I've got an 88' vert, N/A. Recently I noticed that under load ( hills) a throaty moan was developing under the hood. Overall did'nt appear to be a problem , was kind of sexy. Then a bit later I noticed a loss of power under load. Time marched on & now the loss of power is extreme, I can barely get it up my driveway. Step on the gas & she will howl up to 4 grand & then start to choke & approach a stall. She idles O.K. & seems to be ok up to 2K revs, after that she moans. My training says look for the simplest or most recently changed.

* I've checked the plugs, seem to be ok slightly carbonized but nothing unusual. Cleaned them up & reinstalled.
* Removed the K&N air filter, fired it up-no change except louder howling!
o Suspecting I may have lost an injector, I checked the plug connectors. Seem to be functional & connected.


My guess is that it's a fuel delivery or massive vacumn leak problem. I can't locate any blown hoses or whistle noises. What's your take on what to check next.

 

check your apex seals, ha

 

Hey, c'mon, I already took one zanex this a.m. & now you've got me feeling all depressed again. This is one of ATKIN"S finest rebuilds only 35K on this puppy. Tell me it aint so.

 

clogged cat...........

If it was a vacuum leak it would idle funny if at all.

 

sounds like my ex wife

 

clogged cat? that might explain why it came on gradually. Is there a fast & dirty way to check. All of the exhaust is new, with the exception of the cat. If I can gauge by the intake air she seems to be breathing fine. I was leaning towards a fuel delivery problem. Enough to idle & feed the engine to 2K but not enough when you ask for power under load...

 

Does it have the stock main and primary cats? If so, I suggest getting those replaced ASAP, I think most of them are done by 130K. You only need one though, if you have a header get a 2.5" cat instead of the stock size though, otherwise just get a new pipe from the manifold to a replacement cat with an air injection port.

Shouldnt cost too much if you order the cat online yourself.

 

Unbolt the cat, get your ear plugs and go for a drive! Or just look down the inlet of the first cat and see what's there.

 

Check your tps. Similar thing is happening to me right now, but not as extreme. In my case, the tps wont hold the correct adjustment (the 2 LED thingy). I can set it to spec then go for a drive. She will pull normaly full power for a few moments, then go out of adjustment and bog out and nearly stall.

It might be worth a shot checking that out.

 

My first RX-7 started making a really sweet sound like the one you described when I had just got it. I couldn't drive it on the street so I started it every so often and revved it up. My friend and I were saying "This thing sounds AWESOME!!" About 2 minutes later, the exhaust behind the main converter just FELL off and it became incredibly loud...

Vince

 

clogged catalytic and/or problems with secondaries.

 

I recently quiered the forum " she's moanin". Loss of power eventually led to no start at all. Adjusted the Throttle position, no go, then I dropped the cats and bingo shes up & running. My question is what do I look for to determine that the cat has clogged. I got the rear cat down today & it looks fine, nice grid of material, lots of small holes no sign of it being plugged. I'll get the primary down next & take a look. If I decide to tunnel it out should I do both, primary & secondary? If the primary is toast, should I just do that one. I've been told that the engines won't perform properly without back pressure of the cats on line, is that true? Whats the best tool to use to perform the deed of coring out the cats? .......lee

 

My engine performs fine without any cats, although a little less low rpm power(in exchange for a little more top end). On my other cars I used a big *** pry bar to break through the material.

 

Done, done, & done for now Cleared the cats front two looked clogged, the third looked pretty clear. Bolted her up and same crap. So off comes the 3rd cat , tunneled it out & we're sailing. Alls back to normal with the exception of a backfire coming off 1st & 2ond. That I'll live with for a while. Anyone got an answer as to weather the rotary is designed for the backpressure of the cats. Maybe that would esplain the backfiring.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE HELP & SUPPORT, SPREAD THE LOVE

 

i think you need a new battery...son

 

Can't say I get your drift, pardner

 

My engine performs fine without any cats, although a little less low rpm power(in exchange for a little more top end). On my other cars I used a big *** pry bar to break through the material.

 

FYI, I had a similar circumstance of groaning and moaning from the clutch/fan after I upgraded the radiator. The fan shrowd was sooo close to the fan that it was rubbing bigtime. The replacment radiator was about an inch wider and consiquently the fan shrowd was closer to the fan.

 

Well we beat this one up pretty good....problem solved for now, but anyone have suggestions for replacement cats. I don't like the way it growls now with all the cats bored out. I also miss the low end torque. I assume I only have to replace the one primary cat with the air inlet. Any expertise on exhaust replacement. All exhaust after the cats is new high flow duals. ........rxinator