1st Generation Specific (1979-1985) 1979-1985 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections

Rotary burns Oil, how much is too much?

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Old 01-27-11 | 12:14 AM
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Exclamation Rotary burns Oil, how much is too much?

*NEW TO ROTARY!*

I Found a 1979 RX7 5spd for 800 bucks. Drift project go. Problem is it smokes when its started and will until its warmed up. Driving under "normal" conditions its fine, as soon as I get on it the smoke pours out. I've heard rotarys smoke but how much is too much? Is there an easy fix? Or should I rebuild the motor since I plan on racing it anyway?

Thanks for the help!
Old 01-27-11 | 01:48 AM
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What RPM does it start smoking at after it's warmed up? Meaning, what RPM does it start smoking at when you "get on it"? What color is the smoke? Blue? Black? White? How many miles on the car?

Edit: My first engine smoked like a banshee when I first got it. The very first time I red-lined it (after warm up of course), blue smoke billowed out the rear and engulfed the car behind me. (They probably couldn't see through it.) The way I figured, nobody had red-lined it in a while because after that, it didn't smoke near as bad. It would smoke after start up, but it would go away soon after starting it. It wouldn't pour out smoke after warm up until about 5000 RPM's and above.

Your problem might be bad oil seals, or a problem with the Oil Metering Pump (OMP). If the car has no OMP (which I doubt), then you are probably running a very rich mix of 2 stroke oil in the tank (which I doubt), or the engine has bad oil seals. The OMP is located on the passenger side of the front cover on the engine. If it isn't there, you will just see a plate with a couple of bolts/screws holding it on.

Sorry if I confused you... That's lots of info to take in.

Oh and welcome to the club. You will either love your car, or hate your car. Or both. (like me)

Last edited by DaBrkddy; 01-27-11 at 01:56 AM. Reason: Forgot something
Old 01-27-11 | 07:10 AM
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Originally Posted by SlideRx7slide
*NEW TO ROTARY!*

I Found a 1979 RX7 5spd for 800 bucks. Drift project go. Problem is it smokes when its started and will until its warmed up. Driving under "normal" conditions its fine, as soon as I get on it the smoke pours out. I've heard rotarys smoke but how much is too much? Is there an easy fix? Or should I rebuild the motor since I plan on racing it anyway?

Thanks for the help!
Burning oil does not mean smoking. There should never be visible smoke.

Yep, it's worn inside. Specifically the oil rings are probably worn out and the O-rings inside them may be cracked.
Old 01-27-11 | 09:32 AM
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My car smokes at startup for the first minute or so, with the choke pulled. It never smokes after the initial startup. Car runs like a champ. FYI the cars normally burn around a quart every thousand miles to use as an example.
Old 01-27-11 | 03:37 PM
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@ Da

More blue than anything, as I said upon startup it smokes like an old man and his favorite pipe and then anything after 5000 maybe 6000RPMs. Bad oil seals, how much work is involved in that?
Old 01-27-11 | 03:39 PM
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Originally Posted by bmeyer
My car smokes at startup for the first minute or so, with the choke pulled. It never smokes after the initial startup. Car runs like a champ. FYI the cars normally burn around a quart every thousand miles to use as an example.
Every thousand miles!? **** man.
Old 01-27-11 | 03:46 PM
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Bad oil seals mean a rebuild.
Old 01-27-11 | 03:47 PM
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Lame!

Just talked to my guy Jeff in Puyallup, WA. 3k for a complete rebuild. Or 1k for a used moto w/warranty. Maybe I should sell this and drift a 240?

Last edited by SlideRx7slide; 01-27-11 at 03:58 PM.
Old 01-27-11 | 05:33 PM
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Maybe you should and thereby save another 7 from an untimely death.
Old 01-27-11 | 05:49 PM
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Rebuild is likely on an engine that old, but just to be sure, check your OMP output - there's a procedure in the FSM. It may be delivering too much oil, not likely but a much cheaper fix.

And I'm with Trochoid on the rebuild, you might even want to do it yourself to get the price down below $1000. Or look around, I've seen two or three very good looking 12A's go for $500 or less on ebay lately.
Old 01-27-11 | 06:59 PM
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I rebuild my own engines, the most I ever spent was about $ 1,400 on a OEM rebuild kit. I know its your car but if your going to trash it drifting why not sell it and get a FC or a 240? PLEASE DONT DESTROY THE SA
Old 01-28-11 | 12:10 AM
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Originally Posted by Jibaro 12A
I rebuild my own engines, the most I ever spent was about $ 1,400 on a OEM rebuild kit. I know its your car but if your going to trash it drifting why not sell it and get a FC or a 240? PLEASE DONT DESTROY THE SA
agreed, the rx7 is a sports car not a tuner there for parts and repair are far more expensive. if you want to play cheap get a honda if you want to play rare and all around cool get a rx7, if you want the middle of the road get a nissan/datsun
Old 01-28-11 | 10:33 AM
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Originally Posted by SlideRx7slide
Lame!

Just talked to my guy Jeff in Puyallup, WA. 3k for a complete rebuild. Or 1k for a used moto w/warranty. Maybe I should sell this and drift a 240?
That's actually pretty cheap.

But yeah... if you're going to drift it, use a 240 or some other car that is basically worthless, so when it break you just throw it away and get another one.

No wonder it's so popular in Japan, plays right into the disposable car mindset!
Old 01-29-11 | 12:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Man_in_black49464
agreed, the rx7 is a sports car not a tuner there for parts and repair are far more expensive. if you want to play cheap get a honda if you want to play rare and all around cool get a rx7, if you want the middle of the road get a nissan/datsun
Honda? How the hell can I drift a FWD car? This IS the cheap road I am traveling. If you drift properly the only thing it "destroys" is tires and a drive shaft here or there. I needed a decent race car, the RX7 fits that profile.

Peejay, you dirt race yours, how does it hold up? I mean, how many rebuilds have you done on the motor. More than one a season?

Last edited by SlideRx7slide; 01-29-11 at 12:09 PM.
Old 01-29-11 | 12:07 PM
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this is a friend of a friend warming up for the drift comp with his 12a

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5o3XSZR9o

Last edited by SlideRx7slide; 01-29-11 at 12:11 PM.
Old 01-29-11 | 05:52 PM
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^ That was a SA in the video... Slide RX7 Slide...! haha
Old 01-29-11 | 06:54 PM
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Originally Posted by SlideRx7slide

Peejay, you dirt race yours, how does it hold up? I mean, how many rebuilds have you done on the motor. More than one a season?
I went the first three or four years with a stock 12A until it died at about 220k or something like that. That included many loss-of-coolant events, etc.

Last year I had four or five engines in it, the shortest one lasted was four days. These weren't complete rebuilds - I ported the engine I had in it, then had to pull it apart and partially fix why it had no oil pressure, then I killed a coolant seal on a very hot day after the engine sat with nothing in the cooling system but iced tea for a few months and corroded the seal area (loss of coolant event early in the year...), then had to take it apart again after I did a bunch of damage due to overheat/no oil pressure/detonation, so I built an engine "right" with good bearings and a bunch of new seals and that engine lasted four days before I broke it due to... something. Don't know yet.

Sometimes I can get away with a lot, other times if I didn't have bad luck I'd have none at all. I blame the Racing Beat crank pulley for my fun 2010 year. What I thought the timing marks were, and what they actually were, were about 5 degrees different.

I got a good feeling for this year though. I built an engine that doesn't make any power over 7000 so I probably won't overrev it (the previous engine that made power to 8500-9000 would peg the 10,000rpm tach sometimes) and I marked my own pulley so I know what timing I'm setting to.

What I am getting at is, if you take the usual "**** it" attitude that I see so often in the drifting community, you will have problems.
Old 01-30-11 | 12:43 PM
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well I expect to rebuild once a season at most, thanks for information. And that "**** it" attitude is a bunch of kids who don't know anything and should grow up. They are ruining the image of drifting for everyone. It is a serious sport. Anyone from the Northwest knows that. Anyway, I am a full time college student studying CIS and I'd like to believe a have a mentality to respect my car a bit more than the usual kid. Plus the Rotary motor is so mathematically beautiful lol why can't a computer geek get sideways on the weekend

again thanks for the post

Last edited by SlideRx7slide; 01-30-11 at 12:51 PM.
Old 01-30-11 | 12:54 PM
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Last edited by SlideRx7slide; 01-30-11 at 01:09 PM.
Old 01-30-11 | 01:10 PM
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Originally Posted by 85TIIDEVIL
^ That was a SA in the video... Slide RX7 Slide...! haha
Awesome huh!
Old 01-30-11 | 01:48 PM
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I've seen things at drift events that frankly made me cringe... broken motor mounts, popping ball joints, going out on tires that are already showing cord, etc.

One thing that I can't stress enough is the importance of a good cooling system. It is impossible to be overkill on the cooling system. This goes for coolant and oil.
Old 01-30-11 | 01:48 PM
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What I am getting at is, if you take the usual "**** it" attitude that I see so often in the drifting community, you will have problems.[/QUOTE]

SO TRUE... I went to a drift demo in 09 as a spectator. There was this guy with a cosmo powered FC, the guy did a few runs and then decided to engage in a 11 minute burn out until the engine blew. I know it was his car but it disgusted me to watch this guy blow a good engine and everyone cheer.
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