SteveRanieri

I'm not positive but I was driving as I normally do down a highway yesterday, switched gears, and all of a sudden got a huge stall and my car was ridin real rough. I pulled over and checked what was wrong and a belt was broke so I figured that's what the problem was....as it turns out, the mechanic (who claims he's been working on mazdas since the mid 80's) thinks one of my rotors went flat but he isn't sure. They are going to run diagnostic tests tomorrow to see what's wrong and that's gonna cost me $130 alone

PraxRX7

Rotor went flat???....ummm....ok...sure

I don't see how a rotor can become "flat"

I can see maybe an apex seal stuck or smushed into the rotor housing causing loss of compression and possibly scraping (if the apex seal jammed into the rotor housing, chances are the engine wouldn't even run).

But I do not think a rotor can go "flat"

Get him to put the belt back on, if it still runs like *** then get a compression test done. That will let you know for sure.
btw...which belt? Alternator? Power steering? Air Pump?

CrackHeadMel

iTrader: (2)

lol, a rotor going flat

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

Very simple to diagnose: get a compression test.

SteveRanieri

it's the air belt...and I am getting the compression test done tomorrow. I'll keep ya'll updated.

PraxRX7

If you still have your catalytic converters it could just be that your cat overheated and buggerd itself good...good chance to remove it or replace with a hi-flow cat

SteveRanieri

I hope it's somethin like that. It was riding real rough and sounded like a lloud awn mower. I have no clue but I guess I'll find out tomorrow with those compression tests.

TonyTurboII

That just doesent sound right. Tell me more about your car. I doubt you blew an apex...

SteveRanieri

It's an 88 FC (SE)...never really had problems with it before. It has 133000 miles on it. In great shape. I will say this though...I did leave the oil cap off after I changed it cause I forgot to put it back on but I highly doubt that did anything. I figured it was the belt only but apparently the mechanic doesn't think so. What else would ya like to know about it?

1_dollar_83_RX7

hahaha, does your mechanic know anything about rotory engines? what does he think...the rotor is an intertube??? I would check over all the vacuum lines and stuff and the cat like others said

TonyTurboII

If your airpump belt came off, you probably wouldnt notice. After time it would destroy your cat though.

Angel Guard Racing Team

It sounds like a bent or broken Apex Seal(s) problem. If the car starts and sounds like a V6 at low rpm and sounds better around 3000 rpm you need to do surgery. The problem will most likely be on the rear of the engine. If you got no broken apex seals when you open the engine look at the corner piece side of the seal, if you see a diffrence in color (not evenly colored by combustion) your Apex Seals are bent... This is the most common consequence of leanning at some point, it does not even have to happen the same day. I really hope I'm wrong man!!!!

PraxRX7

Yea but if his cat overheated and melted shut, his engine would be trying to push onto so much backpressure that it would run like ***.

Chris Ng

Prax.. You can drop your cat theory...
Just because the airpump ceased to work due to a broken belt does not mean that his cat would spontaniously melt into one large glob .. It would eventually destroy itself over time, as was mentioned by Tony..

hypntyz7

Sorry to bear bad news but that is a *classic* description of a blown apex seal or 3. For sure get a compression test. Do the poor man's compression test...pull 2 plugs adn crank it over listening at the sounds...it should be even, like a choo-choo train, not skipping a beat or missing half of it altogether. Also have someone do this for you while you put your hand byt he plugholes...you can "feel" each apex seal make compression as it cranks.

IF it does turn out to be engine problems I can probably get you an engine rebuilt for $1000 or so, give or take, so keep that in mind as well...dont junk it out or sell it just because of engine problems. Feel free to contact me if I can help...hypntyz@charter.net

Sniper_X

I seriously doubt that by "flat" he really MEANT "FLAT".

C'mon guys.

now, to PAY $130 is the issue here.

I cant understand why your doing that.

Just remove your trailing plugs, pull the EGI fuse, and turn over the engine for a few secondss.

If it sounds like a galloping horse, then you dumped an Apex seal.

Now,

replace the front trailing plug, turn the engine.
Note the sound
Remove the font and replace the rear trailing plug, turn the engine.

One rotor will sound different from the other.


This will tell you if you have a blown motor.

$1200, and you should get a very nice low mie replacement installed complete.

Not a BIG deal, but not what you want to hear if you can avoid it.

SteveRanieri

actually, if I'm gonna end up needing a new engine...I'm thinking about getting a turbo...is this a bad idea?

hypntyz7

I assume you know everything involved in a turbo II swap?

http://hypntyz.rx7life.com read turbo conversions 1 and 2 to get an idea of what youre getting into.

IF youre thinking instead of converting your NA engine to turbo duty, check out aaron's install links at the top of the 2nd gen section for what's necessary to make that work as well.

TonyTurboII

Good info from Kevin.

The swap is in no way hard. When I bought my car last year, it needed an engine. Needless to say, i was pretty sure I couldnt swap one, but I did.

There are many parts needed, listed on the site above.

You could do a true swap, or simply turbocharge your car.

It might be cheaper to get a TII with a blown motor, and save yourself the time involved with hunting for TII drivetrain parts/installing them, and a little money.

Its your call.

PraxRX7

I am really starting to have doubts about these engines.

Oh wait...I always doubted them, just put up with them.

SteveRanieri

Well the guy said if it was a new engine, to get a factory installed new engine from mazda it would cost $3500. I was gonna ask if it does actually turn out to be that I need a new one, how much a turbo install would be. If it's not too much more I'm thinking about doing it.

Oh and get this, the guy that was suppose to run the tests today called in sick, so now I wont know untill tomorrow. Apparently these are quote "sophisticated" engines and they only have one guy that works on them.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

You seriously need to find a new mechanic.

Angel Guard Racing Team

I second that...

SteveRanieri

I go to college at Clemson...I'm in hickville...no other places work on these cars and this really sucks

Sniper_X

Dude, you can do the test that i mentioned above with a spark plug socket and a pair of ears.

Go get your car.

Dont be a victim.