't idle and it wants to die. I asked her if there was a CEL, but she couldn't remember. It just died earlier this week and they haven't driven it but to the repair shop and back, so its too early to tell if it was really using water. Will try to get more info though..

 

if its useing water it blew a colant seal and therfore the motor would be blown

if it wants to die and shakes violently from idle to 3,500 rpm it could be electrical,an apex seal,or a side seal

or it could be as simple as the primary injectors not working or bairly working

(if you read up on it the injectors a problem on theas cars)

let me know friday, and hope its electrical or a/an injector

kyle

 

"Suspect a failure in the metering oil system if the rear rotor has low compression but the front is fine." - FC FAQ

what do you guys think about this?

 

Anyone? Perhaps an oiling problem is the cause? Going to check it out tomorrow...

 

Alright I went and checked the car out. Its pretty clean for a 15 year old car, however the paint is faded on the roof and the clear coat is gone on that part of the car. Everything else seems pretty good, including the interior. I was unable to start it due to a dead battery but the thing was well taken care of.

Now, does anyone have any ideas about whether it might be an oiling problem? perhaps the oiling mechanism failed and the rear rotor isn't getting any compression cause the seal is dry? Any thoughts?

Also, it looks like she may take less than $500 for it so let me know what you think?

 

If you can get it for less than $500 take it...even if the motor is bad. Rebuild it for $1000 or so putting you around $1500 in the car total. Pretty ood deal if it has good interior and a straight body.

 

That's what I was thinking, the interior is not bad at all. Seats are good, dash is good, just needs a good cleaning. All the options work except the rear wiper. Body is damn straing with only one door dent and and the motor looked real clean. Car has never been wrecked and only has 88k on the ticker.