As the title states I think I blew one (or more) of my apex seals on 1993 RX7. I switched the boost up ever so slightly. I have a POWER FC and they were at like .8 and .85 and I switched the boost up to .95 and 1.00 and I think it caused it to detonate. I have a million of questions because if the worse did happened I think I am going to part out the engine and go the way of the LS1/T56. I know I have alot of searching to do. I guess let me just ask a few simple questions.

1) I can either prove or disprove the blown engine theory by having a compression test done? (the symtonms are it iddling at 10-11 in of HG and it use to be closer to 20-22 in of HG.

2) There are lot of good parts still on the engine, What can part out if I am planning an LSx swap?

3) I am fairly certain that my engine is in rotary hell now are there books/articles/websites that can point me towards the swap? (I am going to start searching now but help without being flamed is helpful)

4) I am living in Tempe, AZ now originally from Fairfax Station, VA is there any good shops out in arizona I shop look into for service/LS1 swap?

THANK YOU for any support/answers I dont want any smart *** responses because I begin my long search now to find out what to do next

 

sell it as a roller and get a corvette not trying to be a smart *** but you obviously seem more the type.

 

All you will ever need is at www.norotors.com that is the forum for Rx7 V8 swaps.

As far as your engine I have no idea.

 

what makes you think you blew the motor?

you could have simply popped a coupler or blew the MAP sensor line off......

compression test is a good idea.


as far as LS swap...... theres a reason why most V8 swapped FD's and FC's find their way into the classifieds between 1-3 years of completing the swap....
if indeed its a blown motor, sell the car as a roller, buy a C6 vette, ????, profit

 

your right and my only justification is a you tube video of a blown rotor that sounds awfully similar to mine. Im also over worrysome so I'll keep the post updated. As far as selling it as a roller I just bought the car and it has a lot of work done to it I have excel spreadsheet with your than 30k in mods not including the price of the car so I will probably either part the hell out of it of part the motor and exhaust, ecu etc. and do a LSx swap I just really like the sound of a 400/400 engine (hp/tq) in a 2800 lbs car

 

A coupler can not cause his symptoms on an Fd. It's either the map sensor line is disconnected or a blown engine. 30 seconds to check the map sensor and 15 minutes to do a compression test. Either way it is simple to find the info the OP is "searching" for.

 

Why not just buy a reman or rebuild your current motor? Much cheaper than swapping in a ls1. Rebuid it right, get it tuned by someone competent, don't screw with the boost, and it should last you years.

 

And people say rotaries blow for no reason. Not saying that you are the cause for bad rep, but any newb that come here and read this type of threads, magnifies the rep x10 and more FD are being butchered with LS swaps.

You like having a light weigh V8car? Buy you a Factory Five Cobra rep. Cheaper in the long run and lighter.

 

If your in AZ i would go here..

http://www.azrotaryrockets.com

they moved the shop but im pretty sure their still located in or around tempe. They could build you a kickass motor that will hold up to the temps we have here. And would be a good deal cheaper than doing an ls swap. If nothing else they would be able to tell you whats up with your motor.

 

An ls1 wont give you 400/400 stock. That's ls2 numbers. Most people love the fd looks but hate the rotary flaws, you seem to be one of them which is why you're quick to ditch the rotary for a v8 without even doing any diagnosing whatsoever.

I say find out what happened before you spend money. But jumping into an ls swap and you're going to spend more money. It will last longer and have more power reliably but like someone said, there's a reason why ls powered fd's make their way into the fs sections shortly after owners doing the swaps.

 

i curious about your statement? i have a turbo'd ls1 and love it. way more fun and faster then the rotary every was. although i do miss revving out to 8k...oh and i get 30 mpg on the highway with 468rwhp and 485 lbs tqe...this is also a bone stock engine, at 8 psi

 

thank you for the advice i will probably have it towed their and drive it back or vise versa either way I need something down here that hold up and the body has alot of $ in coilovers, big brake kits, suspension work etc so I am going to hold to the body to see what I can get out of it

 

Thing is the majority of people that buy a 7 buy it for a love of the rotary some do just love the lines of the car but most is for the motor. So your bound to get some "rotarys is da super 1337 motors of all time ls swap is blasphemous" type stuff.

First find out what is wrong with the motor it could be something simple. If it is blown you have 2 option go with a LS(not sure what it would cost but I'm guessing its pricey) or get the 13b rebuilt and do some mods to keep it alive and happy.

Now I don't know for sure but I'm guessing you could probably have the rotary rebuilt and mod it to be putting out around 400ish and toss on a water/meth injection setup for reliability for not a hell of a lot more than the LS swap. Though I could be wrong.

Also 400lb tq at the bottom end isn't much good if you can't put it to the ground with out smoking your tires or breaking axles dif cases.

Just my 0.02 worth but a rotor motor is also as good as **** to so I'm bias.

 

i dont understand what you mean..

i am against another motor in a 7. some arent, there are people here that blew their motor 3 or 4 times and they still keep a rotary..

also i believe if its blown its because you mess with something you shouldnt have and now its costing you a motor. Dont touch the boost, it isnt a car that compensates the amount of fuel it spits out if you high the boost..

like others said if you are dead set on having a ls, sell the dam car and buy a corvette. no need to ruin a 7 for some one else that you may end up selling

 

A properly built V8 rx7 doesn't ruin the car except to the very biased purists that outnumber all others on this web forum. Its called the darkside for a reason. I own both and like both for various reasons.

 

I love guys like the OP, they make my FD worth so much more

I am not against V8 swaps but i do love being diffrent, when i take my FD to a car meets people flock over to it and ask question about the car, when you have a V8 motor people will glance and keep walking, in other words -basicly nothing new!!

 

This

Some times I get the remarks "Oh WOW still have the rotary engine...NICE!!!".

 

Well its not about impressing people that makes them go v8, its about them enjoying the car the way they want.

I have gotten so much crap about the rotary engine since pretty much the day I got it. Both my brother and dad hate rotary. The next door neighbor didn't like the engine and even some car guys I came across said the engine sucked and to do the swap WHEN it goes lol. That's how they said it.

But I keep the rotary cause one its still working and second I like it. IMO it makes an rx7 an rx7.

 

x2 rotary rockets is a good shop.

If I had the money for a 4 rotor, I wouldn't be doing an LS swap. V8's are great and have loads of potential but you can't beat a n/a 4 rotor - they sound amazing.

 

damn dude yes you need to do a lot of research before you do anything. It seems obvius to me that you failed to do any of that before you upped the boost. Because you didn't just "switched the boost up ever so slightly".

0.8 BAR = 11.603 PSI
0.85 BAR = 12.328 PSI

0.95 BAR = 13.778 PSI
1.00 BAR = 14.503 PSI

so yeah you fucked up royally... If you are going to turn up the boost you should have the fuel and tune for it. At 14.5 psi you better have a fuel pump + injectors + a fresh tune. YOU NEVER JUST UP THE BOOST. This is the kind of shannanigans that gave the rotary a bad name.

I am truly sorry that you very likely blew your engine. But if anything it teaches you to thread lightly when it comes to cars, any cars for that matter. Good luck with your FD project and yes research as much as you possibly can and don't dive into anything until you are well informed.

 

Lolll. That ridiculous that having a rotary in an RX-7 is a rare thing to find.

To the OP, the money you will spend for the swap kit alone, will cost you more than just building a nice street ported engine. I thought about going the LS route myself when I first bought my roller, so I can tell you the ins and outs of swapping them over. I have since decided to keep the car in its original form, and build a rotary. I agree with everyone else here, find out what is wrong with your motor first. Although, from your posts, it sounds as if you have already made up your mind.

 

I guess my statement was a little loosely based (not to confuse with biased).
I stated such because those who do the swap(that are part of this forum), perform everything to the T, and yet they mention how the car "looses something" and inevitable they sell the car at a massive loss because not many people want to buy a swapped FD.

A rotary can be as potent as any other engine when it is built right and tuned right. As for fuel economy, your statement is also as loosely based as mine because i have seen 450+hp rotaries get between mid 20s to even very low 30s. Even my old FC TurboII got between 28-31mpg on a small 35R.


I am not against any swap. Some people are more familiar with a piston engine yet they like the looks of the RX7. So they do a swap.

I do agree that the OP touched something without understanding turbo charged car. All current turbocharged cars NEED to be tuned for EVERY single change in the setup even a simple air filter can seriously hinder an engines performance without being tuned. The FD is no different, which in the early to mid 90's ECU technology was about as advanced as 80's computers were, especially because the Series 6 had very little margin for bolt-on parts.

 

first of all the car has an upgrade fuel pump and it has 3mm seals. The previous said he has had up to 19 psi. So i didnt think 14.5psi would blow anything up. It was not running lean and the injectors were far from being maxed out. Its being looked at today so I will have my answer this afternoon or tomoroow morning

 

It wasn't running lean. Please share the datalogs.

Jack

 

An LS swap would run around $10k if you buy everything. If you can fabricate well than you will save money. 400whp will need heads, full, exhaust and tune. Not to mention hoping you get a good engine and drivetrain to start with...

A fresh rebuild would be 1/4 of that. Twins can make close to 400whp with simple bolt ons.

Take some time and learn. Relax. Asking The compression test shows that you are very new to rotaries and Rx7's in general. They are an enthusiasts engine and car. When built right, they are very reliable.