I am currently in the market for an FD. What scares me is the shocking number of FD's I find that have had engine bay fires that are for sale. What causes this? Can this be prevented and fixed? I know that you have to do your research before getting one so that's what I am doing. I tried the search but came up with nothing. This engine bay fire thing is probably the only reason why I am not diving into an FD for the moment. Please help me out oh wise FD owners.

 

Welcome to the forum.

BTW, I typed engine fire in the search and got 263 hits. You need to read through those.

The major causes of engine fires on FDs is leaky fuel components such as the fuel dampener, injectors, or fuel lines. These parts tend to fail on higher mileage engines due to heat. They will fail earlier on cars that aren't running a downpipe, again, due to the heat.

 

WATER leaks also cause fires ???? Yes the anti freeze burns . The early water hoses could not take the heat. The newer upgraded water and gas hoses are more heat proof. Get your car and upgrade the hoses and other things needed and then have fun with it. Do not sit and worry , get up and join the fast riding doers .

 

If I'm not mistaken, there were recalls for the fuel lines. You can always check with Mazda to see if the recall has been performed.

 

You mean there are turbo cars out there with NO oil or coolant lines and they mount injectors under the car? I gotta get me one of those!


I agree with number one and number two without question. Number three I disagree with.

 

So if you have a turbo rotary where the inlet and exhaust is on the same side of the motor the only reasonable thing to do is plumb the turbo to the opposite side of the motor and then put it on top of the hood so the injectors and fuel system are no longer above the turbo?

You are completely correct in your points and certainly correct again in that the FD has many heat issues. Unfortunately I don't see how you could avoid these once you make the decision to turbocharge a rotary engine.

 

This is one of the funniest things I've read in a long time!

I think that is what tbielobockie is saying, as ludicrous as it sounds. Now THAT would be a stupid design!

 

Even in a piston engine setup, you still have to get oil and coolant to the turbos, and the turbo is located in the exhaust flow.... so how are you supposed to locate the oil and coolant lines away from the exhaust?

As far the FD's rubber hoses, is it a big deal the change them every 50K miles or so?

And I'm not sure what kind of FD you have, but on mine, my fuel, injectors, FPR, etc. are not located right above my turbo, as you say. They are actually quite a ways away from the turbos, tucked under the UIM.

Regardless of whether the car is an FD or not, turbocharged or NA, whenever you have a fuel leak under the hood on top of an engine, there is a good chance of an engine fire. The issues with the FD have been tacken care of by the recalls.

 

Yes, rotaries run hot, especially turbocharged rotaries. Yes, this bakes the rubber lines, and causes them to age and become brittle. With a little preventive maintenance, and a few strategic mods (like a downpipe), this issue is eliminated. When you own a high performance sports car, you can expect to do a little preventive maintenance.

I don't understand why you even bought an FD, let alone still own it when all you do is criticize and complain about it's design. You like the car's look, it's light weight and handling, but want a more reliable drivetrain? I hope you have good luck with your LS1 conversion, but your constant criticizing of the FD powerplant is getting a bit old.

 

Very true! Thats the reason I will try to fab up some kind of cooling system. I know you guys have noticed the small space behind the 2nd turbo. Thats a perfect spot to put in a small cooling fan to blow air downward on the turbos and intake manifold. Provided this will work best with a vented hood but you guys get the idea. I'm currently thinking about using a cooling fan from a computer or something similar.

 

 

The design isn't all that bad... It's how the car is driven...

I really don't think that our daily driving is what the FD was built for. Though that was the target, and thats what was done with it...

I bet that a FD that lives it's life at 100MPH for periods of time [not sitting in traffic, having burnout contests, sitting in the drive-thru in 95 degree summer heat, running on 91 octane, having newbies install boost controllers and crank it up to beat their friends mustang etc.] will have far less heat related problems then the ones we drive all the time in normal conditions. With NO airflow..

These cars are also 10 years old... things are going to deteriorate in 10 years.

Hell, I know FD's with 15K miles that have the proverbial "Clunking in the rear". It's gotta be age!

 

Maybe you should put that on a resume and go work for them?

 

You're the type of guy that makes un-educated people not want to buy one of these cars. I used to be like that till I read the possible problems that I could run into and the causes.

I'm selling a 2000 Celica to buy a '93 Rx7! Why? I ask myself that at times. But I know it's got the power I want, looks, and aftermarket backing that I'm after.

If you do the needed upgrades you shouldn't have any problems. I'm learning what ALL I need to do but I've already got my upgrade list ready. You really need to upgrade the cooling system, change the hoses, get rid of the twins and get a new exhaust. I know that's not all you need to do but it's a start. And you gotta remember to compensate for those upgrades with plenty of fuel.

Piston engine cars don't need anything more than oil and gas. Lazy *** people would hate an FD, hell they'd hate any rotary powered car. But maintanance on this car isn't much different than on a piston engine. Both need the oil changed, coolant etc... An FD needs the turbo or turbos checked (all turbo'd cars do) and needs the hoses checked for leaks or cracks. There doesn't seem to be much more to it than that.

 

You're comparing the FD to a car that costs like $20K more! What do you expect? I know, that's not an excuse for poor engineering, but like everyone knows, the reliablity issues with the FD can be solved with a few simple mods. As far as the reliability of the M3, I can't say much because I know very little about it, but I seem to recall Car & Driver's long term M3 (I think it was the M3, could have been another Bimmer) had quite a few problems, and very costly ones.

If you're so in love with the M3, why don't you sell the FD and buy one? I still can't figure out why you are so obsessed with making the FD look like a pile crap.

 

People wouldn't like this car so much if it broke all the time. My main concern is a point that you made earlier. The thing is 10 years old. I'm not worried about the engine going out on it. It's the little things that worry me. But I know many daily driven 7s. Regular maintanance will keep stuff from breaking.

 

This is an apples to oranges comparision! You know its un-far to compare the reliabiltiy of a turbo charged car to NA one! Remember, the Fd was the first production vehicle to ever have a sequential turbo charging system. Therfore, being the sacraficial lamb, you can't expect the system to perform flawlessly(especially in its first few years in production). After all, all cars with new technology will have various problems in their first few years of production(the Fd and M3 are no exception). Notice how all the reliability issues were fixed in japan only after our cars were pulled from our shores.

You stated that your M3 is going on its 5th year. So I would assume that you have a 98 model. If thats the case, then why are you comparing a car thats been in production for a few years (remember all the bugs should have been worked out in your car by now)as opposed to a car thats in its first year with all its new and unproven technology?

Now about that comment about the 2nd turbo having to come on line. Everyone and their moma knows that to get the most out of the fd in a road course, the driver has keep the rpm's above 5k. Anyone driving around at rpm's lower than that don't know how to drive an Rx7! Period!!

 

FD Crazy:

You're contemplating buying a 10-year-old car with a compact engine bay. All engine designs necessitate compromises on fuel, electrical, and mechanical system placement within the engine bay, and it is very easy to focus on any fuel system compromises because of the spectacular results of component failure.

ANY aging vehicle should be checked for problems before you buy it, and if you are concerned about the condition of the fuel hoses and FPD, have a mechanic familiar with the FD check them out pre-purchase. If it helps, buy a fire extinguisher for peace of mind. I have one, but I've also had one in almost every other car I have owned.

Also call Mazda and make sure that the fuel system recall was performed on the FD you select.

For what it is worth, the two FDs and the FC that I have owned in the past 10 years have, combined, given me much less trouble than the '93 BMW 325i I owned in 1996, and I wouldn't buy or recommend a BMW now because of my experience with that lemon. All production runs have flawed cars, but many more un-flawed cars have flawed owners. Make sure you don't buy from one of them...

I personally find that driving a turbocharged engine (particularly a rotary) is more enjoyable than driving a piston engine of equivalent power. You'll find that many (but obviously not all) FD owners feel the same way.

Consider that even those owners who profess, constantly, to hate certain aspects of the car still find the balance of the package worthy of continued ownership. Good luck and I hope you decide to buy one--just check it out well before you buy.

 

Phlanigan.

Proof that post counts don't mean diddly when it comes to knowing what you are talking about.

 

Sour grapes.

The FD's only real fault is that it wasn't sold through a luxury "brand" with more expensive trim on it like an NSX, Viper, or Ferrari for $80k so that its owners wouldn't think twice about the demands of keeping it running right.

I'll agree with the earlier post. If ya don't like it, buy something else... nothings perfect. I know the underlying point with all of your posts anymore is that all of us should just wise up and attempt a V8 conversion. Its tiresome... at least JimLab realizes that he's doing something that isn't for everyone, and doesn't show up on every mechanical problem post to spew venom about it.

Maybe i'll cruise the Corvette C4 forum and tell em all they should attempt a chassis conversion to get a nice lightweight FD around their great V8s to make up for Chevys design-flawed heavy pig of a golf-club hauler for the comb-over crowd.