i have been told that the FD is the most unreliable car built in the past 15 years. compared to my celica, thats probably awful, however im still interested.

i can't explain what draws me to the car. do most of you keep a spare motor on hand? when a motor goes, what must be replaced?

also which is more reliable, the FC or the FD model?

what does the motor do when it dies? and are there pre-death signs so you can avoid having it just up and die on you and fix it before this occurs

 

There is a newbie sticky post that the moderators so graciously put up for these types of things. Please use it.

 

Yes I have a tractor trailer follow me around with a full engine building team, 5 pit crew guys, spare tires and body panels all inside...



No, nobody I know of keeps a spare motor on hand. Do what Nameless said to do..

 

The 3rd Generation RX-7's reputation for unreliability is exaggerated. There are a number of cars that have gone over 100,000 miles on their original engines.

The trouble comes from improperly modified or inadequately maintained cars, and the problem only gets worse as the cars get cheaper. People who really can't afford to maintain the cars are now buying them.

The car gets a lot of power out of a small engine, but it's set up to operate within a narrow envelope. If you start monkeying with things, say putting too much air through the engine without also increasing the fuel flow, you can get detonation that will ruin the motor.

The most common causes of engine failure seem to be leaking coolant seals, detonation, and broken apex seals. Usually there is little or no warning of impending doom, although often coolant seals will begin to leak gradually and the car can still be driven until finally it cannot be started.

It's a real sportscar with very few compromises, which is probably one of the reasons why you're attracted to it.

 

I always heard the FC N/A motors run like champs. JConn sums the FD up.