typespirit

So I am seriously considering selling my type-s rsx and getting an FD3S. We all know the rotary is a good engine, but is not the most reliable in the world unfortunately...
I was wondering if there are any good garages (within the Toronto area; I live in Richmond Hill) that specialize in rotary engine repair/maintenance etc? I want to make sure that there is a place I can go to should my car have any problems, as after all, the car is 15 years old.

Also, I have yet to decide if I will settle for a RHD, or go for a Canadian LHD car. So another question, apart from the obvious inconveniences of a RHD car (e.g. blind left hand turn) are there any other "problems" that might arise? (in terms of the car itself)

Thanks in advance, I really do hope I can make the transition to the rotary family

2Fierce

iTrader: (7)

Welcome to the club. rsx's are nice cars.

First, ask yourself this. Why do you want an FD ?

If all the answers leave you with no other choice than buy one, and prepare to spend $. Just ask thewird lol

HEVNSNT

iTrader: (3)

1. FD is not a daily driver. Make sure you have another reliable car.
2. Make sure you have lots of money for maintenance. Even more if you get a shop to do most of the work. Be prepared to spend $4000+ for a new engine if needed.
3. Check insurance.

Annual car payments + insurance + gas + maintenance is about the same as my mortgage (principle payments) lol.

ScrappyDoo

iTrader: (7)

I just got into FD ownership last year after years of FC ownership and I concur with the above posters that it costs mucho dinero to turn an unreliable FD into a reliable one.

I bought a LHD Canadian car at a good price knowing I would be rebuilding the engine right away. I have done all the reliability mods and I am currently daily driving my FD. The car I bought was very clean and essentially one owner. I was looking south of the border for cars but never really considered a RHD.

When deciding to buy an FD I looked at it in the below manner:

1. Buy a clean Canadian car for 15K and then spend 10-15k bringing it to where I would want it.

2. Buy a clean US car for US$8-10k and then spend 10-15k bringing it to where I would want it. (this car will always be worth less than a Canadian car in my opinion)

3. Buy a RHD for $8-10K and spend 10-15k bringing it to where I would want it. (this car will always be worth less than the rest in my opinion.)

All three of the above take time to complete and you really have to enjoy spending time working on the car or having considerable downtime while you get it perfect.

4. Buy a car that someone has taken care of and spent all the money already. This is the hardest to find but there are currently a couple of FDs for sale in the city and one in Quebec that I would definately consider paying $20-25k for and emilinate all the running around to get them right. Plus you will usually get alot of extra things for your dollar since nobody expects to get back every dollar they spend on cars.

I think what I am trying to say is that an FD will always cost you $20-25k, you can pay up front and enjoy a clean, well built car from day of purchase, or you do it all yourself over time but then have to wait to actually enjoy the car.

As far as shops in the GTA there are some great shops in the area. I rely on Jim and Darryl from Rotary Dynamics. www.rotarydynamics.ca or PM "rdturbo" or "jim kutschke" on the forum. They own rotary dynamics. There are some shops to avoid but for that you'll have to PM me as I don't want your thread to turn negative.

And you should really spend some time reading the FAQ in the 3rd gen section of this forum. You'll get a good idea about potential issues and how to solve them. And finally you should probably take a ride in a FD to see if you even like it. I think it will be hard not to but if you're 6'4" you may not be even comfortable in there. PM me and I'll take you for a ride once mine is tuned in the first week of May.

Nismo Convert86

iTrader: (7)

Jim and Darryl are about the only shop on the forum that own FD's personally, that pretty much speaks for it self, oh and tell them Musaki sent you.

charr33

Welcome.
(Warning Long Post)

FD's are like women. You love em when they are doing what they are supposed to be doing, and you hate em when they are giving you attitude.

I personally would not buy RHD, but I cannot give you any solid reason for that preference. Aside from the large pain of driving on the wrong side of the car, I just get the feeling of shadiness when dealing with second hand things from overseas. Dont ask me why, but I just get the feeling the car has been driven hard and the main reason it is coming over here is to be dumped on some poor sucker who doesnt know any better. I am sure this is not the case (at least not all the time) but my own peace of mind demands I buy a car from Canada.

That said, you will likely pay between 15 and 25k for the car. It may be stock, or it may be modded. If it is already modded, you would do well to find out where the car was worked on. If it was one of the less reputable shops, you may be in for some surprises. I've had many people look under my car and shake their head at what the previous shop did to it...

Also, if the car is already modded, was it modded correctly? It stands to reason that a modded car has been driven by an enthusiast, and as such not babied. While this is not a bad thing (as revving the engine should help reduce carbon buildup) it can lead to overheating if the car was not properly set up. And overheating (while never a good thing in any car) can be catastrophic in a rotary engine.

So lets take an example of how your experience might be.

Lets assume you buy a stock car with 85000km on it and you pay $20000 for it.

It's working well and youre big ballin now. You've spent all you want to spend and have no intention of modding it. But you start to read up on the forums and find out that even if you dont plan on modding it, you still should do some reliability mods to help the car last longer. So you replace the stock pre-cat with a downpipe to help release excess heat from the engine, replace the stock radiator with a larger core, and change the AST with an aluminum one because the stock plastic one is prone to cracking. Maybe you changed all 1 million vacuum lines which have become hard and brittle over the years. You've also read that it would be a good idea to install a boost gauge so you can diagnose problems and watch for any creeping or spiking. And you've heard running lean is very bad for rotaries, so you also install an a/f gauge (but you might not spend the money on a wideband, so ultimately, all you get is pretty lights flashing around on your a-pillar) Maybe you even heard a turbo timer was a good idea and wasted 400 bucks on that. (But it is fun to leave the car running when you park it near a crowd of people who dont know whats going on and have them remind you your car is still on, so its worth it)

Ok good. But as much as you want to keep your car stock, you start showing up to RX7 meets and seeing all the other modded cars and start to think of things you should do too. People tell you what they've done and the testosterone is flowing and you just cant leave the car as is.

So now you put an exhaust and an intake on the car. Sounds great! But now you have 3 mods freeing up airflow. (youve heard mixed views on whether the rule of 3 is fact or fiction, but you decide to air on the side of caution.) So from your reading, you figure the stock ECU is not always up to the challenge of figuring out the correct a/f ratio beyond a certain flow point. What that point is, is up for debate, and smarter people than you can debate this til the cows come home, but the long and the short of it is you should replace the stock ECU with an aftermarket one. So you go with the Power FC (or Haltech, or other). This also adds to your bling factor because you can mount a nice little hand held commander on your dash. Pimped.

But now you have this nice computer and you see your water temps are still higher than you would like. (good thing too, because the stock water temp gauge is as useless as **** on a bull) So you remove the CAT. And you see the Air temps are higher than you would like, so you replace the stock intercooler with a bigger core.

Now your car is starting to become pretty quick. You've added aprox 60hp on stock boost with stock porting.

Now you need to look good too. Time for some new rims and tires. Pimpin!
But look how odd the car looks sitting up so high. Pop some shocks and springs on that bad boy. And why does everyone have a nice front lip on their car? Add that on too. No back spoiler? Cant have that! Tint out those windows while your at it.

Well now you have these big rims on your car, you can see your brakes. Better get some nice drilled/vented rotors on their to add to the bling (and maybe help with stopping?)

Oh did I mention someone has to tune that ECU you put in there? Better get Steve Kan up here. (and hope he doesnt screw up your timing).

Alright. Now your looking good. ****...why is there coolant leaking from the overflow bottle? Time to research that. O-ring? WTF is an o-ring? I see...So now you take your car back to the shop for a rebuild. $5000??? Sigh...ok what choice do you have other than to do it yourself.

Alright. Car is back on the road. Time for an e-test. Oh...thats right, you have no emissions equipment on your car...(And even if you did, your chances of passing arent very good)

Ok so you got the "etest" done and things are working again. Why is there clunking from the back every time you stop? Bushings you say? Well of course, the car is 15 years old after all. Turns out bushings are pretty damn expensive. Something to do with having to replace the entire arm? Shrug. Ok getter done.

Still having problems shifting into 5th though. More research leads you to realize your 5th gear synchro is broken. A common problem on FDs. Ok well the thats a lot of labour to pull the tranny, (and the syncho itself is like 800 bucks) so might as well do the clutch and flywheel while we are in there.

Now to figure out why the CD player doesnt seem to want to play CD's anymore. You have this nice Bose Wave System and nothing to play on it. Call up a shop to see about getting a new deck, and you are told it is a proprietary system with amps in the speakers running at a different resistance or some other BS etc, and you have to replace the WHOLE thing if you want a new deck. Ridiculous.

Well at least you only have a 1.3L engine instead of some big V8, so you should get some decent gas mileage. So you bust out your calculator after a fill up one day (using only Ultra 94 mind you) and discover you have used 56L of gas in only 276km...This converts to 11.6 mpg…(OMG a Ferrari F430 gets 13/17 mpg…)

Then you add in the odd speeding ticket on the way to Ottawa, the cost of purchasing custom plates, having them confiscated by Jonny Law, cost of that ticket, cost of towing your car back from Ottawa, AND the fact that you can only drive it 7-8 months of the year, and even then, mostly on sunny days because you have little traction in the rain and your A/C doesn’t work anymore…Plus your paint is 15 years old and faded, (hopefully not pink) and you have some dents and scratches and a crack in your windshield. You have 3000rpm hesitation due to poor grounding and a cracked turbo housing which causes your car to backfire like something out of a gangster movie everytime you let off the throttle, and you sometimes see erratic boost patterns which could be any number of things, not the least of which is that one of your 1 million vacuum lines has fallen off, or there is a crack in your intercooler piping. And you are also frustrated at the way the stock sequential turbos refuse to revert from non-sequential back to just the primary turbo unless you drop below 2800rpm, which makes you look stupid if you shift too early and coast for a bit and then try and accelerate again. (You could always go non-sequential but you would lose the low end boost which you enjoy as a daily driver)

So if you haven’t guessed already, this is the story of my experience with my car. Lots of time, frustration and money has been spent on it, and it still isn’t a highly modded 400hp car. Its still just a 280rwhp slightly faded 1993 car with poor gas mileage and the reliability of a donkey.

But you know what? I love it. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Sure there are nicer cars to cruise in, but nothing puts a smile on my face then when the second turbo kicks in around 4500rpm. And nothing short of an exotic will turn more heads than a nice FD. And no other car will have people unable to figure out what it is. And you would be amazed at how many people will roll down their window at a stop light and comment on it or ask a question. How cool is it to realize that you don’t even have pistons? How cool is it to know that you are driving a rare, unique car which uses different technology, and still looks as good or better than most cars on the road today, and is as fast or faster than most cars on the road today? (I’ve owned my car for 7 years and it is still worth more or less what I paid for it. Not including the mods of course)

So to sum up. If you are buying a car to just get in, turn the key and drive, this is not the car for you. But if you have patience, and can appreciate what you are actually buying (a classic) then there is no other car I would rather buy. If you are not sure, come out to one of the meets. I believe there is one in the near future.

eViLRotor

iTrader: (2)

...all that, an Neo will still run into you.

Nismo Convert86

iTrader: (7)

From behind!!!

charr33

Oh yes...I forgot about that.

Add some extra cash for when your buddy crashes into you in Ottawa (I am starting to think Ottawa is cursed)

If you do end up getting an FD, make sure to stay away from a brightly polished red FD with JDM wheels. But dont worry, if there are any clouds in the sky, you will be safe.

ScrappyDoo

iTrader: (7)

You crack me up.

RXcetera

Charr, awesome recap of typical FD ownership! Everyone should read your post before contemplating the financial suicide which is the FD.

maxg765

Hello,

Sorry for the long read....

Please note that some of the things I write below are my thoughts and not entirely factual. Don't scold me for my thoughts.

While I do agree with everything you mentioned especially your last paragraph where one needs to understand what they are buying and getting into it really does not have to be all that bad. Its not a regular car nor do I think it should be a daily driver....for that keep your RSX (I have a honda civic too)

I do however feel that the FD will dish out to its owner what its owner dishes out to it, yes, just like a woman would. If your nice and honest with her she will in turn be nice back to you. You show her money and offer her some and she will take and spend it as often as its shown.

I also feel that once you start to mess with the car in way of the so called reliability mods it could never end if you don't stop at the AST tank and some ties or clamps on some of the 100 rubber vacuum hoses to prevent them from coming off. Your pocket certainly needs to be DEEP. You end up with what I call the FD DOMINO effect. Please, I do not mean that one should not do these modes if you plan on using the car very HARD or on a track but they are not required if you will use the car on regular roads or the occasional high speed highway cruise. As long as you follow expensive and frequent maintenance you should be fine. But, this maintenance needs to be frequent and detailed and by a pro.

With the FD Mazda designed and built a race car chassis and race capable engine but in the real world this was not required and the cost to put a production race car on the road and in the hands of the average consumer would have been too high not to mention the government emissions requirements which always hold back more performance and add to the production costs. So here we are a production FD sold to consumers in a consumer friendly form. They scaled down some of the "race ready" parts in as they were selling a road ready car. After all 15 years ago they did not price the FD like a Porsche or Ferrari. Had they done so none of us would be required to spend on such mods as the car would have been delivered with them.

I know of a couple of people that have FD's, they are not on this forum or any other for that matter. They follow a very strict and frequent maintenance schedule in way of ALL fluid changes and an annual pre-season flush of the coolant, breaks, and tranny since new. One has just over 106K on his car while the second has just over 90K if I recall correctly. Both are on the original engine (no rebuild yet). Aside form the AST tank being changed to a better non factory unit and a few vacuum hoses having clamps added to prevent popping off they have not done any other mods. They have also not had any issues aside from one having a water pump that leaked last year requiring a replacement/rebuild and new seals and at some point the other car had some work done on the exhaust system (factory replacement parts were used) since it became a bit blocked up but not sure which part it was. The cars continue to run fine and remain stock. Yes they do cost more to own than your average car but at this point you are also looking at a 15 year old master piece. I do not consider new vacuum hoses or rear bushings a mod. This is part of required maintenance of a 15 year old high performance car. Now yes the parts are expensive and you certainly cannot just go have these cars worked on by just anyone but they are part of what is considered regular maintenance. My neighbor had a 1985 Ferrari and each year it cost him about 5K in maintenance and one year a new clutch cost him an additional 8K or so. You say, "hey I don't have a Ferrari here, its a Mazda", well yes the name plate may be different but the performance is and was close back in 1993. Thus your regular maintenance will cost you less than the required annual 5K Ferrari name plate expense but it still is a high performance machine and will be more than a regular vehicle.

You need to decide what your plans are for the car first and then buy the correct car for those intentions.

Do you want stock and plan to use it as a stock with its limits in minds or do you want a DOMINO effect car.

I myself will not drive mine hard, race, or take her on a track, at least I don't plan on it. I searched for two years for the correct car. I get her at the end of this month, a 100% stock including the AST tank 1993 FD Silver on Red with original 14000 miles. I had the car transported to and gone through by KDROTARY from A to Z. She is as new and no issues. I am told I should be good till 100K mile if I follow a solid good maintenance schedule but I also need to understand that she is 15 years old. New vacuum lines are prob a good idea within the next two years and a new AST now. Aside from the AST and clamps on the vacuums I don't plan any other mods with the exception of that sexy front R1 lip. Keep in mind a good low mile stock car will run more than 20-25K easily and seem to be climbing each year.

In either case you need to realistically factor in 20 to 25K if you want a proper running FD regardless if it will be the STOCK or DOMINO car. Thats what the real cost is. If you plan on less then look else where as you will always be in the shop and prob end up spending more in patch solutions than a initial proper car.

Best regards

Max

7_rocket

iTrader: (6)

http://www.rx7.org/Robinette/buyaused.htm

RXcetera

maxg765, while I agree that some FD's tend to be fairly trouble free if left mostly stock, many have learned the hard way that even stock FD's are incredibly unreliable.

I bought my 93 with 90,000 kms on the clock and every service receipt since new. The complete turbo assembly was replaced by the previous owner under warranty (5000$) as well as various little things including the recalls. One rim was also replaced under warranty because of unexplained cracks.
I set out to keep this car entirely stock and it's really only driven on weekends. Unfortunately, in the last 5 years, I've spent close to the value of the car on ridiculous random failures and repairs. Keep in mind that I've been around rotaries for a long time and tend to know how to treat them. This car gets regular maintenance and then some.

Here's just some of the issues which have plagued my car since I bought it:

-Engine rebuilt (coolant o-rings)
-Tranny rebuilt (5th gear synchro and bearing failure)
-Replaced clutch/pressure plate (old stock one chattered like crazy)
-Replaced rad (original started leaking)
-Replaced drivers side engine mount (failed)
-Replaced vac lines and a couple solenoids (cooked)
-Replaced intake thermosensor (failed)
-Replaced coolant thermosensor (failed)
-Replaced coolant thermoswitch (failed)
-Replaced throttle dashpot (failed)
-Replaced alternator (failed)
-Replaced all rear suspension pillow ball bushings (failed)
-Replaced both front end links (failed)
-Replaced drive shaft with another used (original developed vibration)
-Replaced brake master cylinder (failed)
-Replaced both rear calipers (one leaked, other noisy/sticks)
-Replaced shifter bushings and all seals (failed, worn)
-Replaced coolant fan relay (failed)
-Replaced 1 Bose sub amp, 1 speaker amp and both the CD and Radio (CD player stopped reading CD's, radio stopped working)
-Replaced shift **** because the leather wore right through.
-Replaced steering wheel with newer stock one because leather wore right through.
-Replaced sunroof seal (old one split)
-Replaced throttle elbow gasket (leak)
-Replaced Y pipe coupler (cooked = leak)
-Replaced turbo coolant hoses (cooked = burst)
-Repainted entire car because of horrible chipping from diffective original paint.
-Replaced original bumper because of bad heat sags

I'm writing this from memory... I'm forgetting many other little fixes. On the agenda this spring: One of my rear diff bushings is toast, someone shut the passenger door with the grab handle and cracked it, the driver door wont unlock when it's hot out and my idle is sporadic after starting my car last week. Also, oil pressure gauge is acting up again.

I love the FD. It was an interesting engineering exercise, but most of its execution left a lot to be desired.

Hopefully my soon to be Elise will be slightly more reliable (not bloody likely).

typespirit

Thank you all for your input, seriously, much appreciated! (i didnt get this much help when i asked about my RSX hah)

I really understand that getting into an FD is like getting into a serious relationship with a female - time, money effort etc.

For me, i am looking to get rid of the RSX because I am simply bored with front-wheel-drive, and the restrictions of being able to have some 'fun' with the car. I have shortlisted it down to 2 candidates.. the Honda S2000 and the Mazda RX-7.

I've driven both cars, (only a RHD FD when i was back in Hong Kong) and both handle superbly (each so well in their own way that my RSX felt somewhat inferior). The S2000 is very agile and quick with awesome cornering capabilities while the FD handled well, it felt extremely stable and planted to the ground (something I am very fond of). As most of you would expect, you can only drive for so long on a test drive so I am sure theres still lots more to expect from both cars.

However, like many of you have mentioned, the FD is simply a classic. While the S2000 shines in its own way, the FD is simply a head turner. And as for me, I enjoy not following the "crowd". Individualism is important for me, say, with my choice of music, my choice of fashion, etc etc. The RX-7 gives me this satisfaction. Though I know some might think this is shallow and materialistic, I truly want a vehicle that not too many people have (around my area, you drive onto the streets and you see countless RSX, S2K, 350Z etc etc) but RX7s? not too many.

In terms of having to baby the car and whatnot, I do not think I would have a problem with that. I am the type of guy who would lose sleep if I get a slight ding on the car / stay up all night researching on why I heard a rattle while driving on the highway. When I first acquired my RSX, I felt guilty everytime I hit vtec as I felt i was pushing the car too much :p but eventually I've come to realize that it is fine to push the car once in a while.

So you can see, both my choices arnt really daily drivers (maybe the S2000 is more of a DD, in terms of reliability etc), but fortunately I have my life saving (and more importantly, gas saving!!) 98 civic hatchback. Even my RSX as it is, is not my DD and i tend to baby it more than it needs (more of a weekend/summer car for that reason).

I am quite determined to begin my hunt for the "right" FD; a LHD one for that matter. Like charr33 said, I also have my doubts on imported FDs and I also need the peace of mind (I like to be able to see and test the car before making a commitment). Though if i do not find the one that works for me, I may never own one. Lets see where life takes me ... lol

1.3Ldreamcar

iTrader: (1)

First off there is a debate weather you can use these cars as daily drivers.... you CAN. I do, and so do lots of others.... you need to keep the power under 350whp, and maintain it well. but be prepared for the odd time where you will need to take a cab to work.

I own 2 RHD cars, and honestly I like them more then LHD, cause its so easy to parallel park! lol ... but seriously, the only real quam I have is merging into a lane. This is where the B-pillar will get in the way of visibility.

RSX's are nice, but no comparison to FDs. a well tuned 380WHP FD will pretty much dominate anything on the street, AND can out handle pretty much anything with the correct suspension set-up.

you will be besically trading fuel economy, and relability for better all-around performance, and IMO looks.

If you really want to properly maintain it, it will cost about 2 times as much as your RSX. - oil changes occur more often and use royal purple synthetic oil (do the research on this) which is pretty pricey.
Also lots of ppl who are using their car as a DD use premix (I do) which is pretty expensive (like $3-4 per tank of gas) again, do the research on this to see if you think your driving habbits require this.

a LHD FD will cost you $5,000-10,000 more then RHD. if you decide to go RHD be sure to get your car from a reputable dealer, or factor in the cost of a rebuild into the cost of the vehicle. LOTS of imported FDs have engine troubles.... and ANY engine problem= rebuild.

hope that helps

JDK

iTrader: (8)

typespirit:

If you care for some more in-depth information on this beast I would be willing to sit down with you and discuss your future with a FD.

1.3Ldreamcar

iTrader: (1)

I know exactily what you mean about the uniqueness factor! For sure the FD is up there.... to put it in perspective: there were more Ferrari's, and porche's sold in the 3 years that FD where sold... so these are extreamly rare...

maxg765

Each time I read that entire list I get sick to my stomach. So much to do and watch out for, but then again when you own an exotic its no different....

While I do agree with ALL of it on that list and I have yet to experience any problems with my own FD (but I also have yet to take delivery of her thus I do not speak from personal experience with the FD but I have owned many other classics and still do) people still need to understand that these cars are now classics and exotic classics at that and not regular vehicles. I don't know of any other 15 year old + car that does not require some special attention or is expected to work so hard and so perfect. Now factor in the exotic and unique Rotary aspect plus the first sequential turbo system in NA and voila, maintenance and what we call mods.

I don't really consider the tie wraps or type clamps on the vacuum hoses a mod. Any old car would require this or replacements. If one would put in all new OEM lines from the factory I would expect they would last another 15 years. As for the AST tank, the same. The plastic gets old and dries out making it crack, a new OEM one avery 5 years or so would solve this too. Yes in both cases silicone hoses and or the addition of clamps plus an aluminum AST are a mod and better than OEM but they can be optional if you constantly replace the OEM stuff with new OEM stuff. And yes I agree that in both cases why tempt chance and putting the clamps plus a metal AST is safer but the OEM works too, it did for the first few years. As for the precat if one wanted to put in a new OEM unit every 5 years or so than they would not clog or over heat. Again, in this case the mod is better than OEM but thats also because by now the OEM units are old. My precat according to the shop is fine thus I will not touch it for now. When the time comes I prob would put in a new OEM precat unit but I don't know and will wait till that time comes. As for the boost gauge, a welcome mod but if your car goes through regular and server strict maintenance each season I think one should be fine if your someone like me who will just drive to and from the office on nice cruise type days and the weekend show giving the car calculated exercise to keep her healthy. I will settle for the external occasional boost gauge use and tube line check mid way through the season and again at the end. Or a under dash velcro mounted unit that requires zero modifications to the interior cosmetics but thats just me.

I know you are all wanting to kill me right now thinking I have no business owning a FD since I wont be driving her hard and using her to her potential but in 10 to 15 years when there will be so few stock examples left and you run into me and my FD at a MAZAD or Import show and everyone is around my car in amazement on how original and pristine mine is we can talk. I like odd cars and collect them. I like to drive them they way they were produced with their original limitations from the factory. Anyone can spend countless dollars moding out a car or restoring one but it can only be original once and thats how I like them.

All that being said, I will be putting a Aluminum AST in and the vacuum tie wraps since I don't consider the wraps a real mod and the AST a insurance mod that can be easily changed back. But, I will be keeping my original AST for future (actually be ordering a new OEM unit as well) reference. Keep in mind the car I found has just 14000 miles and is as new and tested to be in as new condition (see my posts) so just throwing her on the road and adding up tons of miles would be a shame. I am in the same boat with my 74 RX4 Coupe. 33K original miles and cannot bring myself to mod even some mags onto her.

What I am tempted to do is get another FD so I can mess with but I don't have the space or that kind of extra cash. If I did that I can assure you I would be the first to follow that list from A to Z or better yet search for the car that has had it all done and is ready to go and go hard.


Regards

Max

maxg765

Wow. I am sorry for all those. But its part or maintenance for an exotic beast. I have a 1972 Triumph STAG. Not at all the same but also very tempermental if not babied and also needs some "reliability mods" They had a tendency to over heat and the timing chains would stretch after some 20K miles destroying the engine. The heads were aluminum in a time when coolants were not optimized for this metal causing them to warp and thus overheat and blowing the gaskets. The cooling system was not enough for the V8 either. And there is more (British car!).

In the last 12 months I have needed to do the following
Replace the overflow bottle and cap plus need to keep an eye on it to make sure they don't leek or lose pressure or the engine wont cool properly
The timing chains needed to be changed and will every few years
Rad leeked and needed to be recored to 4 core in place of 3 to better cool
New thermostat
New Thermostat sending unit
New hoses all over the place
New hoses all over the place again as the replacements blew due to pressure
New rebuilt power steering pump
New rebuilt power steering control arm due to leek
New fan clutch
New Clutch
Water pump leek and rebuild
New Transmission
New Master clutch cylinder
New Break Master
New rubbers on all doors
Etc etc etc....alot more....

Sounds familiar, its any old car. Some more than others.

I really hope that mine will at least give me some 2 or 3 years of trouble free summer driving as I have to admit with my Triumph I am kind of tired of all the repairs and by the time she is all sorted out I will prob want to sell her.

Max

maxg765

What is your budget.

If I knew this car was for sale before I bought mine I would have grabbed it. Its a 93 CYM and has all the receipts from day one with all the mods and then some by original owner.

Max

charr33

First off, I dont think anyone would want to kill you for not kicking the sh@t out of your car everyday. Everyone has their own reasons for owning their car. Not everyone lives their life a quartre mile at a time (except Neo. He's mad kwik yo)

I applaud you for wanting to keep your car stock, and if you are driving it as little as you claim to be each year, then it will likely be fine. But if you plan on driving it in traffic on a summer day, I would strongly urge any FD owner to replace the pre-cat with a downpipe and change the radiator to something bigger than a notebook...

As far as I know (and I dont know much, so feel free to correct me) the stock pre-cat was designed to aide in heating up the exhaust system to get the main cat hot as soon as possible, so it could actually...well...convert things. So any device designed to retain heat cant be a good thing.

I can tell you my car would run between 95 and 110 degrees before I removed all the junk keeping heat in the engine/engine bay and replaced the Rad, and now it runs at a stable 87 degrees.

I am sure you know what you are talking about (probably know more than I do) but from everything I have read, heard accounts of, and experience first hand, there is no reason to keep the stock pre-cat on the car, and every reason to replace it with a downpipe.

Chris

2Fierce

iTrader: (7)

s2k hardtop + Aspecs single turbo kit with vmount + coilovers = 380hp of win!

**** the fd!

charr33

Sigh...

I hate to be the one to prove my own point but...

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/help-please-fd-needs-doctor-748354/

My car is broken again

7_rocket

iTrader: (6)

the fd is a old car, stuff is broken and or will break. If you ok with fixing it little by little over time your good. ITs like any other car, if you maintain the car properly then it will be good to you. If you beat on it like its a civic, then it wont. Simple.