I don't want to flame him ........... But the thought of annoying you almost makes it worth it

 

LOL! Actually my friend, you never annoy me - PESTER
is more like it.

 

Hello again,

I've already got the manuals on order and they are being shipped to my house, I have yet to purchase any tools though.

I've looked at and talked to a few people selling FDs and I've found one for really cheap. It has about 108K on the chasis and 33K on the remanufactured engine with receipts and records. It's really, really cheap, only $9000. I took a look at it and it looked pretty legitimate, only thing is that it does consume a small amount of coolant and I was scared the coolant seals might be going sometime soon. I think I will wait this one out, but then again it's a really good deal.

I believe it has the brand new RZ Spec Turbos, RB 9.5lb Flywheel, an ACT Clutch, and a Bonez SS Downpipe. It also boosts 12-8-12. He's including more parts with the car if I decide to buy, it sounds like a solid deal, but then again I'm somewhat afraid of the coolant consumption , and just a little worried about the high miles on the chasis, though it drives pretty great.

Should I wait this one out? Or should I jump on this as soon as I can? Any input would be fine!

Thanks again!

Richard

 

for anyone still looking to buy an FD. DO NOT TAKE SHORT CUTS!!!!! even the best and most well kept FD's have problems. find one with the least amount of probable cause. like low mileage. I put over 140,000 miles on an Acura Integra with a JDM v-tec engine with under 40,000 on the motor and that car took a beating and that was trying to keep it as nice as I could. It was a daily driver and got used like the yellow pages. I now have the nicest FD I have ever seen in person, it was bought with 39,000 original miles and in mint condition, with enough service records to fill up a book (mostly routine maintenance) and I am still having a lot of the issues that most are having. (leaky oil pan, bad mounts, jumping tach, etc. and I only have 45,000 on it and hardly ever drive it. I would not have done anything different and I am happy, but definately something to thing about. good luck.

 

i was 18 when i got my fd....i then realized that i didnt have the tools to do all the work myself but i had the knowledge....but i also needed alittle reasurance on what i was doing...so i got a job at tires plus.....at first you know it was basic bullshit....but now i do tech work and i am only 19 so working on my car is much easier because i know a lot more about every car and how they work. i also get to use the old technicians tools because they have been doing that **** there hole life...but other than that i just stuck to my job while going to college ...then met some jamaican guy name andre who showed me how to do some rotary engine work...and other than that i just was determined to learn...it took a lot of time but now i feel comfortable doing a lot of work on my car. well thats how i did it...now i am stuck with a blown engine and a lot of parts for sale....peace out and good luck
Ryan

 

I don't work on my cars but there is a rotary specialist not much more than half an hour from me. I take it to him when I have a problem; he works on rotaries all the time and does good work.

Obviously it's better if you do the work yourself as you can learn a lot about the car, but I choose to have a rotary specialist look at the car - someone that understands the shortcomings and common problems these vehicles encounter - because I'm not gifted when it comes to working on vehicles.

But you are in luck since you are in Cali, as there are plenty of good rotary shops in this state should you ever need a mechanic.

 

Well, you can do a coolant pressure test, compression test, and champagne bubble test to see how the coolant seals are. Unfortunately 33k is nothing to assure you that the reman is still good - a few remans are crap out of the box, and if the owner didn't warm the engine properly or overheated it, the coolant seals could go bad quickly.

At 9k, the initial cost is fairly low, but add $4k for a reman and you're up in the ballpark of other FDs. Take it to a good rotary mechanic for these tests and see if it checks out ok.

Dave

 

I started out wanting to do the work myself, but I'm starting to get tired of having to fix & replace stuff, so I will be getting to know my mechanic well, and send his kids to college. It's all fun untill you have to replace a gasket that requires you getting down to the block (UIM/TURBOS) to replace. Leaky oilpan.. No Thank you.

 

Yeah man before I got my FD, I dont even think I looked at an engine much... I didnt know JACK about cars. Before I bught the FD I was reading these forums for a good 2-3 months... by the time I got the car... 3 days later I cracked down my vacuum hose leak and did the job in 1 day with the help of my dad who knows a bit about cars and a friend who knows a little more than I did about cars. Just gotta be patient and if you ever come to a point that you dont know what to do... come on in these forums and theres always a solution. You might get 'flammed' a few times like I did ( I still do ) but dont worry bro they got nothing else better to do. You'll love the FD man just keep up with everything and take your time on the work. good luck!

 

Time is also your best friend when working under your FD. Having another daily driver is a very good thing.

I took 2 weeks to do a job that could've taken 3 days...simply because I would remove a component and try my best to figure out exactly how it performed its function. Having a web-enabled laptop in the garage and a digital camera makes it even better, because if you can't figure something out, you can access a ton of resources to guide you.

By taking my time and having a good supply of tunes, brews, and TIME, I really began developing a much more intimate understanding of how things work.

Under the hood, the FD is not nearly as intimidating as it looks....all it takes is lifting that wrench and overcoming the fear.

I may have some aptitude, but I'm no mechanic....I'm a geophysicist...you'll know when you need to let a shop do something. In the meantime, as noted in above posts, you can save a ton of money by doing things yourself. I could buy 10 FDs if I wanted, but I'll be damned iI'm gonna throw my $ away if I can do it myself.

 

Did he ever buy a FD? It's been a year.