Well, I went out test driving today, and well.. the car looks great.. BUT... I do has a couple hesitations that I wanted to get a second oppinion on. After all, rx-7s are only fun when they're runnin'.

My main concern is with the engine (ouch!). It goes through the warm up sequence just fine, but the idle does seem..... not up to par with the smoothness of my old protoge engine at idle (I use this as an example because it's the only other mazda I've owned). Should the rotary feel as smooth as a same year Mazda 4 banger? Should it be a tad rougher? The idle stayed steady for the most part, but it did have some issues with low first gear (rolling around the dealer lot after test drive).

Next question involves the air conditioning and it's effects on engine RPM. When I turned the A/C on at idle, I noticed the RPM shot up from 750 to ~1500, and then pulsed slowly, but randomly from idle to 1500 and back down. When The A/C was turned off, while at idle, the engine nearly stalls (~100rpm) and then returns to the regular spot. Is this normal for it or something sounds a bit off with it.

The last thing is that the mufflers are rusted through. Grrrrr. Loud as hell and sounds rough to boot. But because of this, I can't tell if the sound is the engine being wonky or just the exhaust note being messed up. How much would I be lookin' at to replace the exhaust anyways?

Other than that, the car is beautiful. Interior is nearly mint (black, shiny, no cracks, all lights, switches etc eorking like they should). The outside is very nice, although a bit is peeling (Not too bad for the price, spoiler is a tad faded as well) the lamps/tail lights were clean, rust free. The engine was very clean, with the only exception being a little bit of rust on the very lower part of the engine/cat(?) round a bolt. Transmission is nice, notchy but only compaired with the old protoge. No signs of bad synchros or other nasty bits. If the engine had been purring like I expected, I might be posting pics right now...

Anyways, tell me what you think, and how much you think it should be worth (If I try to get it, I've still got to negotiate a price..).

-ZenFox, Future RX-7 owner.... unless his lotto numbers are right this time.

 

well price depends on year and if it's turbo or not. the idle thing is not normal, it should go up when you turn on the ac but not to 1500 and should not bounce sound like it might just need some tuning and tps adjust and maybe clean the bac though other than that sounds good see if the dealer will tune it up for you to fix this b4 you buy.

james

 

While the idle isn't normal, it's not uncommon either.
It sounds like a bad BAC (Blow-by Air Control) valve.

If it's a Mazda dealer you're buying the car from, I'd negotiate into the deal correcting the idle.

 

1.Idle should be dead smooth at around 725(to 775)+/-20rpm and smoother than any Protege,even 2002 models.
2.The "holy"exhaust can induce vibration as you sit in the car,but if you check under the hood the motor should not move much(it is not RollsRoyce smooth).
3.When you put the A/C on,it should idle up to about 825rpm.Similarly when you turn full lock on the steering wheel it should idle up.In both cases it should drop smoothly back to ~725.
4.I assume that 1st gear around the parking lot it was jerking around somewhat.If this was the case,the most likely culprit is the TPS(but there could be other causes).TPS adjustment is easy.
5.Try and get them to pay for a proper compression test using an electronic recording tester.Gives you some idea of seal integrity etc.
6.Check condition of oil,filler cap and tube--you are looking for crap and sludge,condensation etc.Similarly conditon of coolant and overflow tank--Is it full of sludge and oil contamination.
then decide.