Hello everyone , iam new to the rx7 club. I just got my first rx7 a couple of weeks ago .Its a 1988 gxl with about 108,000 miles and everything is original. Iam startign to have problems with it .So i have some questions that i need answerd to help me out plz.Every time i start it up now it throws out white smoke not to cloudy you can see threw it but everytime i start it up it seems to do it . Plus it smells like its burning oil when it starts up. So whats the problem ? does my egine still have life ? really dont have money for a rebuild .

 

good luck my friend. try to go easy on her. try a tune up, all new fluids and wish for the best. how does it run after it warms up? Pics please.

And welcome to the Club

 

Well i changed the oil and put a new filter on. Thats about it, well after it warms up it doesnt smoke only for a little bit when you first start it up.I warm it up for about 3-4 mins before i drive it everytime .It runs ok to me , but i really dont know what kind of power it should have .Thats my problem, I just dont think its making the power it should be .

 

wait 10min

 

I would say it's getting near time for a rebuild. Better start stashing money.

 

S4 N/A aren't that fast stock. Take it from me. I own one also.

 

The owners manual will tell you that the car burns oil. It has OIL injectors for the engine unlike piston engines. A few things you can do................

Check the first 2 precats (catlytic converter) and see if their clogged up. Chances are that they are clogged. IF so just hollow them out and run the main 3rd cat. My first 7 I had this problem.

Do a major tune-up inc plugs, filter(K&N intake air filter) wires, fuel filter, coolant


Fix shifter bushings---Chances are these are worn. How does the shifter feel?

SEARCH and welcome to the club!

 

It sounds like the engine is just getting tired. As long as the white smoke does not smell sweet, then it's just oil burning off.

It may run for another 100K like this, it may start burning an insane amount of oil tomorrow. There's no easy way to tell.

Don't do this. It's a waste of time, fuel, and is bad for the car.

The NAs aren't very fast. It's hard to communicate something abstract like this over a text message so we really can't tell you how fast the car should be. Look up the stock 0-60 spec in the FAQ and then check it for yourself.

 

These are the consequences of buying a 7 with so many miles...

Sorry, but I'd say it's rebuild time. Look in the archives, there's a step-by-step instruction on rebuilding the engine.

If you don't feel like rebuilding, you could always buy a parted out engine online and install it. OR, you could buy a parted out engine, and use THOSE parts to rebuild your old engine.

Think about it!

 

O thats another problem the shifter is really loose. The sring is comply gone and the bushing are broken . So the shifter is really loose so pretty hard to drive . Plus i think i have some trans problems i have some excessive nosie coming from that region.

 

the loose shifter aint that big a prob, takes like 5 min to change bushings. and what do you mean by excessive noise?

 

Yeah a sloppy shifter shouldent make it hard to drive at all. I have brand new bushings in my 7 and its just as easy to drive my friends 7's that have no bushings at all.

 

new owners We have all been there don't worry

 

probably oil controle rings. does it smoke if you hold it in nutral at 4rpm for over a few secconds? if so. dont panic. the smoke will go away. but that jsut conferms your oil controle rings are week. i drove mine for 3 years with them like that with no issue but smoke on start up and smoke at high rpm.

if thats not the issue. well maybe your just flooding a bit on start up. my tii floods on start up cuz of some tuning / sensor issues. its white smoke. and smells funny.

 

The shifter is a very common issue. See the FAQ.

The transmission noise is likely the input shaft and/or bearing. Very common as well. Might be fine for another 100K, might fail tomorrow. If the noise is consistent and is not increasing in volume, you are probably fine for a while.

 

hey i am new here,, just got a 1990 GTU w/122+++ miles and have the same "loose" shifter prob...but my shifter shoots out oil/grease or some liquid from the base from time 2 time.......(no shifter boot, also puts out a good bit of heat from the same area)any advice lol