Hondaeat-R

Yatzee ! I work w/ the guy and he wasn't even gonna sell the car, but I bugged him into selling it over the course of 6 months :0) If I was selling my NX2000 and some dude started popping out plugs and disconnecting ****, I'de be "upset" to say the least. I asked him today and he seemed hesitant but ok w/ the idea of testing it as long as he's there w/ me watching/helping. Now i have to wait for him to get back from Philly, damn.
So to test the compression i'll get a gauge from Walmart or something, take out one plug from each rotor (making sure i take out the same ones) remove the EGI fuse, put the gauge end in one of the open plug holes on the rotor, have somebody floor the throttle and turn the key for about 5 seconds. i'm looking for three similar moves of the needle at around 35psi, then I out on the valve and have him crank it again or what ? I've read some procedures but, still unsure./.... wait, i get it i think... The three pulses are for each face of the "rotary thing" haha. and to get total compression for that rotor you let off the tester valve so it can compile each sides compression for that rotor ? hopefully totaling 100 or more right ?

Hondaeat-R

I'm starting to lose my mind about this whole Banjo or FPD dilemma. I don't have 150 for a FPD(nor do i really want one) but I don't think a mechanic will replace the FPD w/ a random banjo bolt...kinda makes them liable for any problems i guess. Also, i'm not into getting my FC then ******* it all up because i thought i could do-it-myself...ya know ? And then comes all the "while you're at it, replace the coolant and fuel lines..."etc blah blah. I'm not gonna put $1,000 right away into a $800 dollar car...i still have to have the clutch and exhaust put on/in. This is getting ridiculous. By the time I do everything people tell me to, i'll have a shitty looking FC that cost freak'n $3,000 just to drive. Once gain, this "project" has me shaking my head wondering if i'm crazy....

Hondaeat-R

Does anyone have any body work experience, that could help me figure out how much it would cost to fix this ride up nice..? as far as body work goes that is. thanks a lot

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

Sounds like you just got some bad luck , if the cars running it should stay running unless your literally beating the **** out of it.

Ive heard stories of people blowing the engine the same day they bought the rx7 because they were launching it at the redline doing clutch dumps, thats not how you make the engine last if you think it may go soon....although if the compression is good the engine should have no problem taking a beating, rx7s are made to be redlined and go up to high rpms...

As Kevin Landers told me, the s4 NA does prefer to be at 5500 rpms or less , because after 5500 rpms or whatever rpms it is the waterpump starts to cavitate which gives a lack of cooling to the engine and can cause more wear than is necessary if you are redlining alot excessively.

Most Rx7 owners will eventually find themself having to rebuild the engine unless it has been well maintained, its just inevitable.

I know a guy who blew his engine that had 45,000 miles on it because his fuel filter was bad, at least thats what he said was the cause since he never replaced it.

My parts car had 115,000 miles and was blown running on 1 rotor, this I bet was also probably because the fuel filter wasnt replaced.

For the price of like 30 bucks for the filter and another 20 or so for fuel line , its worth it, preventive maintaince is an important thing especially when it comes to Rx7s.

88turbotime

So did you get it or did you decide not to?

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

Aside from the bodywork you will probably need a good paintjob on top of the bodywork which will cost 500-2000+ $ , the bodywork could range from $250-500 or even more depending on how extensive the work they do is and how much they charge.

In all I think looks are least important, youre better off spending money on making the car run really good than making it look good, because whats the point in having a good looking car if something breaks and you cant afford to fix it.

Hondaeat-R

I'm pretty sure i'm still gonna take the car since i have all winter to work on it. I have somebody to shoot the car already for a good price. I'm just waiting for a quote on body work from a friend of a friend that does side jobs right at the body shop. I agree that a car should run great instead of look great but, in my eyes i see no point in owning a enthusiast car if it looks like crap. Kinda why my one NX annoys me, i love the car therefore i want it perfect or not at all. I'm kinda an all or nothing guy i guess, without the funding to go ALL out. ;0( Either way, everyone tells me to take this deal. I managed to talked him into selling it and i'm paying for it gradually($200 a month)...what could be better ? just don't want it to turn into the never ending project, or a rebuild in 2 years.

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

My car has the problem of not looking 100% , it did look really nice when I bought it but I got in a minor accident so now the left side of my front end is messed up.

Ive got like way more money in my car than I should have , probably over $5000 but my car was needing alot of work from the start when I bought it. Your car is running and as long as it drives well you shouldnt need much other than normal routine maintainence, as far as the engine lasting longer than two years , its a 50/50 chance but if your motor has good compression it could last another 50-75,000 miles.

ps. Any Rx7 can be a never ending project if you want it to be , the mods and upgrades for rx7s are endless as long as you have the money to fund it.

As you can see my car looks clean in the engine bay and in that pic, but the left side of the front where you cant see is where the damage to the bumper is causing the hood not to line up properly and ruining the appearance of my front end.

Hondaeat-R

bottom line, i need to check the compression when he gets home from vacation. your car is a lot better looking than the one i'm looking at. i guess it comes down to whether or not i like rx7's enough to dump money in to one...which is something i don't know because i've never owned one.

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

When you do the compression test , you need to do it a certain way because each rotor has 3 sides to check for compression.

Anything over 100 really good for a used engine , anything below 90psi is going on its way out.

I believe my car that was running on 1 rotor was running on the 1 rotor with only 65psi compression on all sides of the running rotor.

Even for the price of 800 you may pay for the car, a cheap engine rebuild may cost you about $1500-2000, and the engine will last a long time so its all about how much youre willing to put into it.

If youre afraid youre going to blow the engine then dont drive the car as much and only use it for leisure and have another car as a daily driver, but as I said if the compression is over 100 you shouldnt have to worry about blowing the engine.

So long as the car doesnt smoke , especially at high rpms it should be running good..otherwise oil would blowby through the spots where compression is leaking out and blow smoke out the exhaust, smoke which is from oilblowby.

Hondaeat-R

Should i test it the way RotaryRessurection lists on the site ? Yea, i'm not willing to re-build an engine & all that. I'm looking to do some basic repair & maintenance then drive the car...Why are rotarys good if they seem to need rebuilding so much..?

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

yes the way he says to do it is the right way, hes actually who rebuilt my engine

The rotary engines are great because they only run with 3 moving parts whereas pistons have many moving parts, also the rotary engine takes only one revolution of the motor to produce all compression, where piston engines take two revolutions of the crankshaft to make all the pistons go up to make all compression, so in theory the 1.3 Litre rotary engine is really like a 2.6 litre, just lighter . Another thing is piston engines burn oil when they are going out, rotary engines are made to burn oil constantly, also a rotary engine is easier to build and work on and when a rotary engine blows it is still driveable on 1 rotor, blown piston engines usually have no chance of running at all, and another thing is the rotary engine basically spins in a circle so revving is much faster or so I think so than in a piston engine , because pistons have to go up in down where the rotors in a rotary engine are spinning in a constant circle motion so it revs up faster and more smoothly.

The downside of them is they arent as thermodynamically efficient as piston motors and they arent very researched compared to piston motors which is why the longevity of them isnt as good because they dont have the funding/research like pistons have had since every auto company puts them in their cars, only mazda has the rotary engine in a car and i believe in the 70's there was a suzuki motorcyle that had a rotary engine.

Hondaeat-R

well, this week i'll test the compression & go from there i guess. anything 100 and up is good right ? i just wish i could've driven it w/ a good clutch and exhaust, i'de have a better idea of how it goes.

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

Yes anything over 100 is good compression, brand new engine has compression of like 120+ , some rebuilds like my own will see only 105-110+ psi depending on how well the rebuild was done.

This is taken directly from RotaryResurrection.com's tech page on compression checking " 115+ is like new, 100-115 is healthy, 90-100 is getting weak(1 year or less in most cases) below 90 could blow at any moment."

88turbotime

In all honesty the engine is *probably* in better shape than what we are making you think it is, but just be aware that yes, it COULD need a rebuild. My turbo motor was still running strong at 109k when i had it rebuilt, and Kevin (rotaryresurrection) said it looked just fine when he took it apart.

It pretty much just depends on how well it has been taken care of. If it has been taken care of and if you take care of it, it will be a great car with a great engine.

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

What he just said is exactly correct, my engine on the otherhand had 146,000 miles on it but it only had a blown coolant waterjacket on one of the sideirons so it needed a rebuild anyways, but all the apex seals were still intact and everything else was in decent shape.

Hondaeat-R

This car was never owned or driven by a teen or even young adult, 2 Adult owners and the car traded hands @ 60,000 miles. I have patches of hair missing from deciding whether or not to pick this thing up...I'm about to start college part time while I work full time, and the more I think logically the more I think maybe I should just have ONE car that runs & looks good, not 2 or 3 projects...thanks for your help guys, i really appreciate you all listening to my rambling. I guess all i can do now is decide for myself whats best. The high maintenance of these engines and frequent use of the word "re-build" scare me..

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

Well I hope you choose to get it because trust me its a good deal.

As long as the oil was always changed when it was suppose to and the car was never overheated you shouldnt have any problems, and im willing to guess they didnt beat on the car that much since they are older adults but you never know.

You shouldnt have much to worry about if you ask me, because as long as the Rx7 is running you know that its running/driving and thats how you want to buy an rx7 unless you want to do alot of work.

Now my car I bought I paid $1000 not even running with hopes of getting it fixed for cheap and the problem the guy told me was wrong with the car was a complete lie so I had to invest alot of $$.

That car is running though, and a running rx7 is a very good thing.

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

So did you decide if youre going to get it or not ? If I could get another Rx7 at only 200 bucks a month I would, $800 is pretty cheap for an rx7 with such low miles.

'87 turbo II

iTrader: (1)

it's N/A and has 95,000 miles. If the engine was taken care of rebuild shouldn't be said for another 100k miles (no guarantees)

bkg

87 turbo FC I envy you my first vehicle was a 175 pick up. Anyway a 100,000 Se will be fun to for 800 you'll definately enjoy it if you like mountain carving. Trust me after that you'll either be hooked or disgusted with it.

Hondaeat-R

I'm still trying to find someone to do the clutch for a decent price. my buddy backed out on me. Still weighing the pros and cons of the RX i guess. I'll probably end up getting it but, we'll see i guess. anyone in NY wanna help do a clutch ? hahah beer and food on the house !