What should I be on the lookout for? Are there any common things that seem to fail on everybody's car? I know enough about rotaries (had an FB and an FC) to know about compression checks, etc, but is there anything FD specific that needs to be checked?

Thanks in advance fellas.

 

One would think that after 1-1/2 years on the forum, you would know how to read the stickies and use the search function.

There is at least a post per week on this.

 

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

 

http://www.rx7turboturbo.com/robrobinette/buyaused.htm

http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/buying.html


Those are the two main FAQ's that I know of. Browse the rest of those websites too, they are good sources for 3rd gen info.

-s-

 

hehe good with relationships, bad with fd's huh?

in anycase, fd is a regular car, just look for the regular stuff and have a beater car on the side (FC is a good one hehe) and have about 3-5k for a new engine or turbo/s and your good

 

I'm just wondering if there is some sort of FD specific checklist... For example, on an FC, you know the frickin' radio surround is gonna crack... You know you have to deal with the FCD on a T2... That type of thing.

I guess what I'm getting at is: What are the common gremlins? I know that the exhaust manifold tends to crack... But other than that, I'm at a loss. I don't want to buy somebody else's problem, ya know?

 

Amazingly this can all be found by accessing those links/searching.. I too would have thought that since you're not technically a "newbie" that you'd know better. Like said above there is AT LEAST a post a week on this. Nobody here is going to hold your hand, you have to be a big boy and find the info yourself. I can't believe what you have as your location, as you don't seem to be too bright yourself..

Oh and get ready for FC problems x10..

 

Read the links above, they are there for a reason.

 

just be careful

 

things I would look for, kevin, as an FD owner for six years, is a fresh motor built by a professional/reputable shop (see stickys, unless the original engine has good compression, which is essentially unheard of by now) and all the "must have" FD upgrades, especially the radiator, IC, vacuum hoses, AST, boost gauge, stainless downpipe, ECU, etc....an owner with integrity knows what goes wrong with these cars and practices religious preventive maintenance....ask the right questions and you can always tell a competent person from a n00b....such as synthetic oil....all knowledgeable FD owners use it and change the oil every 1500-2000 miles....cheap asses uses whatever they can get....if someone keeps a log book of maintenace and maintains records that is always a good sign

I would stay away from a completely stock car because at 9+ years old if the upgrades have not been done by now, it will come out of YOUR pocket....trust me from someone who purchased a bone stock car with 12k miles on the clock. many of the stock parts are crap

FDs require alot of attention, but like a good woman, they are worth it

 

damn, and i thought you knew everything

how can you know more about girls than fd's? it should be the other way around..

 

Mark, thanks for the help. I've checked out two thus far, the first one, the clutch was obviously shot (and it was at a Mazda dealer... You would think they would have known...) and the second was just

As for how I can know more about women than FDs, well, everybody's gotta have a skill.

Just think, if I start charging you guys for advice, you could be buying the FD for me.

 

^^LOL yeah true

tell you what, gimme your paypal account name and when your advice works, ill paypal you 50 bucks for every piece of advice that works..

 

owned by rynberg!! When I started reading your post the first damn thing that went through my head is what rynberg said...just in different words. And then you have the audacity to reply with "yeah, yeah, yeah" Clearly it is one of those cases of do as I say, not as I do.

 

The "yeah, yeah, yeah" was because right after I hit "submit thread" I thought, "****, all I'm gonna hear is "search"." And yes, I should have searched first... My bad.

 

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...r=&cardist=197

Anybody have any experience with these guys?

 

boom! well done rynberg!

welcome to the third gen section homie.


j

 

welcome to the third gen section again! hahaha

 

Amen

 

Gosh, the list is long. I tried to shop wisely, but in the end it's hard to really understand it all until you've been under the hood to really see it. IOW, once you've bought it and fixed them all

Some laundry items to consider:
- bad motor mounts (shaking tranny, notchy shifting)
- bad pillowball bushings in rear suspension (popping/clunking sounds after car has been setting)
- embrittled parts - vacuum hoses, radiator endtanks, AST, solenoids
- fresh coolant hoses
- FPD, fuel hoses, fuel filter (FF needs changing biannually or every 15k)
- cracked 5th gear synchro (causes grind going straight into 5th)
- inquire about regular oil changes (how often matters more than what kind of oil, IMO)
- The driver door pocket lid ALWAYS seems to break (I got a new one for the steal price of $75)
- underbelly pan in place
- boost gauge, water temp gauge a big plus - you NEED to verify the 10-8-10 psi boost pattern before taking it home (starting at 35mph, run to 80+ in 3rd gear, full throttle - it should hit 10 by 3k, spike down to only 8 at 4.5k, then right back up to 10 through redline)
- look to see if the front swaybar brackets are cracked

Oh, and I haven't heard of the "Performance Car Store". The ad reminded me of a place in NJ called Car-Nu, and they shouldn't be trusted for anything - if Car-Nu doesn't show up on Autotrader anymore then make sure they're not the same people.

Dave

 

Ahh, that's the type of list I was looking for. Thanks a ton Dave.