I have an early build 1st gen that i would like to save, and i need your help. I bought it as a daily with 73k on it (i was 18 and it was 700 bucks) ran like a champ, put new coils, cap, wires and plugs in, everything else (more or less) was original. at around 99k, i drove down to my dads house on a nice day (50*, not humid) which was a 65-70 mile trip. everything was all good until i let my car sit for 2 days cause i rode my ninja up. when I started my car it started to smoke... like thick white clouds you cant see through smoke. and it burns oil like no other. the return trip cost me 5 qts of oil, and yes, i pulled over about every 15 miles to top off the engine. my question is what could cause something like this, but have the car run beautifully when cruising at hwy speeds? itll still smoke, just not as bad, and the smoke is almost all white, hardly looks like burning oil. If we cant work out an easy fix, ill be forced to sell it as is so i can fix up my... Piston engine.... yea, its that scary

 

It is probably and oil seal ;( with the symptoms u gave us. I'm not really 100% sure with FBs i usually just dabble in FCs. There may be some type of pressure test u can do that I'm not sure about.

 

Coolant seal. My car still ran beautifully with bad coolant seals but the gust of white smoke was too much for me and my neighbors to handle.

 

By the way on morning starts the clouds of smoke was so thick you could get lost in it. And when I redline more white smoke.

 

are those both rubber seals? is it possible that they both failed at the same time? because like i said, it was running beautifully until i let it sit for 2 days. then stuff went whack.

 

It could be anything. Mine drove fine with bad coolant seal. When we took it apart it was worse than a coolant seal. It was a crack where the seals go. That's why I just decided to swap instead. But yeah it did drive fine. It just had a lot of smoke. It cleared maybe after about ten to fifteen minutes. But it was just a better reason to go turbo 2. Once the motor was in it was one of the exciting cars I've ever driven. But I blew the motor shortly after. Being rebuilt as we speak.

 

Oh by the way it will drive beautifully with bad seals. Like you said you let it sit for 2 days. While you are driving you won't know. While its sitting is when its probably started leaking. Most likely into exhaust but I'm no genuis. Just my personal experience

 

Mine FC does the same (not as bad) but burns about 2qts a week, I have decided to do ls swap. I have been told it could be a # of things or a combination. colant seal? apex seal?

 

Its the coolant seal. Its happened to me numerous times

 

Burning both coolant and tons of oil? because my problem is 2fold and i want to get all possibilities.

 

Ok this is how it usually is. If its burning thick white smoke its likely coolant seals. Sometimes a good way to check it is if coolant is being mixed with the engine oil. Most the time tho it leaked through the exhaust thus the white smoke on startup. But like I said it can be anything. Like the above poster. It could be a mixture of bad apex seals coolant seals and so on. Your best bet is to rebuild. CompressionTest it for just for the better.

 

Well if it is coolant it should have a sweet smell from the smoke.

 

I cant help with the diagnosis, but you may try Alumaseal, after all what do you have to lose? If it doesn't work, you'll still have to rebuild and you are no worse off. There is another product for oil seals also, but with that amount of oil leaking, I can't imagine it could work. Worth a shot though. What ever you decide to do, best of luck, and please don't just junk it!

 

well,it sounds like Toast..
the Alumaseal is worth a shot but once you decided to drive the car a half hour and neglect the engine it pretty well is again Toast.
No "Crap in a Can" is gonna Permanently fix your problem.
This requires a replacement engine.Period.
NOt necessarily NEW though.Guys here are selling used engines that they want to get rid of to do the "boinger Swap"(piston).
Love the Classifieds.don't even have to get up and go looking for stuff outside!

 

what do you mean by that? and i think i may just sell it >.>

 

Are you adding coolant and oil? Original post just specifies 5 quarts oil. If its a coolant seal you must have added tons of coolant and should have been overheating as well. which was not stated in your original post. If its just smoke and not coolant/ overheat than you must have an oil seal problem. Hopefully Kevin or Ben can chime in after you clarify.

 

Do not put any alumiseal in the engine until you clarify this issue

 

Ok..let's break this down.
You knew there was something up with the engine,you drove car with the compromised engine 75 miles putting in 5 quarts of oil along the way.No way in hell that the engine will come suddenly back to life with a Can of Alumaseal...hence the wonderful Crap in a Can exlixir.I hear astronauts drink it in space too.
It is Toast,gone,dead,bad engine,spank the monkey,rebuild it..replace it..
..And the last part.
clarification?..Used engines can be found on The Forum.They are listed every day.
One reason they get listed is someone is not content with a rotary and wants a v8 in it.Good for them..Good for us too,we can use another good engine and keep the car a true RX7...not Rx2.0.
I can't get any clearer than that.
..Oh,do not mention selling Again in this section or the whole thread gets wiped.
You want to sell?,great, then place an ad in the Right section.
Any more HINTS of selling will get this thread Wiped.
It's the Tech Section,not "I got broken car..wanna buy it?" Section.

 

I think your engine is gone.i had the same problem with my FD.
so i went and rebuild it.
If you really like this car i think your should do a rebuild on it.

 

I was adding a bunch of coolant too, but because of the cost difference between a gallon of water and a quart of oil, the oil seemed more significant. :P

I understand both the crap in a can and dead, and what you didnt understand when I said I may sell it is that I'm a full time college student with 0 extra dollars to rebuild or swap my little rotary. It's a decision made on the fact that, sadly, i cant have a car sized paper weight floating around. It wasn't an advertisement, more of a subtle hint that if it's an expensive fix, i cant afford it.

 

Sadly to say the old saying is:"you gotta pay if you wanna play",and this car is the perfect example of that.
The car doesn't care if you have 0 dollars,it is just there.If you maintain it, it treats you with trouble free driving.If you don't it bites you in the ***.
Bruce Hornsby said it perfectly: "That is just the way it is.Some things never change."
Financially,unless you have an alternative then being a struggling college student you should be setting your dream aside on this one.It can quickly escalate to a bill that the money you pay into this car can be spent wisely elsewhere.
But,hey,what do I know?
I am just a 52 year old car guy talking to you that knows squat about college fees,or related education costs,or your life in general.
I don't want to see a broke College student with a lawn ornament either.
No disrespect,but you can't even afford the LAWN right now,so honestly how are you gonna afford the car?
If the car is too much to get fixed,cut your loss,and think about YOU.
The car can be a goal,an aspiration,of what you can look forward to when you get your education and career obtained.
Make it a hobby,not a "must do".
That is the key.
Sorry to come off sounding like Dad,but I see too much of this ..and really,it all boils down to
"It is Just a car"..nothing more.

Good Luck in whatever you decide.

 

Well guys I hate to revive this thread, but I need to thank you all for your help! I set aside my lawn ornament for about the last year, and at this moment I am about 2 hours of work away from having a rebuilt, street ported 12a install back in there! I had to buy a crapalier to get me through, but it was worth it! Turned out that both of the oil control O-rings on the Rear main side of rotor two had broke, dumping oil straight into the chamber. Well shortly there after I managed to score a better job with better and more hours, and well here we are! Special thanks to misterstyx, you made a really good point and well it payed off.

 

Your pic doesn't work..But I feel both bad and happy for you all at the same time.
Funny that Crapaliers are a good car when ya need em.

I may start a bumper sticker business.

"This car is just used to get parts for my RX7..so don't judge me!".

 

yeah, i bought it for 400 from a friend, fixed a trans line, sold it for 1200, bought a talon TSI and its treated me well so far.

I lIke the bumper sticker idea, let me know when you start printing them!