I know the subject sounds rediculous, but it is the only shot I have at getting my engine replaced/rebuilt under warranty. I have low compression in both housings and the warranty company has their asses covered every which way. I talked to one of their reps on the phone yesterday, and he said "the apex seals are covered so long as the car has never been overheated and there has never been a lubrication problem...the engine is not covered if there is noticeable damage on the housing walls...normal wear and tear is not covered."

Bastards. What are my options here? If I put in some 87 octane and hit boost, the car will detonate and then what? Will the seals simply shatter? Based on what the representative told me above, what do you guys think? I really need this to be covered by the warranty or the car must go...

 

The problem with blowing an apex seal is that pieces of it will likely fly through your turbos and damage one or both of them.

Also, how many miles have you put on this engine?
How was the compression test done?
What exactly were the results?
I hope you're not scamming this company, and if you aren't, why don't you threaten them by tell them that you will post your experiences of their workmanship on a very popular online RX-7 forum. Be sure to give them the URL. If they don't comply, then post the details of your experience with them.

 

86.5k on the stock motor, the comp test was done at the dealer using the "real" rotary compression tester that reads all faces of the rotor. The results were:

#1: 6.4 6.5 6.5 ----not too bad for housing 1

#2: 5.6 5.2 5.6

I guess I am somewhat "scamming" this company, if you want to look at it like that. I bought their policy last year for about 2 grand and was told that it is "the same as a bumper to bumper warranty from a dealer". I read over the contract and it seemed pretty fair, with the exception that normail wear and tear is not covered. When I went to make the claim, they said that I had to pay for the labor to have the motor removed and torn down, then they would have their rep come look at it and then decide if they would cover it. I dont have the funds to run that risk.

I realize that the seal will probably damage the turbos, but will the seals breaking damage the housing walls at all by scoring or warping them in any way?

 

I don't know if I would take this approach. If you do you run the risk of them finding this thread and discovering that the damage to your Apex seals was intentional.

Too bad about the warranty issue. I personally think that you are S.O.L. trying to get warranty on a worn engine. Even if you do break your seals, I don't think that they will cover the wear to your other components. Good luck!

 

hmmm... if they gave you a warranty on a used engine/chassis, but excluded repair due to normal wear and tear, just who's getting scammed here?

Sorry, this just seems a little strange to me. What would they have repaired, anyway? Squeaks? Air pump? FPD burn job?

 

Spurvo, that is exactly what I am saying. They cover their asses with their backwards wording and this-means-that phrasing. It's BS. I feel like I have to make them pay somehow.

 

Ok, but cutting the antiknock as you mention as a way in WILL destroy the turbos, and who wants that? And to answer your question, breaking the apex seal will scar the **** out of the housings. ALL of them. And the turbo. Did I mention that?

On top of all that, why the rebuild? Bad compression numbers, or bad performance? If it just doesn't have power, but still starts and gets you around, wait till you can afford a rebuild. If it's not your daily driver, then park it till you got the money. If it won't run and it's you daily driver, well, maybe you need to buy a beater. Wasting turbos for a rebuild... I don't know.

Hey, can you describe/explain this used car waranty thing? I've never heard of such a thing. Sounds like free lunch...

 

my friend back in the day ran a dp/midpipe on his fd on 89 gas and it was fine

mike