bestcara1

I bought an RX-7 elfini at auction last night but it is looking like it's going to be a challenge so any help/advice would be appreciated.

It was only imported from Japan to the UK on 01/06/07 so hopefully there won't be too many issues to resolve but right now I'm pretty worried!

On driving it out of the auction compound today it sounded like it was backfiring a bit from the large bore exhaust however on the drive home on the motorway it wasn't very responsive when the accelerator was pressed, the temperature gauge stayed in the middle all the way home, around 60 miles, but when I got onto our drive and stopped the gauge shot up into the red, on lifting the bonnet I noticed that the plastic water reservoir cap was off and the long plastic dipstick appears to show that there is way too much water in it.

Any ideas anyone, and does anyone know of a reputable specialist in the north of England that I could trailer it to so they could have a look?

Thanks in advance

hIGGI

iTrader: (7)

lots of England related info could be found on UK base forums here :

http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/

Good luck with your problems, it wont be cheap

Mireck 12A

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Please lift the bonnet before you drive.... not much use in checking things afterwards....

No water should be used as a coolant. Use proper coolant.

There a large UK based forum with plenty of info. www.fduk. com and www.mazdarotaryclub.com

They know all the places, and ther might even be a forum member in you neighbourhood.

Good luck, and let us know how things are going.

bestcara1

Update on my RX-7 elfini but more about the beginning of the affair

When I first saw the car at the auction it looked absolutely stunning cosmetically in silver metallic with what I think is a veilside full body kit, my main concern at this point was that the car was a private entry and why would anyone enter such an immaculate looking car in an auction, my head told me that it must have a mechanical problem but my heart told me that I had to bid!

Once in front of the rostrum the auctioneer announced that it was for sale without reserve, again alarm bells were ring but the car had sounded so sweet as the driver tweeked the accelerator, the car had its own audience and punters were looking and listening in the engine bay which was truly immaculately clean. I thought stuff it I'm going to have a go and consequently won the car

Only when I collected the car did I receive the V5 registration document, it showed that the car had been imported by an Asian guy on 01/06/07 who had apparantly sold it to a guy in Middlesex who had completed his details on the V5 as the new keeper then proceeded to cross his details out, at this point I guessed that the Asian had sold it to this guy who had brought it back with a problem, it was around about this time that I started to perspire profusely

Anyway you know about the journey home on Tuesday so onto yesterday, I had a couple of conversations with Pip at WGT Auto Developments who gave me some sound advice freely about topping up the coolant which I followed precisely, he also frightened me when he said that worst ways it could be an engine rebuild at £3,000!

I topped it up the first time, took it for a 3 mile run and as I got back on our drive the temperature gauge shot up into the red again. I left it for a while to cool down and when I removed the reservoir cap i found that it had emptied again, so again I topped it up and took it down the road, this time I only went a couple of miles and the gauge stayed in the middle but the car was definately not happy, when I attempted to accelerate the car was stuttering like mad, and I wasn't just whacking my foot down quickly I was driving it, or trying to drive it very moderately, I didn't sleep easily that night

On to today, I've got an Audi Cabriolet that needed a new electric aerial so I rang my mobile audio guy, Lee, who is a bit of an auto electrical genius and a lover of all things quick. When he arrived he told me that he had owned an RX-7 years ago when he lived in America, I immediately told him of the problems that I'd had and in a flash he'd forgotten the Audi and set about sorting the RX-7.

The car has a turbo boost gauge mounted on the dash and a turbo timer on the steering column, neither of which had worked from me collecting the car, he pulled a couple of fuse panels and tested them, they were all fine, then he noticed a loose wire that had just been snipped and left hanging, out came the volt meter and eventually he re-connected the loose wire which was the turbo timer, at this point it was as if the car gave a sigh of relief, no honestly it was, there was absolutely no lumpy idling as before.

Fascia back in place and filled with confidence we took it up the road, and I thought it only fair to let him drive, the difference in performance I just cannot begin to describe, the car was absolutely stunningly quick and totally free revving, the temp gauge remained central and God was truly in his heaven

I still don't understand why a non working turbo timer caused the car to use water at such a rapid rate but to be honest I am just totally relieved that the car is now running as it is meant to, Lee thinks that somewhere along the line the car had a security system removed and in the process of removing it the turbo timer wire had been inadvertantly snipped and not rejoined.

Apologies if I've bored any of you with this mini saga but I'd just like to say to the Asian guy,if you're reading this (hopefully), that obviously entered it into the auction thinking that he was about to seriously lift someone's leg and that it was in need of a VERY costly rebuild, THANK YOU, this is probably the cheapest RX-7 in this condition in the country and I can only think that you paid a LOT more to have it shipped from Japan. Admittedly after a bit of stressing ONE LOOSE WIRE WAS THE PROBLEM

If anyone is interested I can post some pics of my vision of beauty, let me know as I've probably bored you all by this point

Mireck 12A

Good to hear things are better with the car right now. But don't sell the bear before you shoot it. You will have your share of (little) problems with Rx-7's
Get the car to Pip from WGT and have it checked. If the car was modified in Japan, it might needs some adjustments because of the different fuel overhere in Europe.

and show us what this car looks like

bestcara1

That's good advice, I'm going change the front lambda sensor early next week as it still plays up intermittantly, here's the photos Mirek

Numbskull that I am I didn't even realise that it's a Type R until I checked the VIN today to order the lambda sensor

bestcara1

If anyone can identify any mods in the engine bay or elsewhere on the car I'd appreciate your feedback

Mireck 12A

i dunno if it legal in the UK, but i would ditch the front licenseplate. It is blocking alsmost completely the airflow to the radiator......

Are licenseplate stickers (on the nose) allowed in the UK?

Enginebay looks compleetly stock.

Get rid of the plastic AST, replace it with a alu AST. It has been throwing coolant already....

bestcara1

VERY, VERY good point Mireck, dumbo never gave a thought to the airflow, the registration plate holder's a gonner!

AST? Are you referring to the black plastic overflow reservoir on the right as you look at the engine?

You're right it has been throwing coolant. Are the central coolant cap and the one on the overflow both supposed to have spring loaded caps as mine are and I'm wondering if that's part of the problem?

Mireck 12A

I'm sorry, yes i'm referring to the black plastic reservoir. It is not a overflow reservoir, it called Air Seperation Tank (hence the AST). The overflow reservoir is on the right side of the enginebay, just behind the headlight, there is the fillpoint of the overflowreservoir. Keep the levels there between low and high.

Do not fill the AST to the top. You'll see a horizontal "flap" when you look in the AST, fill it to that level, the flap is about 1" / 1.5" from the top.
The AST should have a spring loaded cap with 0.9 or 1.1 Bar.
The other cap on top of the waterpump/thermostathousing is the filler point and should not be a springloaded cap, but just a cap.
Fill it here to the top.

The AST is know for cracking because of age and the heat of the enginebay. Replace it with a alu one to prevent the engine from dumping its coolant within 3 seconds (if the plastic AST should fail).

The AST function is to seperate air bubbles from the coolant to prevent cavitation at high rpm's and at high loads. That's why it should not be filled to the top.


Greetings, Mireck

Andreas

lovely plastic ast


another great photo of the model


isn't she a beauty?


and here the hole because of the high temps under the hood.


something like this WILL happen over time... get a metal one.

bestcara1

Cool, thanks for your advice, much appreciated