grimple1

iTrader: (1)

i'm just gonna throw it out there.... tps? Sounds like engine is good to rock.

Tafumi

Thanks for the information Dale.

I took out the clutch switch. I'm assuming this is it:



The little white button was barely peeking out from the screw housing. When I removed it, the button completely receeded into the screw and won't come out. So if it wasn't broken before, I broke it. Assuming that the above is the clutch switch. It was the only thing there.

EDIT: I just took the switch apart. The spring inside of there was broken into 4 different smaller sections all kind of tangled up with one another. I'm not entirely sure if that's normal or not, but that's what I'm working with here. Now I need to figure out the part number so I can order a new one from Mazda on Monday.

Or just find a new spring. Which is probably cheaper. Suppose tomorrow I'll be doing a Home Depot run or something.

Tafumi

Well, the clutch switch seems to have done the trick. The car still is a little rough when starting, but now the shifting is smooth. I replaced the spring with a spring from a ball-point pen. It works, but I don't consider it a true fix action. I'll probably call up Malloy tomorrow and order a new one just to play it safe.

Still a stupid amount of exhaust fumes. Just doesn't seem natural. I'll have to give her a prolonged run and actually drive around a bit to see what else is screwing up. I got an oil leak somewhere that devloped about a week ago but it's a tiny leak. Over the span of a week, only 3 or 4 ounces of oil (guestimation) has leaked out. But it's those tiny leaks that get you. I don't see black smoke anywhere (don't even see it boiling off the engine or other hot parts during operation.) It's coming out from somewhere under the UIM on the drivers side. It's running down the spark plugs of the front rotor but it's not coming from the spark plug holes. Somewhere above that I can't quite see because of said UIM and associated elbow is in the way. I don't look forward to taking it off and subsequently pincing all kinds of vacuum hoses when I put it back on.

Back to tinkering with me. She is still a little finicky on the idle so obviously I haven't completely eleviated the problem.

grimple1

iTrader: (1)

if there are exhaust fumes in the cabin then it's due to an exhaust leak. is it a stock exhaust? what cat/exhaust/dp do you have on it?

BigWillieStyles

does it blow smoke after the car has warmed up? NO, if so then its just condensation.

chuck up a vid!

Tafumi

The exhaust is stock as far as I can tell from referencing pictures on the net in comparison to what I see on the car.

The previous owner did no work to the car, but the owner before that had it sent to Rotary Performance in Garland TX for engine work. The engine was rebuilt from what I have on paper. But there are other things I can see that were done to the car. The AST is missing and some of the vacuum lines are plugged with bolts and whatnot. A boost gauge was installed, though it doesn't work worth a damn so I replaced it with a GReddy gauge.


The car only blows smoke for the first 30 seconds or so. It's white, and as I said in another post, I figured it was just condensation burning off.

I have her sitting in the garage and I open up both the garage door and another door to help ventilate the room when I start it. Within a minute, my eyes start burning (provided that I have the door open.) The fumes aren't coming from inside (or leaking into) the cabin. Again, that is so long as I have the doors closed and the windows up.

I did a brief look-over of the exhaust when I had the car jacked up a few weeks ago and it's rusted pretty badly. I think my next stop is to take a look around. It's not as bad as it was before I replaced the spark plugs, but it's still pretty rough. Even if I bring it outside of the garage, into the open, it still burns my eyes. But there is no visible smoke or anything once the condensation burns off.

kao393

my car has the same problem/symptoms ,and i am saving up money to fix it.

rough idle, exhaust smells like crap, and my gas mileage was like, single digit.

turns out to be a blown LIM gasket.

BigWillieStyles

if the car has had performance mods, i highly doubt it would have a stock exhaust

grimple1

iTrader: (1)

wait are you saying that it burns your eyes outside the car? then that's normal. rotaries stink. seriously. we kill brain cells with our exhausts.

Tafumi

It's only outside of the car, and it's coming from that exhaust. Maybe it is normal but I'm not used to that level of exhaust.

Glad Florida doesn't have emissions testing I suppose.

You don't just kill brain cells with that stuff, you can kill small woodland creatures on contact with our exhaust.

I'm still going to take a look at the exhaust system. Eventually replacing all the sections because I like it when things are nice and neat and new.

shifterkartracer

I had that same exhaust/rich smell condition on my FD when I bought it in Sep07. My uncle who is a mechanic said that there was a leak in the UIM & LIM. I changed out both gaskets and now the smell is very faint to almost none at all. It doesn't make my eyes water and it's not embarassing to take girls out on dates in my car anymore lol!!!
give it a shot...just my 2 cents...

Tafumi

If there was a leak for my UIM/LIM, the smell would like be coming from under the hood right? Mine is coming right from the exhaust tip. At least, that's as far as I can tell. It starts in the back and wafts its way to the front of the car.

I'm going to push the car out into the open air and start her up. The wind should help me better locate exactly where it's coming from without the confines of a garage that pretty much hot-boxes the place and makes it impossible to do as such.

Honestly, I'll likely take it to a local shop that specializes in exotic cars (to include the Rotary Engine) and see what they can hunt down for me. I'd rather not take it to the dealership and pay dealer prices.

shifterkartracer

The smell was coming from the exhaust. I think that the theory behind it is that if you have a leak in the intake side=more air, therefore the computer has to compensate for more fuel... there wont be any smell in the engine comapartment since its sucking in air...

It fixed it for me so I just wanted throw it out there...

Tafumi

Hey, at this point, anything is worth a shot. I'll order some up new gaskets to see if they're the culprit.

Tafumi

Ok, more info. I drove it a bit.

Because I wasn't in the garage, I was able to see exactly how long the smoke comes out. And it's constant. Ran it for 10 minutes in the driveway and it was putting out smoke the entire time. However, you wouldn't really notice it unless the car was still. In motion, you wouldn't notice it.

When gas is applied, the smoke get's thicker for the duration that gas is applied. It's a white smoke. However, when gas is initially applied, you see a nanosecond spurt of black smoke followed by continuous white smoke. The car was sitting there for a month. I don't think it's simply condensation burning off. Unless there's an crapload of water in there. I may try adding more gas into the tank to dilute any water buildup that may be around.

The car no longer goes into a goofy idle when shifting. The clutch switch was the culprit there. However, the car still goes much more bonkers when you give her gas and let off than I once believed it to. Driving it helped figure that one out. Regardless of what gear you're in, when you let off the gas, the car drops down to the 300-500RPM range and almost dies. But it never fully dies.

Under the hood, coolant is now coming out from under the pressure cap and it's boiling off. I didn't notice that before due to poor lighting.

As well, I just identified that there is a gurgling noise (like bubbling) coming from under my UIM. Reading over some other post briefly on the subject - air in the coolant lines?

My father came by and said the exhaust smells like a combination of normal exhaust and burning coolant. However, he has no idea about the idle.

Outside of the idle when the throttle is let off, there are no other issues with the car in terms of idle or vibration.

I'm not registering any coolant leaks anywhere. Not that I can see at least. This gets more and more confusing as time goes on.

Tafumi

More stuff. There's no radiator coolant in the car. None. I pulled the dip-stick out and it was bone dry. Also had this muck growing all over it. Like caked up dirt and oil mixed together or something. Time to flush the radiator.

Tafumi

Amendment to the post. They got this "you can't edit a message for 30 minutes" thing that's preventing me from changing my above post.

1) Opposite of what I said, when gas is applied ~ the smoke THINS - not THICKENS.

2) There is coolant. Just none in the tank just above the passengers side headlamp.

3) There is a strong odor (that smells like what's coming out of my exhaust pipe) coming from somewhere between the alternator and the UIM. (That's where the smell is the strongest.) It's there regardless of if the car is operating or off.

danny hahn

you fixed your clutch switch no need to address that.

save your money you need a motor

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/results-not-flushing-your-coolant-686776/

Tafumi

Actually, we just found the problem. My brother came over (he's a mechanic) and did his thing. My secondary fuel injector is what's causing the bubbling sound under the UIM.

I walked in to this whole ordeal assuming I would have to change the FPD, Fuel Pump, rails, and/or injectors.

He said that's what is causing the strong odor right under the UIM, and is likely causing my idle issues when I give it some gas and let off. Even with the UIM on, I could physically see the secondary fuel injector with liquid coming out where it seals.

I guess I'm lucky the engine never caught fire. Same for the previous owner that ignored it for so long.

danny hahn

you still haven't addressed the coolant smell or the missing coolant.
You could try tightening the housing bolts but that requires dropping the trans. but no where likely to fix your problem.

Rebuild yours or get another.

yes do the fuel line stuff and send the injectors out for cleaning.