rx7 Died while driving (long story)
 

Okay,SO heres the story, I woke up started the car (took a few seconds) let it run for a minute(las vegas is hot at 11am) and drove to work kept it under 3k , let the car cool down for 3 mintues then shut it off. I got out of work around 7, the car started slowly again with the help of me pressing the gas a little because i felt it struggling. i went home which is like a 10 minute drive and i left the car running while i went in to get some parts i had to return. I was in the house for like 5 minutes then went back out on my next trip. Stopped at t mobile again let it cool down for a few minutes and then shut it off. Came back after 5 minutes and again took a few seconds to start up.From there it was a 10 minute drive to autozone to return the 02 sensor that was the wrong one. Again i let the car cool down a bit then shut it off. spent about 5 minutes in the store and left. Car started up just like the last few times. But when i left the parking lot something didnt feel right drove a block and lost power. and it shut off while driving, i was able to turn it on only for it to shut off on me again. So i rolled into tacobell where i tried to start it and it did not want to start. Did this a few times before i tried the unflooding procedure. tired to unflood it a few times and it would not start finally after about 20 minutes i would hear it want to start up,but it would die. After several tries it rev to 3k by itself then shut off. but it felt like it was running on one rotor. I tried to start it and hit the gas again it felt like it was running on only 1 rotor. Once i went past 3k rpms while i was holding the gas it would stay on and run like normal. So i called my friend to tow me home. it was a 20-30 minute slow drive and when i got home i fired it up and bam it started so i pulled it up to my parking lot and left it running like 5 minutes before i shut it off.

Can anyone help me figure out whats causing this?
I replaced the fuel filter and the sparkplugs and got a new battery. I havent changed the fuel pump but i doubt that would cause it to die while on the road. Could it just be the injectors?


I apologize for the lengthy post just want to make sure i got all the info any ways heres a TLDR version of it.

TLDR

Car takes a few seconds to fire up.
Car ran fine. was up to temperature
Shut off for 5 minutes and started back up (Still ran fine)
shut off again and started still ran fine
Left parking lot car shut off while driving
wouldnt want to start
started after it was towed home.

We're not mind-readers. Knowing what year and model of RX7 you have is probably the first thing you should have listed. I went to your profile and you didn't even list it there.

rx7 Died while driving (long story)
 

i agree with sgtblue

BUT, from any rotary engine standpoint, it sounds like a tired engine, compression test it and let us know

Damn I forgot to list it sorry it's a 1988 rx7 convertible non turbo

If compression testing doesn't show anything, I would look at the ignition side. Coils, ignitor etc.

It has about 145000 miles on it so it could be the engine but I'll do a compression test today

Ur name is hella gangster aye.

So I haven't had time to do the compression test but the car runs fine and goes to red line fine. besides the weird idle. Sometimes it idles at 1000 other times at a bouncy 800.and sometimes the revs drop really low and it wants to shut off so I give it gas to keep it on. My gas tank has rust in it. I took some out but could that have been the problem? As of now the only problem is the weird idle.

as said above, check the compression. i know you said it's running fine now, but one doesn't have to be psychic to predict that if it behaved that way once and you didn't actively do anything to repair (or even investigate) it, then it's going to happen again. a compression test will give you a decent gauge on the health of the engine itself.

that said, if the tank is already known to have rust in it, then you should probably start there. have it cleaned, treated and sealed. you're also going to want to do the rest of the fuel system along with it though. whatever crap has been dragged through it isn't going to come out by itself, and even it does, it will recycle, so change both filters, blow out the lines and rails, and have the injectors cleaned and flowed.

your idle issues sound more like a vacuum leak to me. perhaps an old hose giving up on life.

when was your last tuneup?