Rx7- seized rotor???
 

Ok, so I am about to purchase an FD, and the owner says that the car might have a seized rotor... Is there any way to tell if this is true? He says the car was rebuilt and 2,000 miles later, KAboom... He is running 17 psi... Isnt that a little much for stock turbos. anyway, should i just pull the motor and put a new one in or should i take it to a shop... my budget is only 1200 to get it fixed as of now. Any help is appreciated... And sorry for the newbie questions...

Walk away.....

And your repair budget needs to be about 5-10k with this car IMHO.

Most definitely, if you don't have more than $1200 in reserve for this car, this car isn't the one for you.


~S~

+65461

but i have seen jdm motor go for that much (1200)... wouldnt it be simple enough to drop the new engine in.

and plus this is one of the cleanest FDs i have seen. for the price, even with no motor in the car its still a good deal

excuse my ignorance but 5-10k just for the engine:dunno:... i can find a short or long block on the forum for way cheaper right??? I dont mind doing the work, thats the fun in having a project car.:nod:

the 5-10 is not JUST for the engine its fr all the clips and harnesses that are brittle and trashed when yo pull the motor get broken.

other parts

motor mounts
fuel pulsation dampener
coolant hoses ALL OF THEM
cleaning injectors

to name a few PLUS unless you do it yourself R2 of the engine plus parts...

that 1200 'low mile JDM' engine yo think is plug and play is +500 shipping +2000 rebuild cause its 90% guaranteed blown + replacing all the other broke old parts + install

so lets see 5-10k is about right

and i doubt you can find a short block cheaper unles yur looking for quite some time and just get lucky. it has happened I got a 1250 rebuild block + trans and misc parts when i was looking from a guy dumping his project. BUT most will want a premium for a KNOWN good block.

so do you do your own work? is this a second vehicle? or are you trying to DD this? sounds like your in over your head on this before its started. cause unles youve done a project like this you are in denial how much it will cost.

z

yike's!!! no way you should get that..i'd pass and keep looking

I don't know weather to laugh or feel bad for you...

Usually people with budgets don't make it long in this forum. Start working on your for FOR SALE thread.

LOL... ok i give BOTH!!!i know i did.

z

haha... thats funny, but somewhat true:lol: But for the price im picking this car up for would make you guys cry:) i could buy this car and relist the car for an easy 2k profit... regarding my Q about the boost... isnt 17psi a little high... could this have been the reason for the mystery seized rotor:scratch:

yess sir. 17psi is high for stock twins.
You ask!...Is that the reason the engine blew???
I say...who knows!!!

no offense meant here, so dont take this wrong.

i think you may be in over your head but it is your money/time/car.

none taken... thanks for the opinion:gwink:

I know why you guys want me to walk away... its cuz you saw the car and want it for yourselfs.... bastards:pokeowned

jk...:lol:

I would advise you to buy it,the more people with rotary's the better but you need to forget about the budget part. :)

So you have received the best advice from RX7 owners on this site that have been there and done that. A $1,200 budget is not realistic for an engine despite what other info you have in your pocket. I welcome anyone new to this site and new to the RX7, but don't be foolish in thinking you have a plan for getting this thing on the road cheaper than what we have all been through. This is not what you want to hear because the car is beautiful, but take to heart, these cars are very expensive to own. You will receive great support from us for the effort of getting another FD out of mothballs and on the road but you posted this question for a reason. We just want you to be smart and have the info you need before you buy the car. Mahjik is one of the most knowledgeable people on this site and the reason he is telling you to walk away is because of your budget. Anyways, good luck with the car should you decide to buy it, and we will be here to help, but don't be surprised when the repair bill comes.

Steve

I don't think a 1200 budget will suffice since with every repair there's always "surprises" that come along. If it's not a broken this, it's a broken that, or damn did I just break that...

If the car is a deal then buy it, but by the time you get a new motor in and operational you will likely have spent far more than 1200.

You have been given lots of advice and the message is the same.

If you are still set on the car, then purchase it. It will take you more than 1200 but you might be able to spread the remaining amount over a period of time.

Buy it if you think - but believe them here you WILL buy a lot of parts!!!
First the parts which are broken, then the reliability-parts and so on...

I just got an offer for the parts to rebuild the engine - 1500,- dollar is the minimum price ( and thats not all ). Then you have to buy some special tools and do that work for yourself.

Ah and ask your mazdadealer about prices for FD parts, then you will cry ^^

thanks for all the advice guys... Im still set on buying... And ill post some pics of my new toy

it will be the best/worst decision youve ever made:)

owning a rotary on a budget?:lol: your in for a biiig suprize buddy

If you were closer I would help you get the motor running for less than $600. People on this forum is very discourage of rotary because they paid someone else to work on them instead of doing it themselves. GL if you ever decide to buy it let me know?

thanks Man.... I am going to buy it, so i will be in contact with you ... one of the reasons i am going to buy it is because im not afraid to get my hands dirty and i really want to learn... so thanks for the confidence booster

I am sure you are probably a good mechanical incline person and we are not trying to discourage you, I think we are just trying to let you know from experience that your budget is too little for a car that most guys spend an average of 2 to 3 grand or a rebuild doing it them selves.

rebuild kit -$1200
bearings-$200
used rotor-$200
used rotor housing-$200
and everything else that will brake and need replace along the way.

very true....learn to do it yourself and you'll save a bunch...but make sure you do it right....or you may end up in worse shape than you started out with hah.

Ive gotten my motor rebuilt on a budget. It was only 3200 dollars lol. But in the process I had to buy a boost controller, hks twin power, fuel pump fuel regulator. So the rebuild cost about 5k. Not to mention the 10k+ i put in to the radiator, ast, power fc, gauges, fuel rail, injectors, upgraded turbos when my stocks were cracked at 50k miles. So yes it is a great fun car but i hope you dont plan on retiring early.

QUESTION: what if the only problrm with the motor was a seized rotor... could i just replace the rotor and rotor housing??? the previous owner says there is only 2,000 miles on the engine.

You won't really know the extent of the damage until the motor is completely disassembled.

are you planning to do everything yourself? If you are, then by all means do it. but with 1200 bucks, you're not gonna get that thing running for a long time

even if you find a JDM (8bit wiring) motor for 1200 bucks.... keep in mind, you pay for what you get. most shops will still charge at least 750 just for labor to drop that sucker in. not to mention you need gaskets and some other small parts, new plugs, new fuel filter. then after you drop it in... what if it doesn't fire up after trying 50 different things.... pull it out and the engine is shot, then you're screwed

minimum rebuild fee when you drop a blown motor car off is around 3500+-. that's if you're lucky the apex seal didn't scratch ur rotor or housing before it was spit out of the exhaust, which happens a lot of times... if they need to be replaced, they are around 650 a piece new

HONESTLY..... these guys all have FDs, they're not jealous of you... this car sounds shady

good things comes to those that wait

+1, regardless of whats wrong internally with it, even if its just a piece of carbon that seized the rotor (which is extremely extremely rare), you still have to completely disassemble the motor to find and fix the problem. Mileage means jack squat, you can blow a motor on the first mile of its life.

thewird

the plan is to learn and do it all my self... and i really dont care about the damage towards the engine because that can be replaced with time... I know this car was taken car of because of the condition of the body and the interior... Im actually looking forward to pulling the motor and tearing it all apart to find out whats wrong

by all means do it then, you are going to learn waaayyy more then you ever expected while browsing this forum and doing it yourself.

Remember, search before you ask... You may get 50 different opinions when you ask something but this is all coming from people who have more then likely done what your about to do so Id take it as advice, not an insult

Again I call B.S. on this price. I don't get why you're trying to turn new FD owner away from buying an FD?

Budget huh?:lol:

@James...no one is trying to turn him away from owning an FD but they are trying to help him be realistic. How many times have you seen someone say, "I'm a proud new FD owner" and then a month later say, "This car sucks" because they don't understand the time and effort that goes into having an FD perform well and then maintaining that level.

I believe most of the posters in this thread realize that despite the OPs enthusiasm and willingness to do work himself that he is most likely in for a LOT more than he is expecting. I still don't see this situation turning out well but I hope for the best. The car may be a "deal" but I'd bet there is more wrong with it than the engine. =)

Just my 2cents.

what else could be wrong with the car??? like the fact that it could be stolen or something like that... i already met with the man in person and checked out the car my-self. its damn clean. what are your thoughts for there something else to be wrong with it... thanks in advance

Well, why did the rotor get "seized" to begin with. Something caused that, its not magic. Seized rotors due to carbon buildup only happen with high mileage engine and its pretty rare.

thewird

well, the the owner does not even know if its a seized rotor thst was just his guess... or at least thats what he told me. is there any signs of telling if its a seized rotor with out pulling the motor... like, will the engine not turn over or something like that?

Seized rotor is when the engine won't even turn over because there is a piece of carbon stuck somewhere. Seized apex seal is when the seal is stuck and won't come out to make compression. Seized apex seals is often an excuse sellers use for a blown motor.

thewird

I'm a rotary newb compared to a lot of guys on here because I'm only on my 3rd rebuild (because of a bad wiring job on the boost controller from previous owner) but, yep. ..

Seized motor would mean it won't crank and would probably have to be something bad like, jeez, maybe really bad bearings that disintegrated and caused major component contact, or sat with water in it and rusted fast over a long period of time, or maybe major breakage of one of the end plates that caused an off center e-shaft and major contact. I don't know about this fabled 'carbon jam' I've never seen one, but if there is such a thing, why not try putting the car in 5th and then pull it backwards with a tow rope a couple of inches to run it backwards?

Otherwise, if he's claiming stuck seal, and the engine turns over on the starter, take a compression tester with you and look for 3 even bumps per housing (disable any check valve on the tester). If you don't see 3 even bumps on both the front and rear housings, make sure you negotiate as if the engine is blown.

While it's good to advise new/potential owners about some of the pitfalls that can be encountered with these cars, some of you guys go way over the top with it. I agree with JamesPond, these cars can be fixed up on a budget if someone takes the time to diagnose the actual problem and come up with a plan of attack. A lot of people just seem to throw money at the problems they have and then get discouraged because they are spending so much without the desired results. It may take a little longer to get everything you want/need on a budget, but it can be done and it's worth it in the long run. Took me a year to get my FD back on the road, but after daily driving and racing it I would do it all over again if I had to.

Now I wouldn't recommend over extending yourself with this car. If that budget is purely extra car fund $$$, that's one thing, but if you're dipping into grocery money to support a project car it's just not worth it.

I don't want him not to buy an FD. I am just trying to tell him ahead of time that his budget will not be enough.

thanks, guys for all the advice... i am picking up the car tues... ill take some pics so you can check out my new baby

6k

what kind of deal are you getting? you haven't mentioned the asking price.

Yeah I'm curious too. And where are the pictures!?