Time for Sale?
 

We bought our '94 FD new (Sept. 1994). It now has 112,500 miles on it and its original engine. Last night it rained, and the heater/defroster filmed over all the windows in the cabin with what looked like coolant. So my guess is that there is a coolant leak in the heater core or in the pipes connecting. The 1994 manuals say to remove the heater unit one has to remove the dashboard and the A/C unit to get to the heater. This involves removing the refrigerant, draining the radiator, and a whole mess of inside-cabin work.

In addition to the above, the engine seems to be losing coolant to the universe (besides the heater core leak), and I'm guessing it needs an overhaul to replace the coolant seals, etc.

I've managed to keep the (wife's) car running for 22 years mostly by myself, but would rather not do all this work. So the question is, should we have the car overhauled and the heater core leak repaired and keep the sucker, or sell it? The car is almost stock; the only mods I've made are reliability stuff, plus a Bonez downpipe replacing the pre-cat. It has no problems passing CA smog testing, gets "standard" rotary mpg, and runs well. The body is the "Popular Equipment Group" package with metal sunroof.

Any estimates of $$ to overhaul + repair the heater core leak? How about "as-is" guesses of the current value of the car?

Do you like the car? If so, how much do you like it because it will cost you some money.

A '94 CW even with a bad motor and heater core will fetch a good price, but if it was me i'd put the money into it.

If you have some money that you don't need in the near future, then I would put the money into fixing it. Especially if you and your wife enjoy the car.

I also own a 94 CW FD and they are becoming rarer by the day, 2nd only to the CYM. If you don't have the expendable cash to fix it, then I can see it getting about $9-11k depending on condition of exterior/interior.

shoot me some details if you want to sell it :D. *serious *

To replace the heater matrix isn't as bad of a job as it sounds to be honest, the dash comes out pretty easy on an FD. I'm not sure about the value of stock FD's in the US, but they're starting to rise quite noticeably over here, might be worth fixing and keeping :icon_tup:.

On RHD cars you can remove the heater matrix core without disturbing the evaporator core, is this the same on an LHD?

To replace the heater core, you'll need the dash out. It's pretty straightforward, but you'll need patience and a clean space.
If it's just the hoses, I think you can get to them behind the evaporator, which you can remove through the glove box area(but with the dash in if you get the glove out).
You will need to drain the AC(evap) and drain the coolant(heater) either way. Filling the coolant is easy enough, and you can pay a guy to do the AC once it's rolling some afternoon.

A nice stock chaste white car is becoming a rare find, even in PEG. 94+ cars in general are getting kindof rare. You could get low 20's out of it with some patience and a detail, I think. But, you might regret it!

Here's a similar car for sale now.
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...miles-1107560/

I'm in the same age demographic as you are wstrom, so I probably 'get it' more than most. Hard decision. Is there a trusted shop in your area? That would be a big factor IMO.

As others have said: Do you like the car? Do you want to keep it?

After almost 20 years of ownership, you should consider yourself lucky to have gone this long without a rebuild. A rebuild with new turbos could set your back 10 grand.

Do you want to keep the car?

22+ years, actually. Wife's car; she wants to investigate repair cost in this area. Will look around for that. Am concerned over quality of rebuild. Most places I have seen online are not in CA.

Indeed. And I don't know how to determine "trusted!" I've done most work myself, except for fuel filter replacement (Mazda Huntington Beach), and some very early work back in '94-95 on EGR problems.

I vote for getting everything fixed. After owning if for 22 years you will regret selling it.

+1 Park it for a month and see if you miss driving it

Keep the car man, the prices of these are starting to go up substantially. Ever since Mazda revealed the RX-vision concept and the rumors for the RX-9 came out less and less people are selling and more people have been garaging their cars. I'm sure as soon as Mazda reveals the concept RX-9 the prices will suddenly rocket.

I appreciate all the responses, thanks, folks. No decision yet... will be climbing under the dashboard to see what I can see, and if I can ever get out of there, I'll have more insight into the extent of the problem.

wstrohm,

Since you asked for opinions.

I realize that you've had this car since 1994 and this is going to sound really dumb but I'll say it anyway: This car may no longer be for your household and maybe you should sell it (if the issue isn't a rebuild). Because at 112K miles a rebuild may or not be required today, but one is coming and coming soon. Never mind that you are also due for additional issues (unless you've already taken care of them). Engine harness, turbos, clutch, etc... So what I am saying is that if you don't have the love for this car anymore it may be time to let her go as more problems will come down the pike.

Why do I say that? Well because you began to question your ownership at the first potential sign of a rebuild. And that's after 22.5 years of ownership... Another reason is that you live in the LA metro area where there is an abundance (relative term) of rotary shops nearby. So having someone with a decent reputation do it shouldn't be a problem and rather easy. To put in perspective: I drive close to 140 miles to see my mechanic and I wish I could say that I've only had one rebuild done, or two... But I love this car and unfortunately it comes with the territory.

If you want to prolong the inevitable, you could bypass your heater core.

Swapping an engine isn't that hard if you have some mechanical ability. The hard part is finding the time.

Montego,
Because I have mostly done the work on this car, I have little knowledge of what shops have a decent reputation. If you go 140 miles to your mechanic, where exactly do you go?

This is my wife's car (I bought it and maintain it for her) and she wants it fixed unless the cost is prohibitive (I consider $5K reasonable). I have yet to obtain an estimate, but have only written one e-mail so far. Don't know who to ask! As for doing this work myself, I might be able to fix the heater leak (my body doesn't really bend in all the right directions anymore) but an engine overhaul on my own is out of the question for lack of the proper tools, space, and motivation.

It's a tough choice, for sure. The hassle factor alone is...formidable. I'm now 56 years old and frankly, have next to ZERO inclination to do another rebuild...and I have the garage and all the tools to do it pretty easily.
Cost is another issue, of course. It's been several years...probably more like 10, lol...since I did my rebuild and I put close to $8K in mine, between the new (Mazda reman) engine, the teardown and port work and rebuild with all the 'good stuff' done to it, new(er) turbos, new radiator, every hose replaced, injectors cleaned and blueprinted, etc etc. Same thing today would likely be close to ten grand.
And at the end of the day...you STILL have a nearly 23 year old car that, frankly...has had the world pass it by. Oh for sure, there will never be another car like this, it is indeed a special, special car and I can't imagine NOT having mine but still...go check out say...a Mercedes CLA45, Jaguar XE R-Sport or Audi S3. The level of performance is superior to the FD and the fit, finish, and amenities/gadgets will blow you away. The point being, at 23 years old basically, it is...old.
Now throw in you've got to do some work, fairly easy but nasty, hassle-fied shitty work. It can make you think seriously about simply selling it to the kid down the block who's lusted after it ever since the first F&F movie came out.

bajaman,

Nicely written... thanks for your thoughts! I have yet to look under the dash... if I can fix the heater core (?) leak without removing the dash (manual shows core dropping straight down out of the unit) I might try it. But... you have 20 years on me, and if it would be a hassle for you... !

Is anyone familiar with Jeff McCall's "Rotary Power USA" in Gardena, CA? He says he has been in business 31 years and has worked on thousands of rotary engines and hundreds of RX-7s. Sounds like he would charge a bottom price for a complete overhaul of $7K "plus unknowns"... my words, not his.

i would definitely sell it, its worthless now. i think you could get at least $5k for it

PM me i have the cash

Repair it quickly. That leak is likely making its way under the carpet and into the padding. I am speaking days not weeks since you defected the leak.
If it's a stock black carpet it's no longer available new. The longer you wait to repair this the more expensive it will get. Old car electrics don't like moisture either.
I would have had that dash out and cleaned up on day 1 even if I didn't have the replacement part in hand.

I am local to Jeff and have talked to him a couple of times. He is a nice guy and super knowledgeable with these cars, he doesn't seem to do much of the work anymore from what I can tell, I have stopped by his shop a few times.

If it were me with that car, I would contact IRPerformance and see if there is a brand new motor left and get that delivered to you. Then a local shop can do the swap, Rotary power, Neptune speed, DNA garage, take your pick really.

If clean the car is worth 10k fast sale 13k slow sale.

The repairs over the next 20k miles will be 10k plus

That's all you need to know :) Good luck :icon_tup:

keep it man, the value is just going to go up.

Wife wants to have it fixed, so we will go that route if its reasonable. Thanks for all your comments; we do appreciate them.