Hi, I've been lurking on these forums for the past month or so and trying to take in as much information as possible.

I drove an fc last night, and there were a few problems that couldn't justify my buying the car on the spot.

1) Clutch needed a bleed. There were supposedly air bubbles in the lines, so it wasn't grabbing as hard as it should have been. As a result, it was easy to grind into 3rd and reverse. Owner said he could have this done by next weekend. Would the bleed help out in the grabbing and grinding aspects?

2) Hard to shift into first from a stop. Owner recommended that I go into 2nd, and then into first to make it easier. Don't know if this is normal.

3) Shifter feels sloppy and weird. I was told by my cousin that this is normal, and is just the way the FCs are. Is there any way to fix this, perhaps with a short shifter or something similar?

4) Peeling paint in some areas. Mazda paint back then was bad, I know that. However, there appears to be a bit of rust around the sunroof, as well as a tiny bit around other areas of the car.

5) Front crossmember appears to have been bent, and then bent back into place. My cousin suspects that it was involved in a front end collision.

Other than that, the car is not TOO bad, just damn hard to drive at this moment. They claim that the motor is a rebuilt unit, with 20k miles on it and it still has the warranty. The turbo was also rebuilt. Intercooler looks fine, car boosts fine and runs fine.

 

If there is air in the line it would make it difficult to put the car into gear and the peddle would feel soft and would most likely only work when the peddle was near the floor. bleeding the clutch is very easy if all the parts are in good condition and can be done in a few minutes time


A lot of manual transmissions regardless of make tend to be difficult to put into first gear unless at a complete stop or when RPM matching on the down shift. How ever if the clutch needs to be bled or is worn out then it will be more difficult then usual


Most FC shifters feel sloppy, usually due to worn out shift stick bushings or they are missing the bushings altogether. A short shifter may help as long as the “socket “the shifter sits in is not worn out of spec


Rust is common on FC sunroofs and as far as the paint… well it is what it is


If you are worried about the crossmember then take it to a shop and have them look at it

And as a final note… When buying a used car that you are unfamiliar with it is best to have a mechanic that knows what they are looking at inspect the car for you

 

Thanks a lot for the info. I just asked my cousin to come along with me, since he has worked on numerous cars and has owned a fc turbo II in the past. However, do you recommend that I have a more "professional" mechanic look at it? Maybe I should find a shop that can take a look at it before I make my decision?

The seller is asking 4500 for the car, 4800 with an extra re amemiya front bumper. it has around 130k on the chassis.

 

from what i've seen, that's a price for a good condition s5 TII, not one with the problems listed. IMO, if you're gonna pay that much i would say hold out for a little better.

 

I have to agree with Twilight... That seems to be a little pricey for a car with such problems. I suggest not to be in a hurry to buy one and in the meantime look for a reputable shop that can perform a prepurchase inspection, well worth the money when spending more then a couple grand... more then likely the owner is a forum member... see if you can dig up some background on the car

**edit** when i say reputable shop i mean one that is both knowledgeable on the rotary and will do a thorough inspection

**edit** What does the car have done to it..etc?

 

hmmm, I don't think the owner is a forum member. Do you think you could point me in the direction of a reputable rotary shop in the bay area, ca? I'll look around a bit on these forums too.

As for the car, all it's completely stock, except for a hks turbo timer and blitz ss bov.

 

here's a picture of the engine bay:







bad quality picture, but it looks like it was involved in a front end collision. Is there any possible terrible damage that could have come of this, or could that part just be replaced?

 

IF that thing is bone stock I would pay 4.5k for it(aside from those minor mods).
I mean c'mon, isn't it like $65 bucks for shifter bushings? Clutch bleed is the cost of buying some fluid to bleed. Swap the tranny fluid with some Redline Synthetic, should help a lot. And IF the cross-member situation is fine, then BAM! Great TII for less than 4700 dollars. Rip that turbp timer out, water-cooled turbo's don't need them anyway

 

I see, will leaving the turbo timer in cause any adverse effects?

 

No, it's just not a necessity. Having a bone-stock S5TII is a rariety.

 

I understand. Thanks a lot!