rebuilding it stronger can be really costy though..

get a second hand engine for cheap and sell the car. not so much to lose

 

I also popped a apex seal while rolling in neutral at about 5mph, still scratching my head as to why.

 

That's true...maybe a j-spec long block from Brian, install the block, sell off all the extra accessories, and you shouldn't feel much financial pain.

 

The only happy rx7 owner is one who has 2....one is always getting rebuilt while the other is driven.

I beat the hell out of my last rebuild for two years and 10k.....zero carbon-clean as I put it together-it just happened to crack the rear iron at 17psi/90mph. I can't complain as no piston motor whould have held up to that kind of driving.

I think build up of carbon sounds possible. Do you premix?



Luckly, I have my beater FD to fart around in while I rebuild the FC.

 

Just a qucik one can some one chime in and explain how a chunk of carbon breaking loose of a rotor can destroy an engine,, because i dont really understand that???????? might be me being a bit dumb

 

Carbon builds up on the rotor and if you have ever cleaned up a rotor for a rebuild you will know what the **** is like to get off! You can scrape it off and sometimes it is very tough and can break off in large bits but even if a small part breaks away and the engine is spinning at high RPM, the carbon is hard enough to damage the apex seal. Think of it this way, lets say the rotor is spinning at 3000RPM when the carbon comes loose it will most likely hit the rotor at 6000rpm its like if you hit a concrete wall at 60mph, the force would be transformed to 120mph.

I am pretty sure thats the jist of it anyway.

 

yeah wut he said.
A peice of carbon will break away from the rotor, this in turn will chip the apex seal, the apex seal will break apart and fly into the turbo. everything (apex seals, rotor housing, turbo) gets ruined and needs replaced.

I have heard to redline the engine damm near everytime you drive it, cruising around and shifting below 3k will speed up the carbon deposit process, making it more likely this situation will happen to someone that babys their car.

 

Do it. When you're done you'll be asking yourself why you wasted so much money the last time you rebuilt it for half the gas mileage and torque.

Couldn't have a better daily driven sports car.

 

If the engine tolerances and parts are within spec and the engine is clearanced and assembled properly there should be no reason why a rotary engine shouldn't last. Of course this is stipulating that you have all the proper supporting parts(proper fuel delivery, cooling, ignition, etc.) and the engine is maintained and TUNED PROPERLY! My first engine in my current FD lasted up until 100k miles. After that my motor was rebuilt by Pineapple with a large street port and new housings. It is now at about 45k miles as we speak with no problems whatsoever. This includes what some would consider "higher than normal boost on pump gas(19 psi on 93 octane)". Why does my motor continue to survive? For the most part it's because it was tuned properly. Unfortunately you can build a rotary engine within perfect specs and with brand new parts but if the tune is off don't expect it to last anything longer than your first WOT pull. These engines are actually strong from a standpoint of the amount of load that can be placed on them BUT weak from the standpoint that you can't let detonation happen. I would seriously take a step back if I were you and make sure you have all the proper parts needed for your combination as well as the proper tune to go along with it, or else this will keep happening. I've seen this happen personally to people over and over again because they just can't get someone to get the engine clearances right(this is much more important at elevated boost levels) or the tuning correct. Someone I know has been through multiple engine rebuilds/replacements within the same time that I've been on my 45k mile Pineapple because of either improper rebuilds and/or improper tuning and/or improper supporting parts. For the most part, you're engine is only as good as your tune.

 

I'm sorry to here that man. I have 2 blown engines in my shop right now, both rotaries. My T2 which I just pulled apart this week, and my friends FD that blew in Jan. The T2 lost the rear rotor, and yes I drive it hard. The FD engine lost both rotors at low boost, and about 40mph. If you have never been in a v8 7, you should go for a ride in 1. The torque is great, dependable, and much better mpg. Go to v8rx7forum.com and see who is in your area. You will never look back!
Mark

 

I've got nothing against the guys who do the LSx swap, but V8s know their own tune...takes the fun out of Mustang smackdowns...furthermore I love the high revving, two stroke type powerband of the turbo 13b

 

Let's not turn this into another v8 vs rotary thread guys.....so far things are civil, I'm just being proactive

 

:

LSx's get tuned just like rotaries once you swap in a bigger cam or heads/cam. The only difference is you don't need a standalone EMS AND you can drive your car to the tuner with much less fear of detonation.

 

Hi Howard,

I had a quick question with regards to this statement. Is it one factor that makes you doubt the longevity of your wifes engine, specifically the stock factory map, or the combination of factors, stock factory map+ stock turbos+ reman motor that makes think you will bake the motor eventually.

The reason I ask is because I was wondering if all the traditional reliability mods were performed while keeping the stock turbos and engine management was upgraded to the something like the PFC, would you be confident in the reliability of the car, or would you still have reservations about reliability?

I'm a little gun shy to pull the trigger on a car that may pop the motor at any time, despite my best efforts to prevent it. At the same time I know that is the price to pay for such a rewarding car.

Thanks for your time,
Chris

 

give the RA Super Seals a shot. I know people say they are harder on the housings, but mine survived multiple serious detonations and they are 2mm.

 

Just popped mine last night. Riding home minding my own and all of a sudden no power and i limped home on one rotor. Less than 3000 miles??? Something is in the air or gas. I was on mazda seals too. Not happy.

 

wow... you guys rock... i can't believe all the positive posts on this thread. thanks for the empathy. here's my update...

ok, since i don't have ... like ... $2000 to spend on a rotary compression super-tool, i, like you, am just using a basic piston one i got at autozone.

so, my g/f is cranking it (hey, get your mind outta the gutter) while i'm under it (wow, this can read two ways ) with my finger on the relief valve (i should have been a **** author!) and there it was bouncing up and down, up and down (wow, now i'm just trying to be dirty) between 0 and 45 pounds. i checked the front and rear rotors and the bouncing compression was the same. take my finger off the valve and i get, like, 125 lbs from the front and 85 from the rear.

oh, and p/s, i started her up (rough rough rough) and ran some more seafoam and water through her while on blocks. wow, it looked like my house was on fire! i've run 3 gallons of water and a whole thing of seafoam now. let me tell ya, my engine is still kinda rough, but it's a lot LESS rough now!

so, i'm on the phone with rob from pineapple. that guy rocks and i'm hoping IF i send the engine in he'll warrentee it. i told him i inspected all 6 apex seals through the spark plug hole (here i am gettin' nasty again) with a flashlight and an inspection mirror while my "i'm too much of a princess for this damn garage" g/f was slowly cranking the engine around for me with a 42mm ratchet.

i used the back end of a plastic sharpie pen to push the apex seals in and out. dudes, they were ALL THERE (not like last time when one was missing) and they ALL sprang BACK! what the hell???

so i talked to rob. i told him it was making a weird "suck suck suck" noise at low rmp... about 800 rpm to be precise. he told me that one of the apex seals is chipped!

what the???? he told me they get chipped from carbon every now and then.

my gosh... i'm thinking i should have fi cleaned out my engine more and done that water/steam clean deal like every 2500 miles or every oil change or whatever.

OH! and to answer a couple of questions:

1) no i do not mix oil. i just inject it. i guess this builds up way more carbon? i use synthetic... 20/50 mobile one from costco in the case.

2) yes, i watch my ping meter on my power fc. when the car hits about 6000 rpm in 3rd or 4th gear i get a LOT of smoke, the ping thing goes off the chart and smoke comes outta the back of my car like... a LOT!

anyone know what that means? it's been like that for a couple (few) years now. i've been meaning to get a pro to look at it but i'm in vegas where... ya know... as far as rotary technology is concerned i'm f'd in the a!

so my car is in the garage on jacks now. i'm totally perplexed. i don't know if i should rip out the engine and send it back to rob or not. i don't know what to do. is the apex seal really chipped? i wonder where i can get one of those compression tools to borrow. will mazda do a competant job looking it over if i bring it in? i don't need a lecture on how i don't have cats or an air pump and how my car alone is the main cause of global warming. moreover i don't need a bill for them to tell me JACK SQUAT <--- most likely scenerio. so, you can tell i've had the car into mazda before, can you?

so i'm stuck. i'll put the thing back together when i get the energy and drive it around until it magically fixes itself or starts on fire. what i'd LIKE to do is have some super-genius (NOT me!) take a look at it and give me a real diagnostic.

why the hell can mazda do that? why the hell in the past when i've brought my fd into mazda they give me a look like i honked their wives nipples? like i'm an irs agent? like i'm giving them a pink-slip? like i'm the black guy coming over for christmas with their hot blonde daughter?

i'm paying them money! it's an engine! it's got a turbo! why are they so damn intimidated? they made the thing!

so, they give you angry death looks AND they don't do anything to boot! they give you some bull-crap "solution".

example: "I'm sorry Mr. Stripling... this car is a great car, but it needs a new engine, turbo, engine harness, radiator, hoses and belts, transmission, drive line, lsd, dash harness and misc. components like fi's, oil injector, fuel pump and bla bla bla... that'll be $21,323 please"

daaaaaaamn! and HOW long is the warentee on that? 1 year or 12,000 miles? daaaaaamn!

ok, exaguration, true, but they will tell you that you need a new turbo at the drop of a hat or an engine rebuild. what they're saying is, "we don't know and we don't wanna know but if you replace large components then small components are sure to fall in line"

there i go getting all wordy again...

thanks to everyone who's responded. i love my FD... why? i swear, it's just masochistic... but love it is and one day when i get to be a multi-millionaire i'm gonna fix up the car by throwin gobs of money at it and park it in my 5 car garage with a velvet rope around it. i've had the thing since 1995 and my family and friends say, "get rid of it!" ... but i can't ... and somehow putting a torquey, realiable v8 in it just kinda ruins it for me. i'd rather just get a new corvette or that new M3 ... no flies on the v8 guys out there... i think it's cool! but it ruins the love of the car for me and just kinda turns it into something the duke boys might have made in the barn.

of couse, somewhere deep inside, i'll always be jealous of those guys who stuck an LS1 or LS7 or LSx engine in the FD... ya know, because their car actually works, gets better milage and power than mine!

so, get rid of it, fix it or v8 it. can't v8 it.... plus i hear to put a good v8 in it will be like $17,000...

i got it! i'll 20b it!

in my dreams....

 

Ha who told you it would be 17K was on crack


you need to talk to someone else.

It would run that if you did not have the car already and was looking to do the strait swap. But you have the car so take the price of the roller away.

 

I personally dont think the engine is crap. I think if the engine DID in fact blow after that many miles, it may have been a bad rebuild,or possibly a bad tune? I hope thats not the problem. When I bought my car, the original engine had already been replaced, but after some research, I found out the original engine blew because the girl who owned the car,actually drove ALL THE WAY to the dealersip with a "check coolant light" on, and when she got there she complained it was "running rough and hot"... pretty self explanitory

 

things don't square here.

chipped apex seal?

maybe.

chipped apex seals?

probably not.

you did a compression test. you report 45 on all impulses. and yet you say the gauge maxxed at 125 on the front and 85 on the rear.

it is highly unlikely that all 6 apex seals are "chipped."

you need to do the test again.

use a video camera. video the compression gauge. while doing the test make sure the throttle is maxxed and the lead plug is out of the other rotor so you have higher cranking speed.

replay the video in slow motion. record every power impulse in sequence.

get back to us w the numbers.

good luck,

howard

 

video the gauge and play it back in slow motion.... freakin' genius... why didn't i think of that?

you, sir, rock... and here i was thinking about laying out $400 for that rotory compression gauge i found on a website...

okay, both plugs out, egr removed, foot on throttle, finger on release x2 for each rotor then finger off gauge to get a max pressure.

i will do the test in the morning, camera phone recording... and save $400 bucks on something i'd need to use maybe once every five years

thanks man! d