I just recentley bought my first car, it is an 85 mazda rx7. The car is nice with fairley low miles, however, ive been experiencing some things that point in the direction of having to get the engine replaced. As much as id hate to do so. Could you give me some symptoms of a worn engine?

 

Jeremia, it's pretty much the same as a piston engine. You see blue smoke on start up that never goes away and gets really bad when you get up into the rpm range. Consumption of oil is bad, temps are higher than normal, hard starting....but mainly the smoke tells you the story.

That or a big pop one day and it won't start anymore.

Mario III

 

Out of curiosity, what symptomes are you experiencing?

 

So.. Two weeks ago I brought my rx7 to a dealership thinking because it was a rotary engine, I probably shouldent put my car in the hands of some guy that wants to make a little extra money but in the end me being in the same spot as I was before. Anyways, Blue smoke.. that scared the hell out of me.. not very much power passing people on highways. This is what the mazda dealership told me.. i needed an electronic choke cap and an airfilter. Does this seem right?

Also, they told me the electronic choke cap would take care of the blue smoke. I dont have the car back yet because apparentley, electronic choke caps are hard to get. Thankfully this weekend I sould have it back in my garage. Could either of you give me a little explanation of what an electronic choke cap even is?

 

That does sound like a legitimate diagnosis. If your Carb is choking while driving you will have no power and smoke. If the car runs good after you get it back, I think you have your answer.

 

I was very worried about this diagnosis but now I'm excited to get the car back.. Hopefully it will be faster and more fun to drive because now I won't Smell like I've been riding around on a snowmobile.. This may sound sexist but I was kinda worried when I foundout that it was going to be a female working on my car.. Ha.. Anyways thanks for your time.. I appreciate it.

 

Please let us know if it worked.

 

So I got the car back.. Seemed like all was well until halfway home every single light(emergency light) came on in the car.. I thought maybe if I turned te car off or something and then turned it back on the lights would turn off.. Damn.. Nothing shut off.. And now the car won't even start.. So I'm going to get a new battery tomarrow hopefully.. I don't know what te hell the people at the Mazda dealership did..

 

Can you test the voltage on the battery now?

 

It could be something totally unrelated, since the car was symptom free for a while.
When you tried to start the car, did it turn over, or was there noting at all? If nothing, it may be the battery, but i would check it first.

 

Wow, the dealership did that to you! Do a hatd reset and see in the lights come off. You may have burnt the plugs or coils in the process.

 

Check the fuse box too, just to see if you have blown the main fuse that powers the ignition.

 

Check the fusible links on the Driver's side strut tower.

Also, make sure the belt didn't come off (alternator).

Check the leading ignition to see if you still have spark, and check the cap on the distributor which might have gotten bumped during their work.

Or, blame it on them and return the car. This might be the safest approach, because if you try to fix it yourself then you accept responsibility for their (possible) screwup.



.

 

I have also have a bad experience with a Mazda dealers ship. They do not know alot about the rotary engine. They told me I needed a engine when there was nothing wrong with the engine. The ignition wires were just mixed up.

 

I seriously doubt it is your battery and I would check other possibilities before buying a new battery. Batteries do not ususally fail while you are driving, they fail when you turn off the engine. I think something else is wrong. Are the battery terminals tight?

 

sounds like you blew an alternator belt.

 

if you can have the alternator tested, I also believe it might be causing the issue. Belt may be loose or alternator might be going. Investing in a multimeter wouldn't be a bad idea either to check voltage on battery and etc.

 

Thanks to my girlfriends dad who just happend to be restoring a 79 rx7 I foundout a few things about my car.. ON THE DRIVE HOME FROM THE DEALERSHIP ALL THE BELTS BROKE WTF! didn't even think it was possible for it to run without belts haha but anyways we put those on the other day.. And not I'm playing the waiting game to see if any other problems come up.. I will be posting pictures on soon of some dents on the car.. Could you guys give me even a completely random price estimate??!

 

If you lost the belt that runs the water pump, and continued to run that motor for any length of time, it is most likely dead. You should have had it towed right back to the repair shop, so there could be no doubt of blame. Now, it will most likely be up to you to pay for the repairs.

Good luck...

 

i wouldnt take it to anyone but a rotary tech. I know some mazda dealerships that will not work on rx7s. They do not like doing the rx8s.

just take good care of it, and always let it warm up.

 

What belt is the water pump? There were 2 of the 4 that were still on..