94rx7speed

hello, i am new to the forum and new to RX7's. i had the chance to drive one halfway across the country a few years back and have been looking to get one since then.

i just bought a 1994 RX-7 that is not running quite right. i bought it at a discounted price, hoping that the problem isn’t that serious. here is a description:

the engine only has 20,000 miles but:
1. there is a lot of white smoke in the exhaust
2. the exhaust manifold gets red hot and the engine compartment starts smoking (oil is leaking from somewhere)
3. it has stalled out a couple of times
4. i took apart the air intake box and found oil on the inside on the air filter (cant figure out how it went against the air flow)

i am guessing that there is an oil leak somewhere, and maybe a problem with the exhaust system getting clogged. Any ideas on what the problem is? Or ways to narrow down the options? Thanks.

Rotarded

Hard to say without ALOT more information.

My gut instinct says possible turbo blowing oil causing the smoke, and if it still has stock pre-cat and main cat, they might be clogged due to the oil blowby and backpressure causing the manifold heating and engine stalling.

94rx7speed

thanks for the reply

ok, so the turbos are bad? can this happen after only 20,000 miles?


the exhaust is stock. Is clogging a common problem? If it is clogged, do I have to replace the whole system? I have heard that this can be worth doing, because you can get rid of a cat, is this true?

broken93

Sounds like you are in need of some major help. Without a whole lot of details, you're probably not going to get a lot of replies here. Your best bet is going to be to

1) Park the car and put it on jackstands. If you haven't blown the motor already, driving it with questionable systems (especially leaking oil/extremely hot parts, which shouldn't be) are sure to cost you a motor soon. Perhaps by spending some time fixing whatever's wrong you won't have to rebuild an engine. Aside from this, if it's a '94 and has 20k it probably has been sitting for long periods. It's a good idea to go ahead and flush and replace ALL fluids to establish a baseline - diff fluid, tranny fluid, coolant, oil, brake/clutch fluid, and so forth.
2) Familiarize yourself with the turbo system and the various engine controls so that you can start troubleshooting.
3) Plan on doing the "reliability mods" while you've got the car off the ground. I'll bet that in replacing the vacuum lines (which will, by necessity, educate you on how the turbo system works), you'll find out what's wrong that's causing your oil leak and possible lean condition (hot manifold).

I would check the PCV system first for your oiling issues. A clogged or incorrectly assembled PCV system will cause oil to spill out of the turbine oil seals, causing a lot of oil smoke from your exhaust. That aside, your turbos may have failed entirely.

On your hot manifold, it may be due to a fueling problem if it is getting that hot at idle. If you suspect a lean condition for any reason do not boost the car; you're sure to eat an engine in the process. Another likely cause is a clogged pre-cat (this is a known point of failure).

You need to read the sticky newbie links and FAQ's posted at the top of this forum. They link to other sites like Rob Robinette's site and Scuderia Ciriani. I suggest you set aside an entire day just to do some reading, and don't let impatience get you out in a questionably-running car... it will end up staying on jackstands for a long, long, time if you don't fix what's wrong with it first.

broken93

It certainly can happen after 11 years.

93type-x

I had a similar oil thing with my twins,- oil throughout the air system- this all looked to be from the area of the front turbo. And the vac lines were all brittle too.
93 model with 82,000km on it and no sign of a rebuild, so I did my reading up and went single. not saying thats the only option, it just suited my needs

Si

rc51king

i had enough white smoke to clear out all the the skeeters in the neighbor hood then i had to buy new motor. listen to broken93 be patient and do your reading