Sprockett:

It's unfortunate that you have had to deal with these problems. But, IMO, owning an FD before you are financially secure in the world is a bad call -- despite the fact that over 50% of the FD owners on the forum probably fall in that category. I am not singling you out in any way, just pointing out the obvious....

You can't blame these incidences on the rotary engine. Your first engine went at 118k, that's better than is typical (and I've seen a LOT of GM V8s need serious work before that mileage BTW). The "second" engine probably didn't have anything wrong with it and shouldn't have cost you anything but time. This "third" engine might not even be blown, and if it is, it is most likely due to an improper install.

Now, lets compare that to you wanting to install an LS-1. The car WILL be down for months. Guaranteed. It WILL cost you over $10k to do the install. So, for over twice the cost of a fully rebuilt rotary installed, you will be installing a USED V8 that may or may not have other issues.

I'm just trying to get you to fully understand your thinking on going with the LS-1, and that I think it's a mistake in your situation.

Good luck with getting the dealer to pay for your new engine, if you need it. I hope the rest of your ordeal goes more smoothly.

 

Tyler,
Go pick it up from the dealer and get it down to my shop, if it is still running then most likely it is something simple. If the engine is blown then we just call the dealer by me with your VIN and mileage and go pick up a new engine under warranty. Just get it out of there ASAP.

 

Hey Chris,
That sounds like a pretty good plan. I have the Jeep now, but I won't have any time for a little bit. This weekend is pretty much spent, but maybe early next week.

I just got off the phone with the service manager. I asked him for the compression numbers. He said that the compression machine they have isn't like normal compression machine and that it makes a graph. I have no idea what he's talking about. He said that he told Mazda that my car had aftermarket parts, and now they have to inspect it before they can decide whether or not they will pay for it. He said that the rep that needed to look at it quit on the 10th of this month, and that the other one won't be around until the 28th. I think that's bullshit.

On a side note, I am getting tired of people completely writing me off as some ricer kid with an FD because i saw F&F. Ryan will attest to the fact that I RARELY drive my car hard, especially since the first engine went. I also said that I was considering the option of an engine swap. Are you going to make the same statement about a 20B? That isn't meant to go in any RX7, either, but if I said I was going that route you would all be like "sweet...post the pics". Just because I am considering a swap to a piston engine everyone wants to tear me down. Plus, about the Z06....I meant in the same pricerange...it will outhandle any TA or Camaro.

Just because I am young and have limited resources I should not HAVE to drive a Geo Metro. I LOVE my car to death...I just HATE replacing engines like this. Now I realize that these engines (well, the last 2) went because of dealership and Mazda error, but the thing kind of scares me right now.

Thank you Ryan for defending me - I will be back for class.

Chris, could you give me any sort of estimate as to how much you would charge for labor?

Everyone else - I didn't mean to start a rotary vs. piston debate, as this has been done many times before. Also, I don't appreciate people profiling me and assuming that I can't afford this car.....I make sacrefices TO keep this car, and I always will. My parents, my girlfriend, and you want me to sell it, but I want to keep it and I will.

 

I don't know Jeff, if my car won't outperform a z06 when I'm done I'm going to be pretty pissed. I should be lighter and more powerful (cam and no cats), and nimbler (smaller car, shorter wheelbase, etc.)

About the only thing the Z06 has that I never will is the ability to put really big rubber on it.

I'll have a good idea about it soon. We're firing it up this weekend.

 

Truer words were never spoken. I started my LS1 swap on august 26th, and I'm just now getting around to buttoning everything up to start it this weekend. I'm really not sure what I could have done to speed things up other than quit my 9 to 5.

So, all in all it's taken about 2 months, around $11K, and I did a lot of the fabrication myself (new hydraulics for the clutch, new battery tray/mounts, new radiator mounts, rewiring etc.) And, my used V8 had a problem with the slave cylinder on the clutch, so everything needs to come apart again to put in the new slave (it's hydraulic and inside the tranny).

I think a lot of people see the v8 as a way out from the problems associated with the rotary. It's kind of laughable when you think about all of the trouble I've had to go through to get the car to this point. I could have done a ton of troubleshooting on a rotary engine (and gone single turbo). And if you're mechanically inlcined enough to do the v8 swap, then you're mechanically inclined enough to take care of and do the R&R on a rotary when the time comes...I just wanted somethinig a little different.

 

whoooaaa, hold your horses skippy. from your posts, it looks like you had the engine installed by the dealer many months and many miles ago. you had someone else sort out the crappy dealer install after that, then drove, what, ~6000 miles? with intake, downpipe, catback, and ecu?

i think:
a) you're jumping the gun on blaming the dealer here.
b) while denying the warrantee based on aftermarket seats is clearly bull, i'd be careful taking them to court over this- given that you pulled your aftermarket parts and returned the stock ones before taking it in for service, when those parts CLEARLY could have had an impact on the engine, and could have been the cause of the engine blowing. that would constitute FRAUD. not saying not to talk to the lawyers, but just be VERY careful!

 

Don't want to be too **** here, but it's spelled 'warrantY'.

 

so don't be so ****...

 

The problem isnt the engine. There is probably a faulty part somewhere (like maybe the fuel filter being old) and bad injector, ect ect ect. That caused all the engines to die.

Rather than putting one engine after another in there someone needs to diagnose the problem. OR maybe get the dealer to put in the new engine for free, then after its installed limp it to a speed shop somewhere and have them look it over. They can make sure its getting the right about of fuel and spark that it needs to get.

BTW - be careful what you say on here and I would never have used the dealers name cause they they know its you. people are right, dealers do get on these forums. I know my local dealership got on a Protege forum and found out a customer that was taking his Protege in for a new engine had been spraying it. Bye Bye warrenty.

STEPHEN

 

yup...it happens all the time. They pay people to search the internet for this type of stuff

 

I think I'm just going to sell it.....no one thinks I deserve it anyway - and they're probably right.

 

Your last couple of posts were admirable, but this one......

Don't let the man get you down

 

Rynberg is correct about the warranty and aftermarket seats. There is a federal law stating that in order to void your warranty, they must prove the aftermarket parts caused the problem.
Walk into the dealership with a copy of this law (I'm sure you can find it with enough searching) hold it in front of them and tell them you are going to sue them if they don't fix it.

That should solve your problem. If it doesn't, take them to court. You should win easily. Maybe you can get some punitive damages for them obviously jerking you around.

I am 100% this fedral laws exists. It was created so manufacturers couldn't void you warranty for using non-oem replacement part (and therefore cornering the market).

Don't sell your car, make them fix it. Seriously. Their position is so weak it's ridiculous.

Go down there and get it in writing that they are going to fix it, or that they are denying you for aftermarket seats. That should get their attention. Make it obvious that you are preparing to sue them if they give you anymore crap.

 

Sprockett

The specific law is called the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act. This is a federal law meant to protect consumers from instances where warranties are voided unjustly.

Here is SEMA's website. Keyword: Warranty
http://www.sema.org/search/default.asp

Unfair warranty denial
http://www.sema.org/content/?ID=22237&criteria=warranty

Federal Warranty Laws (The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is stated here)
http://www.sema.org/content/?ID=22238&criteria=warranty

Manufacturer warranty numbers as well as numbers to the FTC state offices.
http://www.sema.org/content/?ID=22239&criteria=warranty

What to do if your warranty is denied.
http://www.sema.org/content/?ID=8124&criteria=warranty

That dealer CANNOT deny your warranty based on the fact that you have an aftermarket seat in your car.

He must PROVE that having an aftermarket seat DIRECTLY causes your engine to fail. We all know this is complete utter bullshit. If this was the case, then an aftermarket shift **** or even aftermarket hub caps could cause an engine to fail.

Much like how you can use ANY brand oil filter (that is designed to OEM equivalent specifications), they cannot deny your warranty on this.

If you want some more help, feel free to PM me.

 

Ok Sprockett stop being a ***... Suck it up. Get a lawyer (since you are not fault).

 

Well seeing as money is an object here hiring an attorney might not be the best advice. We are going to get the 7 down to a reputable rotary shop in Monroe and get this mess straightend out.

After talking to Tyler I can officially say this mechanic/or mechanic staff have absolutely no idea what the hell they are talking about......period.

I really don't think he's being a *** here, however the comment was very thoughtful of you . He's just come to the realization he can't keep maintaining his FD. And he's depressed over it because he truly does love his car. I agree it probably wasn't the best sentence that could have been written to express his feelings, but thats usually the case when and individual is depressed. They tend to say things in such a manner.

 

Your first mistake was bringing it to a Mazda Dealer. After reading this Forum for a while you must know this by now. Find out who the competent Rotary shop in your area is and Take your car there. Sue the dealership and pay the shop to repair the car right this time. Thinking that having a Dealer replace yet another motor without screwing it up would be insane. The failure is probably something other than the motor itself. Could be a problem with a fuel injector or a wiring harness or an Ignition problem. Having them put yet another good motor in the car and re installing all the old injectors, harness, coils, fuel pump, fuel filter, ....you see where I am going with this. Take it to a place that can trouble shoot the problem, not just keep putting new engines in the car like retards.

 

No dude I wasn't trying to put him down. More of man's way of a pep talk. I could see how my words could be seen as puting him down since there is no emotion behind it. I guess I should had elaborated more as in:

Ok sprocket stop being a *** (in the sense of submitting to people's idea of you) and F everybody who dosen't think you deserve your car. It's your car and your car alone, and because some people think you don't deserve your car dosen't mean the dealer has a right to screw you. The dealer is wrong and you should not have to pay for their mistake.

Again my bad and I apologize.

 

ok I gotcha......no harm done.


ZoomZoom the reason its at the dealership is to only perform a compression test. Apparently they can't even do that correctly. That however is aside from the point. The point is this, the only reason its there is because it is the only place close to where Tyler lives. And he thought that they were the only ones who could deal with a warranty claim. He didn't have the resources or the time to trailor his car down to the rotary shop in Monroe (3.5 hour drive from where the car is currently located) at the time of the original post. However we've since worked out the resource portion of the equation, now all he needs is time.

 

The compression test machine they use is one that plots it out on a graph, that isn't really that big a deal.

Exactly what did the dealership screw up the first time?

 

in an hour and a half of looking, Chris found:
1. 10-15 vacuum lines were connected incorrectly
2. 2 vacuum lines were not connected to anything, and were just stuffed into a tight space to hold in place
3. 2 vacuum hoses were blatantly forgotten about, and were disconnected
4. 1 vacuum line was missing a one way check valve - to replace it, the dealership decided to stick a bolt in one end to clog the line and left the other line open
5. The intake cover was not bolted down
6. They used the wrong bolts to bolt things down (random sizes)
7. The O2 sensor wire was severed, and replaced with a terrible wiring job with regular wire (not insulated), and one side was not even connected to the O2 sensor wire (just pulled out). Also, bare wire was exposed, leaking to the outside and laying right next to bare metal
8. Charge Relief valve hooked to EGR valve spot
9. Y-pipe coupler was not tightened down
10. Did not replace or catch a vacuum line with 2 cracks
11. Broke off solenoid mount
12. BOV and ABV hooked up to wrong spot - all boost was coming out through the BOV
13. Wastegate precontroller connections switched
14. Charge relief valve hose was not clamped at all
15. Wastegate precontrollers were not bolted down.

16. Before fixes the boost pattern was running 5-2-0 (psi), and after 10-7-9 (psi). Stock twin turbos are supposed to run the pattern 10-8-10 (psi).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
And I hadn't owned my FD long enough and hadn't looked on this forum long enough when the engine went the first time (like 3 months after I bought the car) to know NOT to take it to a dealership. I guess back then I just assumed that if they were a Mazda Certified Dealer with certified mechanics, they would know how to do it.....it did not come to my attention how dumb they were indeed until after they had started, when it was too late.....Hell, I didn't even hear about Chris until they were about 1/2 way done...

 

It was less that it was on a graph, and more that neither the service manager nor the mechanic could read the graph, and he said he had never seen anything like it before

 

Sprockett

Take pictures of everything as is on the car right now. DO NOT touch anything. Then, take the car to a recommended RX-7 shop,...and as they are doing an inspection, take more pictures.

I'm dead serious about this.

 

Thats awesome man. You've got my respect.

Props.

Josh

 

Also let me add Ive dealt and am still dealing with bullshit dealing with the car. Ive been without her for a little over a year. Talk about a long time.

Things worth having are things worth waiting for

Josh