New member from PA with 87 RX7 SE
 

Hey guys,
I just bought a 87 RX-7 from a friend's dad a couple weeks ago and am not working on getting this thing started again. IT has been sitting for a long time so it has been a it of a pain. I have visited this site many times in the past just looking stuff up about the RX-7 and now that i have one i figure it's time to make an account. I'm in PA around the Philly area. This thing is going to be a project car for me as i drive a 94 Honda Prelude as my daily driver. So far the engine isn't seized, but it still isn't starting yet and one of the injectors needs an O-ring at the fuel rail where it is leaking a good bit of fuel. It has spark, fuel (although, as i said, it is leaking), and it has air. It tries to turn, but that's all. Doesn't sound like it's igniting anything. Going to be looking around some more today but if anyone has any ideas off the top of their head, I'd love to hear them. First time dealing with a rotary and I'm not overly knowledgeable with them.
Thanks,
Cameron

A lot work is needed to bring an RX7 back into service. Aaron's writeup will help with this:

http://www.aaroncake.net/RX-7/unstore.htm

Compression test the engine, get new spark plugs and wires, adjust the Throttle Position Sensor, clean and flush all fluids, new fuel filter, new oil filter, new battery, check for any unplugged wires or cracked hoses, new fuel pump, get a new o-ring for the injectors or your going to have a fire if the engine stays running and gets hot, may not be getting enough fuel to start anyway because of that but replace the o-ring a.s.a.p., try de-flooding the engine to get some the gunk that in there out, take out the EGI fuse in the main fuse box in the engine bay and take out the bottom two spark plugs (leading) and crank the engine for a few seconds then stop and try again, add alittle oil to the spark plug holes to build compression, put the spark plugs back and try to start it. Thats all I can think of off the top of my head.

This is a little late, but thanks for the advice. I did a good bit of that, but still can't seem to get it running. it just keeps cranking over and over again and doesn't even act like it's about to start. I don't want to start tearing things apart since i have never worked on one of these motors. to test compression, am I able to use a normal compression tester on the bottom spark plug holes? and if so, what is the number i should look for? Thanks for all the advice you gave me so far, and sorry for bringing my old post back to life, figured it was better than starting a new thread.

I had a buddy who bought an s4 with what sounds like similar symptoms and after spending a bunch of money it just ended up being pretty much a clogged/old cat

To compression check a rotary is pretty straightforward. You can use a standard compression gauge. Check this:

http://www.rotaryresurrection.com/2ndgen/tech_compression_check.html

Was just saying because some people on this site post stuff that was asked 3,000 times instead of being smart and using the search option.