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Old 07-01-07, 09:27 AM
  #1  
somewhere other then home
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Need some help

So I am new to the board but I am a frequent poster on a couple of other boards so i know about the search button. I am new to Rotory engines so if i ask stupid questions im sorry. I tried to search but couldn't really find what I was looking for or if i found the right thing then i wouldn't know either.

So here is the situation:

1989 rx7 n/a with almost 150k 5spd Hasn't been started in a year with a little bit of gas that was in there also.

Went to go look at it today and take it for a test drive. Car started rough (because of the old gas) and puffed some white smoke out. Ran it till it was empty to make sure the bad gas was all out. Put new gas in and started it no smoke. drove it around for a while and stopped and turned the car off . This is were I need help with we noticed some smoke coming from the passenger side in the engine compartment. we popped open the hood and noticed that were the exhaust manifold was at there was smoke coming from there. after some time (10 mins) it dwindled down to nothing. We proceeded to start the car up again to see if it would smoke when the car was running, it would not. So we again drove it around to see if there were any problems got back to the sellers house. and once again there was the smoke comming from within the engine compartment around the manifold area. Now we know the seller they have only owned it 2 years and have only driven it for 1 of those two years and never were hard on the car. They also never had this problem before hand. There is alot of dust in the engine compartment and again the car hasnt been driven for a year so my thought is maybe some old grease or dust may be on the manifold. However I cant see because it has a metal shroud over the manifold. Does anyone know if this is a bad sign? Again it only starts once the engine is stopped and turned off and it comes from the manifold area.

Sorry for the LONGGGG first post but want to know before we buy the car on monday. Also for posting this twice but I really need some help if this is a problem.

Regards,

Rick
Old 07-02-07, 03:00 PM
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IMHO...I guess my advice would depend on the answer to some important questions. First, how much are they asking you to pay for this car? Second, do you need the car right away to meet the needs of a daily driver? Third, what condition is the car in otherwise? (body, interior, xmission)

The reason I say this is that 150K miles isn't that bad for an 89, but if those 150K were all on this same engine, you might be looking at a rebuild soon, which will end up costing you around $3 grand. If the car is in good shape otherwise, then yeah, I would buy it.
Old 07-02-07, 03:03 PM
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Talking smoke

I found my smoke coming from the air pump low front right side, oil leak smoulders when engine shut down. Gasket or sealant fixed mine
Old 07-02-07, 06:22 PM
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somewhere other then home
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hmmm thanks bob i think thats about were mine is comming from. well we bought it today paid abou 1600 for the car. it has a new clutch and i think the engine is new i am still trying to figure out how to tell. Soo in short no more smoke. Body needs a new front right panel and the hood has a little bump.




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