I have a 93 and havent driven it in about 3 months. The last time I put it in the garage - it was running great and drove it about 300 miles. Since then, the plastic piece that tells the brakes like to go on/off broke off and I didnt notice it when I put it in the garage - so it killed the battery. I resolved that issue and got the battery recharged.. however, now the thing is idling really rough (in the searches Ive done - I guess you would say it was hunting).

In reading the forums, it recommended to have the PowerFC relearn the idling process by letting it run without accessories for 10 mins, then add the rear defroster for 10, then turning on the AC for 10.. I did all of that and at the 8 min mark of running the AC, a HUGE plume of steam came from the engine and filled the garage.. it didnt smell smoky.. definitely was more steamy.

I thought I might have busted a coolant line or something - but when opening up the radiator - its still full. The car is still idling REALLY rough. When I tried it again this morning - it idled great for about 4 mins at 2k RPM then went into a rough idling stage bumping up and down between 1.5-3 RPM. When leaving my foot on the gas to try and manually level it at 2k RPM, it still surges slightly and drops.

So, I guess my question is this - any idea if there are other things to try? Do you think it's the ECU or something else. I guess my biggest concern is that I've lost compression in the engine with a blown seal or something. I am not at ALL car saavy - but am trying to learn as I go.

When looking down into the engine bay - I was trying to determine where the steam was coming when it happened (again, it just was the one large plume when running the AC for 8 mins) then it blew out and continued to run. The area of the engine that has the most moisture right now is this area in the picture. There is a small, lighter colored seal that doesn't appear to be "grimed" yet and I am wondering if that is something? I know I probably am all over the board with these thoughts.. but just trying to make sense of it.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

I also tried removed the Idle Control Valve out of the system since it is known that PFC has issues with this something.. In doing so, the idling is extremely low at the like 500 mark and you can still hear/feel a surging and vibration that happens. Im still wondering if there is a vacuum leak somewhere - but Im not sure really how to look and test for that. Any ideas or pointers are greatly appreciated.

Is there any issue to running the RX7 without the Idle Control Valve? Seems like some people say screw it and others think that it really is necessary.