problem w/my 87 n/a
 

Ok guys...a Mazda mechanic I'm not so I need help. I just bought an 87 and it starts easily every time, revs great,idles on its own sometimes, but erratic. But when I put it gear and it has no "go" it drives and all, but it has no pickup or power. It seems to do better in really cold weather, and when you finally get it over 40 mph it does ok, just takes forever getting there.

I did a tune up, took off the old exhaust, put on 2.5 race pipe and there is a tube coming down that used to be hooked up on the old exhaust, but it is just hanging there now. There is a real bad gas odor in the cabin when she's running, maybe bad injectors? It gets really bad gas mileage, so Im thinking that I have fuel problems somewhere, but see no leaks or anything.

Also whats the right way to test compression on these motors?

For the erratic idling, check for vacuum leaks. Did you change the fuel filter? Do that as well if you haven't. If you smell fuel, check the Fuel Pulsation damper. DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR IF YOU SMELL FUEL IN THE CABIN! A bad pulsation damper leaks, and drips gas onto the engine and exhuast manifold. This leads to massive fire and brimstone.
In the trunk area, pull up the carpet (you may have to take the screws out of the speaker surrounds) and check to see if the rubber grommet is present where the fuel pump wire harness passes through the trunk and into the fuel tank. This could be the cause of the smell, but regardless, all RX7 owners should know how to check the FPD. Go to the second gen section on this forum and do a search for FPD or Fuel Pulsation Damper. If the search function doesn't work, at the top of that page will be a link to the 2nd gen archives. There is a big write up in the archive that is full of necessary info.

To test compression, you can use a regular piston engine type compression tester. You need to remove the check valve from the gauge (easy to do) before you use it on a rotary engine. Search for this topic in the 2nd gen forum too. Its a common question so it will be an easy subject for you to find info on versus me typing it again.

Also, you can download the factory service manual free of charge by going to www.fc3s.org and clicking on the "How To" button and then clicking on the "Manuals" button.

Hope that helps out.