Hello everyone. So I just back from AIT and I bought an 87 RX7 base from a used car dealer. Paid 3k for it. Ive been driving it for less than a week and yesterday the engine has started to act like a V8. When driving on the highway it has moments when the engine will lose power, jerk, and act fine again. but yesterday and the day before, it has started to jerk hard and when i push the gas the it just sits there and starts to jerk hard again. Last night I had to baby it home cause it wouldnt go over 3k and floorin it just caused to jerk violently.

It still has the 13B in it, with 144k on it. No swaps have been done. I also noticed that the fuel consumption has gon WAY up. I have some ideas as to what it can be. No spark, bad fuel pump, and the worst rebuild the engine.

Now I have no intensions of sellin the car, so i need to know how much it will cost it rebuild the engine, and time. Or would it more cost effective to put and "new" engine in it. I have been wanting to do a turbo 13B swap before I bought it.

Thanks Guys.

 

So I just got back from drivin it around for the last 30 to 40 mins, and it acted fine. no stalling, jerking, no V8 feel. I did froget to mention that last night I looked underthe car and saw the exhaust was cherry red hot from the header to after the cat. could it have been a cloged cat?

 

^ yes. The cat has probably had it after 144k miles. Replace it with a high-flo, or just a straight pipe.

 

If you bought it from a used car dealership look into the lemon laws and get your money back.

 

$3K is a typical price for an 87 base RX-7 in EXCELLENT condition. The conditions you described are not acceptable for the money you paid. Take it back to the dealership and have them fix it. I recommend explaining the situation to your NCOIC or 1SG to see if they can help, and maybe one of them could accomany you to the dealership when you ask them to fix the situation. It is always nice to have somebody with you who has "been around the block a few times" and can show the dealership that you mean business. If the dealership is near your post, they will know that your commander can put the dealership off limits to all military personnel, which would cost them WAY more money and trouble than fixing your car to the level representative of the sales price.

Just FYI, next time you should check with this forum before you buy an RX-7, and it is a good idea check with your NCOIC or 1SG any time you intend to make a major purchase such as a car, house, etc.

Most small rotary shops will charge $2,000-$5,000 for an engine rebuild, depending on whether any of the major components need to be replaced. They could rebuild the engine in a day, but it will most likely take longer due to staffing, ordering parts, etc.

A turbo swap is not cost-effective. If you want a turbo RX-7, then you are financially better off selling your non-turbo RX-7 and buying a turbocharged model. However, some people don't care about what makes more financial sense, and will take on the project themselves just because they enjoy it as a hobby.

My recommendation is to drive a non-turbo RX-7 until you make E5. Also, remember that any car you own must pass regular safety inspections if you want to drive it on post. If you are on active duty, then it is a good idea to keep your car emissions-legal because you will probably change posts every 24 months and you could end up in an emissions-testing region.

I am not aware of any such law which applies to used cars in his state.

 

but will a cloged cat cause the engine to not go over 3k? or cause the car to jurk?

 

im not sure myself, i just hope Aaroncake comes in soon to set you straight, yes 3k for a fc acting up is way too much. A 3k fc should be perfect!

 

A clogged cat will choke the engine at mid to high RPMs, so take the advice that's already been given to you.

 

Ok so I went drivin today, I have changed what I do before i drive. before I would start the car, let it run for 30 sec or so and leave. Now I let the temp guage start to rise then leave. I also put in 91 oct instead of 87 oct. would that have and effect on how it runs?

I did notice that when the car was struggling it sounded like a pistion engine with a blown pistion. any ideas as to why it sounded like that?

 

So...you haven't checked anything yet (such as the cat/precats)?

And using 91 octane is pointless on an NA. It's rated for 87 octane, so you're just wasting money by using anything else.

 

Dude, just pull your cats off and gut them. Likely, it's all stock under there and it's probably got rust that'd scare most small children... So really you're not losing anything by gutting the cats to see what effect that'd have on how it runs/drives as you need to replace the exhaust at some point regardless.

Also, check your grounds. Aaroncake's site (IIRC) has a write-up with these amazing things known as pictures, that will help you a lot.

This is a real shot in the dark, but it sounds to me like clogged cats and/or pre-detonation?

 

So I guess your plan is to take as long as possible screwing with it yourself so that you have zero chance of the dealership taking care of the problem? Well that's certainly brilliant.

Higher octane will help the engine run better if it is detonating, but non-turbo engines do not have detonation problems unless they are totally hosed. If your engine sounds like it has a blown piston, then it probably has a blown rotor. Regardless of the actual problem, a car in the condition you describe is worth about $500, so if you don't have the dealership take care of the problem then you are letting them take you for $2,500.

 

Back From the long forgotten archive dead!!!!

Ok Evil...

No I didnt follow your advice... beacuse Im a stubborn E-3, you seem to know about the military. So I desided to throw money into it, look at new sig to see it all.

Jump ahead after all of the parts are on, Im driving and the studderding happens. I pull over, pop the hood, go for the Trailing Rotor 2 wire, pull it off let it ground out and it acts fine.

Then one day I do the same process and get shocked like 3 times. It stopped long enough for me to get to work. When I pull in to work it starts acting up again. So this time I open the hood and start looking around. Deside to start pulling connections off, First on I pull in the BAC connection... goes down to idle. plug it back in, acts fine. Wait about 5 mins starts acting up again, pull the BAC connection and leave it off... about 15 sec later it dies.

Now is there any way to clean the BAC? I know coolant runs threw it, not a problem as I can easliy get more from work.

OH, Evil, Im NG so im here at home.