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Very low compression, and smokes BAD

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Old 07-08-08 | 11:56 PM
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From: Glendale Arizona
Very low compression, and smokes BAD

I had bought a 81 rx7 a little while back for cheap. When i went to get the car. It didnt run very good. It smoked black and blue, And was running very rich. I replaced the carb and intake with the holley RB intake and a a holley 4 bbl. The car startes. But al of a sudden the compression is very low and now it smokes really bad. But now its smoking white. So what is this? blown out seal? compression gettin out and water gettin in? Any info would be helpful. Thanks!
Old 07-09-08 | 12:25 AM
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From: springfield,oregon
if i rember white smoke is coolent burning in the combustion chamber there are couple things a coolent seal deteriated or which usally never happens water jacket broken.

search there is a thread on a temporey fix that has worked. if not you might have to rebuild..
Old 07-09-08 | 04:40 AM
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From: St Joe MO
What are you compression readings? And why did you go with the Holley. If the engine was questionable in the first place, you would have been better off rebuilding the Nikki, then checking out the engine. For a 30 buck rebuild kit, you could have done more troubleshooting on the engine.
After reading through your other posts, if you do plan on doing a blowthru, you'll should start with a fresh engine, preferably a 4-port 13B

My suggestion is to start doing a lot more reading on mods, troubleshooting, blowthrus, etc.. Then decide which path to upgrades and power you're willing/want to take.
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Old 07-09-08 | 06:35 PM
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No kidding.... And i had all the parts. I got a 12a core for a rebuild. Just wanted to see if i can get this one running decent and mabye drive my car. And by the way those other posts were questions.. Kinda like research? But thats not what im asking right now. Im doing research on why i have no compression, and why it smokes. And my compression reading is my hand can turn the engine. But i got my answer.. Thanks guy up top.
Old 07-09-08 | 08:19 PM
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Low compression: 1/8 tank of gas + 1 can of Seafoam + a short drive = a happy rotary. Assuming that the low compression is due to carbon buildup on the apex seals, which is most likely, then this should help a lot.

White smoke: https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-archive-71/engine-coolant-seal-repair-maybe-750774/ Not only is my car still running great, not smoking, and not loosing coolant, but it is also undefeated in CSP class so far this year.

Blue (oil) smoke: If you have an issue with burning oil, do a search on Lucas Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer. Works wonders.

Good luck, hopefully this info will help.
Old 07-10-08 | 11:42 PM
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cool, thanks for the info.. that seafoam stuff really work? I mean if it is just carbon buildup then thats pretty severe. I mean i can spin this thing by turning the ac compressor... I runs tho. Like crap, and revs very slow, and only so much. Oh and not to mention the white smoke. Sure hope this stop leak will help. If thats the problem as well. Sure didnt smoke like this when i drove it back and parked it. Normally id just do a rebuild.. But there is only so much that i can do out in a parkin lot on an air force base hahaha. Thanks again!
Old 07-11-08 | 06:14 AM
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Yes, Seafoam and Lucas are both great products. I only use the Seafoam through the gas tank though, rather than sucking it up with a vacuum hose. I just believe that I get better results for my money that way, and there's no chance that a neighbor will call the fire department either (Seafoam sucked into the motor through a vacuum line will emit huge dense clouds of white smoke).

If the issue is stuck apex seals due to carbon or varnish from old fuel, then the Seafoam should produce nearly instantaneous results. However, while you are under the hood, you might want to verify that you have spark on the leading ignition just to be sure. Good luck.
Old 07-11-08 | 06:43 PM
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Originally Posted by troberts289
cool, thanks for the info.. that seafoam stuff really work? I mean if it is just carbon buildup then thats pretty severe. I mean i can spin this thing by turning the ac compressor... I runs tho. Like crap, and revs very slow, and only so much. Oh and not to mention the white smoke. Sure hope this stop leak will help. If thats the problem as well. Sure didnt smoke like this when i drove it back and parked it. Normally id just do a rebuild.. But there is only so much that i can do out in a parkin lot on an air force base hahaha. Thanks again!
You should be able to spin in by hand.
Old 07-12-08 | 03:25 AM
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Ok I used that stop leak.. And it doesnt smoke to bad at an idle anymore. But give it some throttle and it still blows white smoke. And as for the seafoam i dont really know yet.. But i pulled the plugs out. And turns out that its not firing on the rear rotor. Its wierd. Im getting spark and the plugs are wet with fuel. But they look bran new. And the thing still runs like crap, wont idle and has no power so obviously its just running on one rotor. But why is it not firing on the rear rotor? its getting spark and fuel... hmmmm. Also would that cause it to smoke like that if its running on half the engine?
Old 07-13-08 | 02:48 AM
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From: Longmont Co.
Originally Posted by troberts289
Ok I used that stop leak.. And it doesnt smoke to bad at an idle anymore. But give it some throttle and it still blows white smoke. And as for the seafoam i dont really know yet.. But i pulled the plugs out. And turns out that its not firing on the rear rotor. Its wierd. Im getting spark and the plugs are wet with fuel. But they look bran new. And the thing still runs like crap, wont idle and has no power so obviously its just running on one rotor. But why is it not firing on the rear rotor? its getting spark and fuel... hmmmm. Also would that cause it to smoke like that if its running on half the engine?
Well seeing as how your already smoking out half the neighborhood already I would pour a little bit of oil down the carb throat on the rear rotor and see if that helps. If it does you should probably do and oil and filter change.
Old 07-13-08 | 01:35 PM
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See if you have spark on both of the leading plugs. If so, then perform the ghetto compression test (pull trailing plugs one at a time, turn motor over while listening to the "whooshes". Let us know the results...
Old 07-14-08 | 01:47 AM
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Well its got spark on the leading rotor... Thats what its running off. And when i was checking it all.. I had the plugs out of the trailing and it did have "whooshes" So there is some compression there. But there is spark on all four plugs....
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