Time for Sale?
12-01-16, 12:48 PM
#28
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.
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.
And yours is about as simple as rebuilds get.
glad to hear
12-02-16, 01:37 PM
#31
Jeff is well known and I spoke to him about 15 years ago when I was shopping around for a builder but I didn't go with him as he seemed a little pricey to me. To be honest, $7K minimum for a simple rebuild due to a coolant leak (undamaged internals) seems very high. Call other shops and compare.
And yours is about as simple as rebuilds get.
12-02-16, 02:04 PM
#32
Recovering Miataholic
Thread Starter
Still exchanging e-mails with Jeff... wife is getting a little impatient. Add $800 if he fixes the heater core problem, unless it's only the O-rings... in that case less if they can be replaced through the glove box area. Otherwise it is a massive job, according to my '94 Body Manual.
12-31-16, 12:41 PM
#33
Recovering Miataholic
Thread Starter
Update
We have an appointment with Yoshi at Neptune Speed in Huntington Beach for January 9, to fix our '94's heater leak. We also asked him about an overhaul, but he has 3 RX-7s in queue for that operation; no possibility for probably 9 months or so. His price for fixing the heater leak is $504 (probably plus parts), which IMHO is reasonable for that task.
The leak only occurs when engine is running, so our car has been in the garage since discovery of the leak. But we still have to drive it a couple of miles to get to Yoshi's shop, so there will be quite a few towels on the cabin floor under the heater for that trip. If we are lucky, it will be only O-rings and not the heater core...
The leak only occurs when engine is running, so our car has been in the garage since discovery of the leak. But we still have to drive it a couple of miles to get to Yoshi's shop, so there will be quite a few towels on the cabin floor under the heater for that trip. If we are lucky, it will be only O-rings and not the heater core...
01-10-17, 06:40 PM
#34
Recovering Miataholic
Thread Starter
Yoshi has determined that the heater core is leaking (not O-rings) and that part is NLA. So he is looking for an aftermarket unit. Is Ray Crowe likely to be able to find that part? Or is he restricted to the Mazda party line?
01-11-17, 11:46 AM
#38
I'm the one that's hooking you up with a good used one.. well. my source that is . saw your FD yesterday in person. very clean
the copper small "radiator" thing is the one that's leaking. from the endtank. have you tried to fix it before ? cause it looks like it's been removed previously and had an attempt repair . I could be wrong but when I peeked at the parts it's what it looked like to me . regardless, it's worth saving. my FD is one of the ones there having a small surgery
the copper small "radiator" thing is the one that's leaking. from the endtank. have you tried to fix it before ? cause it looks like it's been removed previously and had an attempt repair . I could be wrong but when I peeked at the parts it's what it looked like to me . regardless, it's worth saving. my FD is one of the ones there having a small surgery
Last edited by kensin; 01-11-17 at 11:53 AM.
01-11-17, 01:36 PM
#39
Recovering Miataholic
Thread Starter
@kensin,
Thanks for your info and for clueing Yoshi in on your source. No, this car was bought new by us in Sept. 1994 from a dealer, and at least while we have owned it, the heater has never leaked. I can't say whether the heater core might have been "reworked" at the factory before shipping, though. We haven't been to Yoshi's Neptune Speed house since dropping off the car, so I haven't seen the removed core.
Thanks for your info and for clueing Yoshi in on your source. No, this car was bought new by us in Sept. 1994 from a dealer, and at least while we have owned it, the heater has never leaked. I can't say whether the heater core might have been "reworked" at the factory before shipping, though. We haven't been to Yoshi's Neptune Speed house since dropping off the car, so I haven't seen the removed core.
01-13-17, 06:01 PM
#49
Recovering Miataholic
Thread Starter
Another update (on topic):
The heater core is being replaced by a radiator shop. $200 to the radiator shop. Should have the car back by Wednesday if all goes well. Our total cost will be around $800. Not too bad.
The heater core is being replaced by a radiator shop. $200 to the radiator shop. Should have the car back by Wednesday if all goes well. Our total cost will be around $800. Not too bad.