i think the engine was bad to begin with. i couldent get a solid idle. it was at 700rpm. then it lowers to about 550rpm. im driving down the street with my foot on the throttle and all of a sudden there is no response from the throttle. i pull over and it dies and wont start up. im just gonna save up for a rebuild. but does anybody know what might have caused this? what i really want to know is what i need to do to preserve the engine untill ive saved up for the rebuild. approx 1year!

 

well the first step is to verify that the engine is truly dead. do a compression test on the engine first. then you can make an educated decision about what to do.

 

sounds like a clogged fuel filter

 

yeah, sounds more like a fuel issue to me as well, if your car is an NA, you can drive around on 1 rotor, its not fun fast or fuel efficient, but popping an engine can be driven. Check to see if you are getting fuel or spark and get back to us.

 

or your fuel pump crapped out, it feels the same either way. Thats what happened to me. I was on the way to the hospital to see my mom cause she was haveing surgery, my car sputtered lost power and cut off. Then it wouldnt start. It turned out that the fuel sock fell off of the pump in the tank and the pump clogged up and died. then a week later same thing, only the fuel filter was clogged

 

thank you all very much for your help!!!!!!!!!!!
ill get back to you all as soon is i finish the compression test. im just low on cash so its gonna have to wait. how much are the piston engine compression testers?

 

you can get them at Walmart for like 25 bucks.

 

or harver fraight for like 8 buckz i got one it works good..it let me know that my rubuilt i just got has exacly 0 psi on da front rotor...

 

I had a similar problem with my car and it turns out there was corrosion on the throttle position sensor contacts! I cleaned them up and it ran as right as rain. Just my two cents. Good luck man.

 

alright so i ran a compression test on my rx7. i did the poor mans compression test and the apex seals are intact. i also ran a compression test with an piston engine compression tester and both rotors are pretty close to 100psi. i also cleaned the contacts of the tps. the car will not start!!!! i think im going to replace the fuel filter and inspect the fuel pump. is there anything else that would cause my engine to not start?

 

did you check the plugs, my 7 fouls them out from time to time if im not driving it regularly.

prolly would be a good idea if you've not changed plugs and wires yet, to do so.

(poor mans spark check) you can check the plugs by disconecting the injection fuse in the main box, pulling one plug at a time and attatching it to its corisponding plug wire, ground it against some raw part of the engine block or somthing atached to it (IE acc. stud, ac compressor, etc...) and have some one role the engine over and visualy watch for spark.

-prolly a good idea to wear rubber or senthetic gloves while doing this
-make sure its got a good ground to the body of the plug, or you'll get a nasty suprize (i've got it several times )

good luck

 

hey thanks man thats exactly what i was thinking ...change the spark plugs!!! i have a 95 land rover discovery that had a bouncing idle. i changed the plugs and the idle is rock solid.
the spark plugs in the rx7 are fouled and before it "died" it had a bouncing idle. so im going to replace the spark plugs first and then troubleshoot from there.

 

i forgot to mention this earlier. when i removed the leading spark plugs (lower spark plugs) and listened/felt for the pulses of air, there was what looked like brown water coming out of the spark plug hole. what was that? blown coolant seal?

 

i believe so... i kno when my motor was craked open it had what looked like dark applesauce in it. i also had a bad coolant seal, dunno if theres a connection tho.

 

i changed the spark plugs with brand new bur7eq and bur9eqp. i also replaced the wires with NGK wires. it didnt start. the tach was bouncing as it was cranking.


it wanted to start a couple of times. the rpm went to about 600 but then shot back down. that happened about three times. what do u guys think i should do next?

 

get a timing light and make sure that you have spark through all 4 wires. if not, could be coil packs, could be igniter. there are directions on how to test both in the fsm i believe. also check fuel components (pump, fuse, relay, wiring, etc.). possibly starter?? although the starter wouldnt cause your earlier problems, poor starter/battery will result in hard/no starting of course.

 

ahh it started!!!!!!!!!!! i just replaced the plugs and wires and added gas. i had tried to start it so many times with no luck. it must of burned up all the gas i had left.

my idle sucks!!! and tips on how to set a rock solid idle?????

 

lol, the infamous idle problems. i still cant get mine to idle smooth, Lmao!

 

Search for "idle problems". Your looking at a number of possible problems. Anywhere between bad TPS to a bad BAC valve to a vacuum leak. There are a ton of threads that cover this.

 

haha, you had no gas....i had a friend who had that happen and he called me cuz he thought he had a bad battery. so i get half way there to give him a jump and he calls me back saying nvrmnd, he put some gas in and it was fine....haha