Hiya.

I have a 1979 5spd SA (FB, whatever).

What happens when I drive is that after about 4.5k, I start loosing the majority of my power. My car starts stuggling to go higher in RPM, and starts shuddering really bad. I can feel the stick start vibrating, and the like in the center near the driver. By 6,000, the tach is at a halt, and my engine sounds like it's going nuts. It won't go about 6. It takes about 10 maybe more seconds to go from 4.5k to 6k.. pretty terrible.

Today my friend and I completely removed the complete exhaust assembely to check for clogs, and we checked the thermal whathaveyou [old version of a cat] for clogs. It was as clean as a whistle..

So now what? What can I try? Someone suggest fuel injector cleaner, but I realized I don't have any fuel injectors. I don't think I've changed the oil in quite some bit.. I might try that. I sort of need a tutorial though, heh, I'm a completely newbie [I'm 16, it's my dads car who completely mistreats it]. Any other easy things I can try, cleaners, etc?

Thanks a bunch,

 

Change the oil! Even if it ain't the cause of yer grief at the mo', rotaries need regular oil changes to last.

 

You need to stop releasing the parachute after 4500 rpm.

 

Yeah, I know. My dad is the type of guy that says 'IF IT WORKS, THERE'S NO NEED TO DO STUFF TO IT'.

Argh, pisses me off. It's NOT going to work if you don't stupid ****... anyways.

Link, or some step-by-steps?

 

DUR, THANKS FOR THAT WITTY AND HELPFUL RESPONSE.

Chop down your sig too.

 

Woah...Easy there fella...No ones gonna help you if youre a dick.

Heres a basic oil change:

1. Put your drain pan under the drain plug
2. Punch a hole in the top of the oil filter on the car with a screwdriver
3. Take out the drain plug
4. Let the oil drain
5. Remove the old filter
6. Put the new filter on
7. Put the drain plug back in
8. Cap and remove the drain pan
9. Re-fill with appropriate amount and viscosity of oil (Castrol 20W-50 seems to be popular)
10. Take the used oil to a recycling center (some auto parts stores do this)

~T.J.

 

Oh yeah, and for your problem, I would suggest you look into fuel delivery (like the fuel filter), and also spark. Check the points and condenser on that thing. It might need a new set. Also, check the timing. Also, go get yourself a manual for it. It will tell you how to do all of these things, and more .

~T.J.

 

Thanks for that.

Are fuel filters easily replaced?

We had the sparks replaced not to long ago. Burned out.

And, what exactly is the timing?

Sorry for the noob questions

 

Somewhat. Theyre semi-hard to get to, as theyre under the car, but nothing amazingly difficult. Get it up on jack stands securly, climb under there and swap it out with a new one. Theres one hose going in, and one hose coming out. The filters have an arrow on them showing which way the fuel flows through it. Be sure to put it in facing the right way . You will just need a pair of pliers to take the spring clamps off the hoses with, and thats about it.
Hmmm...Im not sure what you mean here. Spark plugs? Spark plug wires? Points? Condenser? Even if it was the points and condenser, you might wanna check them. I hear theyre notorious for going out, and keeping adjusted properly. After you gain some mechanical knowledge of the car, you could consider swapping out the distributor from a later model with the electronic ignition for the older points style you have now.
Timing is something you can adjust, and it quite littlery is the timing of the engine. More specifically, the timing when the spark happens to make the engine run. If the timing is set wrong, the engine wont run right because the spark plugs are firing at the wrong time basically. Does that make sense?
Thats ok, thats why were here . You have to learn somehow .

~T.J.

 

I usually jack up the car first....

 

Why? My oil pan fits under the car just fine without it being up, and I just take the bolt out from the top anyway.

~T.J.

 

if you still have the problem i suggest borrow some ignicion coils take yours out and put them in and go and try.i tell you because it happened to me once and i change everything from fuel filter to modules but i never though about the coils.the car start and drives fine but when i tried to go over 4nd it was terrible.try this if you still have the problem which i hope not.

 

My dad said the last time he got the oil changed was about 6 months ago... :x.

Going today.. gonna go with the Castrol 20W-50

 

I don't know if this has anything to do with the problem, but if the secondaries aren't opening your engine wouldn't be very happy at high RPM. It sounds like you aren't getting enough something (fuel or air, or spark, or something else).

I totally agree with RMD.. Get a shop manual. At least check out the ones on iluvmyrxy.com or even better go to the Mazdatrix manual page and buy one for your model. The Haynes manuals are cheap and plenty of people swear by them.

If you need a quick fix it might be time to take it to a "specialist" for a service.

Good luck getting her running smooth!!

..Matt

 

you have chipped the corners off of your apex seals. and have very little compression. i know because i have done this. if you rev it up a little by just blipping the throttle when the rpm's fall if you take off the air filter lid you'll hear it gurgel. thats your problem i'm sure of it. if you continue to drive it it will progressive get worse. eventually you won't be able to rev it over 5k then 4k. but if you change the oil every 1k miles and don't rev it over 3500 you might get it to last for another month or two i got mine to last me until i could afford a swap.

 

Are you sure the cats aren't clogged? Thats what happened to my car.

 

Yes, my friend and I completely removed the cats and checked for any clogging: clean as a whistle.

The exhaust past the cats was fine, good airflow.

 

Eh, I don't really care about preserving the car. My dad mistreats it as it is, and I just want something new. It's been doing this for about 4 maybe 5 months now. I just want it to die so I can pick up a Turbo II to replace it.

How sure are you that this is the problem?

 

Yep that was ultimately the problem with my old 12a. Never did figure out exactly what it was untill I pulled the engine apart to figure out that one of the apex seals on my rear rotor had gone.

I think my secondaries might have been gummed up as well. But I had zilch for power, and the thing couldnt get above 5K. It was right after I bought it too, becuase when we had to get it emissions tested, it scored a whoping ~1200 hydrocarbons at idle!

Can't wait till my 13b runs!

 

Did your engine ever go out? If so, how long?

 

I use 10w 30 ive been using it for years. anyone else use it?

 

yeah it did eventually go out, it was on the way back from the emissions testing. The car got home but that 12a never started again...