seanbartsch

hi guys, im new to the board and im looking forward to posting here. i just bought a white 86 rx7 gxl for 400 bucks. it doesnt start right now, but it does turn over. isomeone told me to take the plug and see if i get 3 even pulses of air, well i get 1 big one. i understand that this means my apex seals are stuck, how would i go about getting them unstuck? any help would be grealty appreciated. you can check out pics of my car here thanks in advance,
sean

Mason Rx7

This means you are screwed... You need a engine rebuild. The apex seals aren't stuck.

*edit* Fairly nice body though. I would say its a deal for $400.

*edit #2* I think you need a crash course in Rotary basics. howstuffworks.com give a pretty good crash course on the basics.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/rotary-engine.htm

powrdby13B

Luckily... You came to the right place! By using the search function, you can find all you need on how to rebuild from where to buy kits to how to do what!
Luckily as well.. chances are there's a rotorhead here that lives near you who'd be glad to come pay you a visit.
Well, i'm done with this worthless post.

seanbartsch

i understand the basics of the rotary engine, im a little fuzzy when it comes to the apex seals.....i origionaly purchased the car with the intintions of swapping the rotary with an lt1 and t-56. but the more i think about it, the more i would like to keep it rotary. i def wouldnt rebuild the engine in it. if om going to go to all the trouble i will put a turbo engine in it. i do have a couple of rotary heads around me, im going to have them take a look at it. if anything im sure theres something worth money on the old engine right? how much is a screwed engine worth? thanks again for your help, Sean

gravytrain15

it would definately save you the 900 dollar core charge on a new one. im new to this forum to by the way.........whats up all

will a apexi power fc for a 95-98 rx work on a 93??

Marcus_F

It may be a bit premature to say you’re screwed. Even if the engine is trash, you bought the car for $400. If it were running, you would have paid considerably more. For $400, it sounds like a good buy. It may be severely flooded. I’d try the ATF trick for starters. When was the last time it ran? When it did run, did it smoke, shake like a heroin addict, consume coolant, run hot, or exhibit any other expensive character traits?

The value of the engine will depend highly on the condition of those 20 year old rotor housings. If the engine has been sitting for a long while, the apex seals "could" be stuck. Of course, if it’s been sitting long enough, the rotor housings may be trash due to corrosion from old coolant. At that point, the electronics may be worth more than the block. Not that there’s any shortage of S4 NA gear.

If you’re going the turbo route, you don’t need the NA stuff anyway. It’s all going to be sold, but I would try to see if I could get it to start. A running S4 block is worth more than what you’ll get if you disassemble it and sell the rotors and housings (provided the housings are good).

Lastly, the radiator doesn’t look right. The fan shroud is missing and it doesn’t appear to be bolted down. When it is in the proper position, will the upper coolant hose be long enough?

seanbartsch

the radiator is mounted in a funny way, i think he didnt want to buy a mazda radiator and used an off the shelf item and made it fit the best he could. the engine has been sitting for 2 years. he said he just went out to start it one day and it didnt start. he replaced the starter, and eventually he disconnected the battery and just let it sit. i know i didnt get screwed, it was 400 bucks, the interior and body are in decent shape, im just wondering of the engine is screwed i have no idea how it ran before he let it sit, he said it ran "good" who knows what that means. thanks for the the info marcus

seanbartsch

the radiator is mounted in a funny way, i think he didnt want to buy a mazda radiator and used an off the shelf item and made it fit the best he could. the engine has been sitting for 2 years. he said he just went out to start it one day and it didnt start. he replaced the starter, and eventually he disconnected the battery and just let it sit. i know i didnt get screwed, it was 400 bucks, the interior and body are in decent shape, im just wondering of the engine is screwed i have no idea how it ran before he let it sit, he said it ran "good" who knows what that means. thanks for the the info marcus