Iv heard from a couple of people that Mazda is replacing engines when there is a particular engine problem. Iv called them, and they didnt know what I was talking about.

Does anyone know if there is any truth behind this?

I have a 23k mile 94 tt. Am I going to need a new engine on this car anytime soon? It seems like a lot of rx7 owners have had their engines replaced.

-barkeep

 

 

I don't think they knew what you were talking about, well because do you know what you are talking about???
Let me see if I understand what you are trying to say.
Mazda dealers (back in the day) use to replace engines and turbos over something as simple as a loose vacuum hose (There is close to 80).
Point is, the Mazda "factory trained" techs didn't know $hit about Rotary engines and the twin turbo setup in particular.
This caused a bad rep or motors being replaced over simple things, just because the techs didn't know what it was or how to fix them.
While in general rotary engines need a little more TLC then piston engines (adding oil, not over heating, etc..) They can be very reliable.
There are plenty of forum members with 100,000 + miles on the original engine and turbos.
The big thing you have to worry about is when you start modifying them. Make sure they don't over head or run lean, also change your coolant and flush it out and you should be okay.

 

Mazda does not replace engines for free, no matter what.

I don't think you will need a new engine anytime soon. Just remember to change your fluids frequently.

Nice car.

 

You DO know that Mazda is a CAR company, right?

And that car companies are inherently evil and want to take your money?

I've never heard this rumor, but I can promise you that it is 100% not true.

 

Even back when the car was new Mazda "never" replaced an engine. Engines are rebuilt and it is only the block that gets rebuilt. You do not get a new starter, new UIM, new hoses, new oil pan, etc. You can get new parts installed (not by Mazda) and call it new, like you see in the for sale ads but the entire engine is not replaced.

 

Gotcha. Well if they arent going to replace it, then Ill start on all my mods.

pulleys, downpipe, airbox today/tomorrow.

bov,turbotimer next friday.

 

The original owner of the 93 VR Rex from whom I bought from had many things replaced under warranty for free, one of them being the entire motor at 46k because an apex seal blew. I checked the receipt (in a folder about 2 inches thick, complete life history records) and found it. Cluctch was also replaced at around 50k for free.

Maybe I just got lucky. Car now has 90k on chassis. No boost problems, changing all fluids more than often and I'm happy.

-Dan

 

Hhhhmmmmmm.............

How about in this order:

Downpipe
AST replacement/elimination
Turbo timer
and the rest of your list.....


If you search, there is a thread that talks about the most important initial upgrades that should be done for the sake of reliablity/performance.

-Dan

 

Id do the turbo timer now, but I dont have it yet.

AST replacement/elimination ?

explain....

-Mike

 

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

 

about that list, the first thing he lists is a J&S which i've heard is not good on the rx7.

mainly because of false knock readings, and also it is possible for it to retard the timing of the leading past the trailing.
anyone know what i'm saying?

 

Really? Name one.

 

right here...103k miles original engine and turbo...still running okay..knock on wood...

 

Did you buy the car new? Are you sure that they're original?

I'm sure there are a couple people around who have been lucky enough to make it to 100,000+ miles on the stock engine and turbos, but to say that there are "plenty" of them is misleading... if not an outright fabrication.

 

I also had over 103k miles on my original engine prior to my rebuild.

 

I'm the 2nd owner...I'm 99% sure it's the original engine and turbos, otherwise the owner would have told me about it (it's in his interest to tell me). I bought it at 99.5k miles about 6 months around.

 

Well, that would probably be the first time that someone looking to sell a car was 100% honest about it...

Did he have complete maintenance records for the first 99,500 miles?

 

And you still have the original turbos as well?

 

yup...he had service records for all the major services. it was serviced by Ivan for the most part so maybe that has something to do with it. but to be fair he didn't drive the car hard at all, 100% stock. if my engine dies in the next week or so i'm going to kill you guys for jinking me!!!!

 

Ignorance...There are 4 I know of right now...

 

Right, and 4 = plenty in your book, huh?

Well, what do I know. You're always right. Except when you're not...

 

my fd has 93,334miles on it, the engine is original, and the turbos have never been off. the intake plenum has been off twice (for the recalls), there are 3 vacuum lines that have been replaced. the rear brakes are original, as are all the bushings (they need to be replaced...)

mike

 

OK, before anyone else chimes in that they still have the original engine and turbos at, over or near 100k miles, is anyone willing to admit that 4, 5 or even 40 or 50 people out of 13,000+ production cars isn't "plenty"?

Bottom line, most 3rd generation cars didn't make it past 65,000-70,000 miles with their original engines and/or turbos intact, and many didn't even make it that far.

If you're one of those people who are not willing to admit it to themselves that the FD can have serious longevity problems, that's fine, but there's no justifcation for leading someone new to RX-7s to believe they can expect 100,000+ miles. Or worse, to make it sound like all they have to do is remember to change the oil periodically.

No, they're not ticking time bombs, precisely, but they're not the most reliable cars in the world, either. All he'd have to do is search for "reman engine" in the 3rd gen. forum to find something closer to the truth.

 

what would be interesting is if someone had stats on stock FD3S and how many miles the stock ones lasted w/ "normal" driving. the forum is kinda bad place bc everybody here has modified their cars and probably driven it pretty hard, so I think it's unfair to compare a typical modded FD driven hard to a typical honda or something. but yea, i would not want to mislead potential buyers that the car is worry and hassle free.