I'm going to be picking up a 1983 RX7 this weekend if all goes well. It is clean, but doesn't run . It ran fine until the current owner ran it nearly out of gas and didn't start the next day. I am just curious what some of you make of this scenario. He said it may be a fuel filter issue or spark plugs, but can't say for sure. I have always been interested in these cars, but have never owned or laid a wrench on one and wonder what I may be getting into.

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

if you run the tank empty the crap in the bottom gets cought in the lines/filter. you probly will need a new filter and just to be safe plugs and replace the fluids oh and welcome!

 

Also get some carb cleaner just in case some of the **** thats in the tank got in it... Good luck and welcome to rx7club
Chris

 

Wow, you guys are fast. Thanks for the welcome. Now he didn't necessarily run it dry, but things are sounding a bit more positive now. Any more ideas?

 

Fouled spark plugs would be my guess. Welcome to the forum! Hopefully your 7 treats you well.

 

how much are you getting this for?

 

Most common cause of no start is flooding. A flooded rotary is not like a piston engine, and you have to follow one of the many procedures available to get it running again. A lot of these cars went to the junkyard due to flooding, simply because they assumed the engine was shot. A quick search will bring up the info you need. Welcome!

 

how much did you pay and what trim package?

try defloodng it. two ways to do so are to add a small amount of oil through the plug holes and try to start it or the ever faithful tried and true method of changing the oil. some people reccommend pouring a few capfulls of oil down the carb but i have not tried it yet so i can't reccommend it. might be easier to change the oil and do a tune up on it when you get it (plugs, wires, cap, rotor, etc). also change the fuel filter and when changing your fluids don't forget to change tranny and differential gear oil. this will make the car very very happy =D

 

I do not know about the trim package, but am going to trade a dirt bike for it. The bike is worth a good $1500. The car has around 100K, nearly no rust I was told, and ran good until this new problem. I am going to get a fuel filter and give it a shot, but will probably have it towed home. I will come up with more details if or when the deal goes through. I am most likely going through with it as long as it cranks over OK and the body is solid. What do you guys think?

 

go for it! rust isnt to hard to get rid of and post pics when you get it!!!!

 

OK, I made the deal, but don't have the car just yet. I pulled the fuel filter and it seemed OK, but replaced it anyway. No luck. I'm going to have the car towed home so I can change the plugs. It's getting fuel and sputtered a bit a couple times, but never really got running. The wires and cap look new, but the plugs look rusty. I picked up some Autolites (all they had) and will give them a shot once I get the car here. The body is in great shape, I just hope I can get 'er running without too much work.

 

return the plugs and have them order ngk's.
some plugs go in too far and will chip an apex seal.
just a word of caution.

 

Well, here's the usual welcome to the Darkside. Download the FSMs in the sig line.

Fresh NGK or ND plugs only and keep them dry if you want it to start. Pour a can of Seafoam in the tank while you're working on it to help clean up the fuel system and the carbon out of the combustion chamber. Try a capful or 2 of oil down each primary barrel of the carb to help build the compression.

 

Seems like mixed emotions on the Autolite plugs. They're 2526s and supposedly designed for this application. I've owned a lot of different vehicles and have used a lot of Autolite plugs. I normally use NGKs exclusively in my Japanese engines, but these are the only thing available. I could wait a couple days for the NGKs, but the scientist in me says there is no reason not to use the Autolites I already have. If they aren't any longer than the NGKs, I don't see the problem. Is it a reliability issue, performance issue, or what?

 

Welcome to the forum.

I'm not sure, but I think maybe at some of the meets and sevenstocks over the years that the regular guys picked up pretty quick that only the gay dudes had Autolite plugs and Fram oil filters. Of course, some of them had girlfriends with wallets that drove Subarus, so I don't know...

 

I tried the autolite plugs in mine, switched to the ngk and it idled smoother, rev'ed better and in general ran better than it did with the autolite.

 

Well, for now the Autolites are in there. It runs like a champ, and I figured they'll be OK for now since that's what was in thereto begin with. They were in there for quite awhile from what I could tell, too. All were very worn and the culprit was oil fouled. There was smoke for awhile, but everything burned off and seems OK. Can't test drive it yet since the brake pedal just goes to the floor. On to the next issue! Thanks for all the advice, and I'll just ignore the gay dude comment since it didn't make any sense to me. I'll post some pics and probably start a new thread on the brakes once I get into it.

Thanks again, guys!