I'm a new member and am about to purchase a 1993 RX-7 touring, and i am wondering how many 3rd generation owners, especially 1993 ones, have over 50 to 60,000 miles and has successfully kept their engine in good condition. How many has not or doesn't need to rebuild or replace their engine due to some sort of failure? And if you have, what reliability upgrades (downpipe, radiator, seals etc) have you performed?

 

I'm a n00b here, too. But I can tell you that my '93 RX-7 touring has 101K mi on it's original engine, although the turbos have been rebuilt. This is all thanks to the resonsibility of its previous owners. Make sure your previous owner isn't selling it because it needs expensive repairs. Also, the RX-7 isn't just a car, it's a hobby. Naturally, you may pay others to maintain your car, but that, I imagine, will get real expensive real quick. The RX-7 will only be reliable if you maintain it properly and it demands significantly more attention that a modern piston driven car. Don't buy the car just because you saw it and thought "Well that look nice with me behind the wheel." That aside, make sure you test drive it after reading what this guy has to say. Bookmark his main RX-7 page, you will use it often. Don't be discouraged, just be warned. This car is car is like crack, I've always been curious and got hooked on my first hit. And don't be discouraged if you get caustic responses or no responses on the forum. From what I've seen, courtesy and kindness are at a premium. I guess the elite don't care to share.

Good luck! Remember, it's always easier to do it right the first time.

 

Not necessarily Jonski. It's just that a response to his question would be very lengthy and quite frankly,we're lazy..
Try Rob Robinette's and Buying a used RX-7 as well, and welcome to the club!

Hey noskid, PM me the VIN#.

 

My 93 has 94k and i've run the **** out of that thing when i do run it, i'm guessing it is just luck. I know the seals are kinda goin but hey-it happens to the best of us.

~Luke

 

I'm at 92k on the original motor.

 

My 93 touring ran 103k on the orig engine before it popped a water seal - I think it would have gone longer if it hadn't had at least 5 owners prior to me. I now have 12k on the rebuild
I have been told by MARIAH that of the FDs they have been servicing the Auto equiped cars avg over 100k before rebuild vs 85k for Manuals

 

Mine is just getting ready to hit 80K and has no problems at all.....of course, it was very well maintained, I am the 3rd owner. My car runs very strongly, it had a semi-clogged pre-cat that was causing erratic and low boost, once I put on my Pettit stainless steel downpipe, all my boost problems went away.....and DAMN did the car run better!

I have to agree with Max, I think you will find the automatic equipped cars in generally much better condition, for the price. I am banking on getting over 100K out of my engine, right now, it looks like that will be no problem.....(prays to Rotary Gods.....)

The thing is, get a GOOD one that has been maintained well and you are much less likely to have to spend big bucks right at the outset.
Or get one with a blown motor for cheap, put the bucks into a new engine, and voila! You should have a good ride with good reliability.

 

Yep, that was my goal...buy one with motor problems at a reasonable price change the motor and know where I was starting at.....Well the motor is still working ok and pulls really well. It had78 or 79k whn I got it in june and now has 83k with intermitten speedo and still on the same motor. Then I found another one completely stock all original with 71k and have 73k on it and don't expect any problems with it. The second one wasn't much more than the one I bought that was broke. Most or allot of the problems come when working on the car and something unexpected happens (leave something loose or drop something some where it shouldn't be and not know it or mod too fast and incorrectly. The web sites are very helpful but I have found some gaps in the instructions that would have been nice to know. Like how to get the water pump housing out without taking the oil lines loose off the oil metering pump .....these are little things but can save vast amounts of under the hood time. I'll be glad to post if I know I can give you the right answer and save some time and headache. Welcome to the club ...both of you.

 

If you do any work on the car, be sure to connect everything....isn't that right cantgostraight?

So far I have 72k original miles on the motor and the turbos. May be getting what looks like the start of possible o-ring failure but whatever...it'll eventually happen.

 

Mine is almost at 80k on original engine. There has been times when I get a little lazy on checking my oil and coolant. Sometimes I just wait until the warning light pops up and I've been doing it since it was at 40K. Who says RX-7's are unreliable? Maybe I'm just the lucky one. I do change the oil at every 3k miles though. I know, I know. That's bad, but I want my warranty to cover my rebuild without me actually going against what is on the contract on doing maintenance.