Newbie question:

I have an 87 RX7 Turbo II with 87,000 miles on it. The body is in great shape, so is the interior. The clutch is going out, however, and I'm losing compression big time, leading to lots of flooding and not much power. My guess is that the previous owner let the car sit too much (when I purchased it, he had it in his garage with a cloth cover over it, indicating it didn't get regular usage). There are a few other minor things, like the driver's door not opening from the outside, but nothing else major.

I'm trying to weigh whether it makes more sense at this point to get a rebuild from Rotary Resurrection or to get a remanufactured engine from Mazda, installed through Mazcare in Atlanta. And I'm trying to weigh these two options against the possibility of simply selling the car, which is not something I'd prefer to do.

The thing is, I'm pretty limited when it comes to being handy with mechanical work. I do love the RX7 (it's my second one), however, and I hope to keep this one. So basically, I'm just trying to get a sense of how much mechanical aptitude (regular maintenance, TLC, etc.) would be required to keep it in good running shape if I get a rebuilt or remanufactured engine, and whether at this stage of the car's life it's worth it to put that kind of money into it.

I realize that "worth" and "value" are subjective, but I'm assuming everyone here has the expertise to have a sense of how much money and mechanical skills would be needed to keep my car on the road, how much additional life I could expect after putting the money into it, etc. Thanks for your input.

 

In a sense, the cheapest route is to send it to Kevin at Rotary Resurrection and he seems to have a good reputation. The reman engine plus the labor of another shop putting back in the engine would be pretty expensive.

You can get the 13B engine removal video at Rotaryaviation.com and see if you have the mechanical skills to do so. It isn't too hard removing the engine as long as you have the proper tools. I guarantee the hardest part would be putting it back together so just label everything.

For good measure. I'd say $2000 is enough in case you need to replace other things or extra tools.

 

When i first bought my 1st 7, some 10 yrs ago, i couldn't even change the oil. I've now replaced & rebuilt everything but the tranny. Start small and then grow. it's really not that hard.

 

If the car has been left sitting for a long time, it could just be carbon lock. Since oil is injected into the combustion, there will be carbon from the burnt oil.
If it's not driven and revved, carbon will cake itself into the apex seal and side seals. When that happens , compression will be lost. 87,000 miles isn't much at all.
What blows motors on a turbo motor is blown apex seals. The motor shouldn't be worn out with that low miles.
You might try this and check compression again:
Inject some ATF fluid (about 2 capfuls into each rotor) into the spark plug holes and turn the motor to coat the rotors. Let it sit for a day to loosen the carbon if it is carbon lock. Be warned though as it will smoke a lot when you start it up so do it somewhere not too congested and do it at night so smoke isn't too visible. Rev it a few times and smoke will disappear after a few minutes. Take it for a drive and check compression again.

 

Mechanical skills and the tools. Not everyone has a 700 pc craftsmen set sitting around his/her house. not to mention all the electrical tidbits.


Rebuild's arent that hard to do yourself. Think of it as a big lego project. But this time you cant have any leftover parts..


And on the expense issue. You own a Rx-7 not a honda civic, it could become costly.

 

That could just be the rod that's attached to the door has fallen off or the plastic that holds the rod is cracked.
Just change the door handle but those things are a pain in the *** because there is very little room to stick your hand from the inside. But that could be the only reason since the door isn't electronically opened

 

Thanks for all the responses, everyone. I'll try the ATF business and see how that works. If I do end up needing another engine, I'm leaning toward Kevin at RR since I've heard so many good things about him. But I suppose worst case, $2,000 to $3,000 is a helluva lot better than getting rid of it and buying a different car for $3,000....which would probably have its own considerable set of problems.

How big of a deal is clutch replacement? Mine whines when I've been driving for awhile. I'm guessing this is no simple task.

 

It could just need a transmission oil change.
You never know WHAT the previous owner did to the car so change all fluids when you get a chance such as trans oil(Redline MT-90 or BG ), engine oil and filter (no FRAM), spark plugs (NGK)and coolant( Prestone with mineral water 50/50).

 

Mineral water? I think you mean distilled water.

James

 

Yea, that's what I said, distilled water