Matt88

I don't really understand why the last thread was close. I got the GTUs and wanted it as a parts car before I knew how good they were. I figured since the guy sold for less than $200 that had to be a basic model. Of course there isn't a big bottle in there. I'm not that stupid. I know the seals are blown cause my 88 vert does the same thing and I had an Rx mechanic look at it and thats what he told me. I was just wondering it it had an EMS in it and how I would tell. But I guess it doesn't. Everything under the hood is really clean and shinny I haven't really found any grease yet under the hood. If that makes any difference. Thanks for everybody's help.

Kory_yahi

pm sent

RexRyder

iTrader: (10)

huh?

RexRyder

iTrader: (10)

i think u should get nawwws.

slpin

iTrader: (9)

i seen the way he drives..... he would blow himself up

Project84

Only professionals use nitrous oxide

SpeedyRotary

take a pic of your engine bay.

eriksseven

iTrader: (6)

^ ha ha, lol

On a serious note, have you checked the compression? Blown internal seals usually make a car all but undrivable. And if you're talking about seals like apex, side or corner--the car wouldn't be fast or pull hard at all... Most likely it'd be very sluggish, sound weird, blow a lot of smoke and have a hard time holding an idle.

That "rotary mechanic" was probably just trying to get you to have him rebuild it, lol. "Oh yeah... Your seals are DONE" wink wink.

Really check the compression, it'll change your life. Search on how to do it using a conventional tester.

I don't have an EMS, but I would suggest pulling up the pass side's foot-well carpeting and taking a look at the stock ECU found under the metal plate... If it looks un-tampered with, I'd bet you're running the stock computer.

Why don't you just ask the guy who you bought it from...?

Also, does your car feel unusually fast or something? (just curious)

Matt88

The guy I bought it from doesn't live around here. It was one of those once in a life time offers. I saw the car sitting in the same spot forever and one day there was the guy trying to get it started and he didn't know **** about Rx's and said the distrubutor was off and it needed new valves and stuff. So I offered him 150 and he said alright.

Both of my Rx's blow lots of white and blue smoke and heat up really fast, the GTU's blows a lot of water out of the exaust pipes and my convertable all the water boils out of the over flow canister. So I figured both engines need rebuilds

Yes the GTU's seems really fast. Faster than any car I have driven and I've driven quiet a few. Both of my cars seem to have a lot of power. So maybe the seals aren't blow but seems like it to me. Both cars don't really keep a steady idle. thanks a lot.

z31T

One thing that he forgot to add about his car is that when we started it, we had to rock it back and forth to actually get the compression going. That car is crazy fast, though. Not RX7 fast. Faster.

Matt88

Yeah i did have to shake it to get it started. I think the fuel pump is giving out. But anyway is there a way to tell whats been done to this car or do I just get a big suprise when I pull apart the block?

eriksseven

iTrader: (6)

hmm, define "rx7 fast", lol.

I bet your car has some porting done to it that you don't know about.

Matt88

I don't really know what my friend was thinking was Rx7 fast. All I know is that it smoked my friends miata really bad. I think the engine might have some porting done to it. i guess I'll find out when I pull it apart. Hopefully it does that way its less for me to do.

eriksseven

iTrader: (6)

^ right on... So are you sure it's blown?

If your car is performing well, I doubt you've blown any of your seals like; apex, side or corner. The only way to really know is to give it a compression test. If the internal COOLANT seals are blown, your car will use a lot of coolant and blow white smoke out the exhaust on start-up (from coolant seeping into the combustion chambers). If your car just has a bad idle, it doesn't necessarily mean that the motor is blown. Don't neglect to check the compression before ripping into it, it'll tell you a lot.

Good luck with the project, doood!

Matt88

Both my cars blow lots of white smoke and both don't idle right. THe idle jumps a lot. I can't remember what the numbers are right now off of the top of my head. I will do a compression check as soon as i can and once I am able to get the GTu's to start again. For some reason now it won't start.

SonicRaT

iTrader: (6)

Wow. This thread is so full of people who don't know what they're talking about it's amazing! Alright, lets start with the basics.

There are *MANY* seals of all sorts! There are:
Apex Seals
Side Seals
Corner Seals
Oil seals (retainers & rings)
coolant seals

Now, if you have decent compression, it's safe to guess that the Apex/sides & corners are in OK shape.

Lots of grey/blue smoke that kind of lingers in the air is obviously oil seals, car will usually run OK like this but foul plugs/etc rather quickly.

White smoke with a sweet smell that tends to clear up rather quickly is coolant seals, which leak coolant into the engine (also cause boiling over, bubbles in the overflow, rapid heating & overheating).

So figure out which ones are broke and fix it before it leads into an even larger problem. To find out what ECU you're using, pull the damn carpet up and look, there's absolutely no other way you will know. As for being fast, a GTUs is *supposed* to be lighter than a vert, have better gearing, and a slightly better (read, higher HP & higher compression & vdi) engine than your other 88. Also, a miata is not fast! That is not a good comparison!