Magneus

Hi all,

I'm a relatively new owner of a 1993 FD, and it's having significant engine trouble.

The idle is very low and weak, idling at I believe ~600RPM (the car's been out of my hands for about a month, more on that later). Also, the idle is not smooth, revving up in bursts. The turbo gauge also bounces up a tiny bit,synchronized with the revving on idle.

I discovered the problem when I was picking up the car from a transmission specialist, and noticed that the engine smoothed out at slightly higher RPM, but I was reluctant to go above 2-3k.

Point is this, the engine is under warranty (it has ~300miles on it), but it's under warranty with a dealer down in VA, where the previous owner had the engine put in. The dealers near me in NJ are all schmucks who don't know what they're doing, and claim to not have compression test equipment. They will not believe that it's a bad engine, and thus replace it under the warranty, unless I fork over hundreds of dollars for diagnosis labor.

Any thoughts, gents? If I can do the diagnosis myself, perhaps I can use that as leverage to get them to fulfill the warranty?

Did I lose a rotor? Are these: http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/blown.htm directions OK?

The car has been at my local Mazda dealer for about a month now, and I'm just sick of the lack of progress and their incompetence/sleaziness.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.

7racer

Firstly, you NEVER bring this cars to Mazda dealers. They are notoriously bad at fixing rotors. Most don't know how and charge thousands of dollars just replacing parts until they get the car working.

Second did you check the MAP sensor?

Third, ask them that if you get a compression test which demonstrates low compression that they will do a rebuild or give you money for it so you can take it to a rotory specialist.

Finally, Rich is a good guy and he just so happens to have a mazda compression tester. I don't know how far morristown is but you might be able to pay Rich the 100 to do the test right at there place infront of them to prove it....
https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showthread.php?t=517659

moconnor

iTrader: (14)

This is prefectly reasonable - they are not going to spend $5+ installing a new engine on your word that it is blown.

However, this dealer (like pretty much all Mazda dealers) clearly knows nothing about rotaries and should not be trusted to install a new engine.

Bring it to a rotary specialist for a compression check and if it does need a rebuild, use the regional section to find a Mazda dealer in your area that can be trusted to install a new engine. (I'm assuming you are stuck with a Mazda dealer for the new engine because of the warranty, which is not ideal.)

adam c

iTrader: (2)

Why do you think you need a new engine? Because the idle is rough? 600 rpm is not much below where it should be.

Take your car to a rotary specialist, since neither you nor the Mazda dealer seem to know anything about your car.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

Just as a precautionary measure, start by looking for the MAP sensor and be sure it's plugged in properly. I'm pretty sure there is a how-to in the FAQ thread.

As well, reset the ECU (disconnect battery negative, hold brake pedal for 30s, reconnect battery).

I agree that you should get a compression test done by whatever the warranty company requires. Rich may not qualify, although his results would probably be the very best data. Don't waste your time anymore with a Mazda dealer that doesn't have a rotary compression tester; they will only make life worse. You might need to go to a rotary shop for results they will believe. Paying $100 for a compression test is a lot better than $4000 for a new engine.

Dave

MrVonWolfi

I've had my FD for several years, I bought it from a dealership with a full 1 year engine warranty. I babied the dam thing and STILL blew the motor ten months after buying it, and brought it in.....

HERES THE DEAL: They DID end up replacing the engine with a mazda factory rebuild (with 94 seals supposedly ) anyway it took quite a while. Under a Mazda Warranty, the car is inspected by the dealer mechanic extensively, if he is convinced the motor is gone, he contacts Mazda Headquarters.

Mazda actually FLIES OUT a mazda factory inspector who then runs tests to determine if it is a replaceable engine. Unfortunately this costs time and money, so they wont do this right away unless theve convinced themselves that the engine is blown. btw The inspector also checked my turbos, and unfortunately deemed them still serviceable but hey I cant complain I got a new engine installed for a grand (what i paid for the warranty).

Fact is these inspectors need to be scheduled for an appointment which can take more than a week. and of course, the dealer rarely has all the accessories hoses etc on hand that would want to be replaced with the rebuild and some of these oem parts new still come from Japan. All this adds up to alot of time my RX was down for nearly six weeks, so expect a long but well worth it wait.

I do agree the dealer mechanics can be a little lacking in full knowledge of how to really tune the fd, but, you just need to be politely agressive in insisting that the car is running perfect when you pick up your car post rebuild, or currently for you, 300 miles into a rebuild that they handled. They will feel responsible if you make them feel so, they dont wanna sit around stareing at your car in thier shop costing them time and money, anymore than u want the downtime. If you do get a new rebuild bye the way, or sevice under warranty, IMMEDIATLY after leaving the lot and inspecting thier work give it a long mellow break in drive with the radio off lol, and LISTEN and FEEL for everything ay problems in the next few weeks/months drop everthing and bring it directly to them.

Be nice, they might not like working on your fd but most dealer mechanics respect it. What i'm saying is if they **** up, its usually not because they dont care, its because they didnt quite know what they were doing. Atleast its better than some mechanics that not only dont care about fd's but also dont know what theyre doing even less, since they never see them at all!. (unfortunately when it comes to the FD this seems to be the majority of general mechs i've run my fd past)

Now where do I come off sounding so sure of myself? Well like I said I had it happen, but not only that, I ended up working at that same Mazda dealer later on, and came to know the mechs, and other dealers mechs, and saw how things worked in the shop and how they handled the FD's, including mine, that came in for service

In short, if you get the rebuild, be ready for a long wait, some money out of pocket for stuff that isnt covered under warranty that you would want replaced, (if the last owner didnt do it)and INSIST on the engine runnin ******* once ya get it back. If they try to weasel out of anything post rebuild, contact Mazda Factory Headquarters directly, if the dealership is out of line, theyll sharpen up quick if headquarters gets involved, or so ive heard from the inside...
This is, of course, if it comes down to a rebuild, and your warranty is official mazda, not an outside vendor, lol

MrVonWolfi

lol, I just had to add this, has anybody noticed the look on mechanics faces (non-rotor specialists shops, INCLUDING dealers) when you show up in your FD asking them to service it? its priceless! I've rarely seen that first overwelmed then scared and eventually puzzled : look that comes over these guys faces hhahahahhaa!!!