Hey all,

I have a 1987 TII that I bought around six months ago. I kept it in storage over our excessively snowy winter, but it's back out.

On the first few rides, it did just fine for being stored for so long, but it's recently started having a few little quirks that I can't find the cause to.

1) It can be very tempermental in the cold, and stalls very easily until the engine comes to running temperature. I mostly attributed this to the car being a rotary, but I'm curious if there is any way to make it stop doing this. It can be quite annoying when backing out of the driveway in the morning.

2) When turning at low speeds (say, in a parking lot) the car will make a sequential clicking noise as the steering wheel is turned. I thought at first that this was the wheel bearings, but I replaced them and the problem still hasn't gone away.

I want to have this car in optimal condition for the summer, but I have to do a lot of work until that can be a reality. Anyone that can help, it would be greatly appreciated!

 

1) It may just be the effects of sitting for some time and will go away with use. But I never ran into that problem. You may want to check for any vacuum or intake leaks.

2) I would take a look at your half shafts and ensure they are good.

 

2) sounds like CVs

 

It's not a 'rotary' thing. Do you know if there have been any mods done by the previous owner? Some do what's called a throttle body mod to increase performance/airflow. If done wrong, it disables the cold start system. Need more of a description and location of the noise during turning to help with that one. The following links are to the online FSMs, start there for the cold start hesitation.

http://foxed.ca/foxed/index.php?page=rx7manual

http://www.wankel.net/~krwright/cars/rx7/manuals.html

CV joints?, LOL. Per the FSM, what we call a driveshaft is listed as the propeller shaft. What we call half shafts are refered to as driveshafts.

 

I thought about the Half-Shafts, but I never got a chance to look at them last time it was on the hoist. I'll have to be sure to look them over next time (probably Wednesday).

There were a few mods done by the previous owner, but I'm not really sure what. Unfortunately, I was unable to ask him. I do know that there were several books and magazines in the back of the car dedicated to modifications strictly for the Rotary Engines.

Those links are fantastic! I'll have to bookmark them!

As for the noise, its hard to explain through text, but I'll give it a shot. If turning at any speed lower than 20mph regardless of direction, the car will make a steady *cli-cli-cli-cli-click* as far as the steering wheel is turned, and repeats when the wheel is turned back to center. It sounds like it's coming from the front-passenger side fender-well but it's hard to place from inside the car. Also, it does not make the noise when the car is sitting still. Hopefully this helps.

 

Don't just bookmark them, download whatever you need and start reading. You might be suprised what you run across and accidentally learn. Does the car have power steering, have you checked the lug nuts for correct torque?

 

Yes, the car has power steering. I've taken the wheels off numerous times and I've always made sure to put them back to the correct torque specifications.