PureSephiroth

i've read over and over that RX-7's are unreliable and they explode and you blow apex seals and they are high maintinence. I've heard even more so with TII's. well, for some strange reason, this is the car that has caught my interest. I want a TII. Now I tried to search the forums for this but i couldn't find anything. Maybee my computer is F'ed up but if anyone can help me, i'd really appreciate it..

I don't live anywhere near a rotary shop and i don't want to have an engine that needs to be towed 90 miles across michigan to get worked on. Please help me decide if i want one.

1. How realiable is a TII? how long will the engine last and how much do they cost to maintain?

2. What are the best reliability mods that I can do to a TII and how much will these mods improve the reliability?

As always, Thanks in advance

CrackHeadMel

iTrader: (2)

Around 100k from what ive read the TII's engines start to have there quarks, they can last longer, how long depends on how you treat them and the maintence they get,

Im not tryint to deter you at all, but i have a 87 n/a i bought 3 months ago for 1200, ive already spent about 900 on it and now my waterjacket seals have gone so its parked,

If you do get it, change all the fluids belts sparkplugs, and start a savings account for your next engine just encase

PureSephiroth

not trying to sound high and mighty but i'm looking to spend 4 to 5 k on a really good condition FC that's been treated well. (no my parents aren't buying it for me, it's coming out of my pocket) but should I still replace that crap just to be safe?

tIIforever

I saved forever and came apon mine for 4500 it is in perfect condition with 70,000 miles (a reverend owned it and only drove it once or twice a week) on it only problem i have had was the waterpump and thats it.

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

bottomline is a T2 is as reliable as the previous owner was. if the person cared for the car CORRECTLY (meaning they are sensitive to the major care areas of a rotary; i.e. kept the temperature and RPMs out of the no-no zones) then it will last between 80K and 120K before you need to worry about a rebuild.

scathcart

I've never bought a running Rex. Every RX-7 I've bought has had a blown motor, and I would buy them for cheap and swap in a new motor myself.

That way I KNOW the exact history of the motor, and how its been treated. My engines have never left me on the side of the road (save that electrical fire...)

Sean Cathcart

PlayinW/Wankel

Buy a T2 with a blown motor for like 1000-1500 and put the other 3000 you were planning on spending into a rebuild.

Barwick

check your PM's.. I've got one might be for sale in Detroit/Flint Michigan right now.

akageals

I think that TIIs get a bad rap because people mod. them without knowing fully what they are doing. If you stay stock and you get one that has been taken care of, you should be fine for a long time. I put 188 K miles on my first RX7 and it ran like new when I sold it. Remember that some TIIs are getting up there in age though.

Todd

TheBigOne

I bought mine from a second owner. fortunately i knew him. but its all original and stock with the exception of a turbo timer. but it runs perfect. but im constantly on pins and needles with that many mile cause of the stories. but it runs pretty good

SerpentineGX

Listen to that and sock away some cash.

Check the plugs and make sure there's no water on the tips. Look out for electrical defects – the usual things to look for when buying used.

I paid $2050 for my tII and put in another $2000-2500 so far...and it's parked! Grrrrr... but all the same, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE TII.

smith88

I bought my TII stock from a 2nd owner at 80k and now it has 112k on it. I have only had to replace the waterpump and alternator. I might have to replace the front engine seal soon, starting to seep some oil(kinda sounds like a rebuild coming up soon).

But I have replaced a whole lot more and done some mods to it to get more power.

Ryde _Or_Die

I bought my TII for $1400. It was running but had an overheating problem. A waterpump and radiator later and its runs great(knock on wood ).

steelec

Bottom Line: Turbo-II
They all have exhaust leaks by the turbo, the turbo inlet duct's all crack, the high idle stuff will never work right, the vacuume lines will leak, springs will break inside the door handles, solder connections will go bad in the clock, and other electronics, the plastic radio bezel will break if you dont remove it right to put in that aftermarket stereo because the factory CD never worked right if it had one, of course by now if you had a factory cassette all the belts will be streched and it will eat tapes, the filler neck will leak coolant, and most of the fixes people suggest seem to work at first but then you realize it was not really fixed. But if you do get it right as I somewhat may have its beautiful. RX7 Turbo II >>Greatest machine ever made!!!!!!!!! Then it will be reliable

Barwick

gee, that's depressing

Ryde _Or_Die

Well just pull out the radio and save some weight Everything just depends with these cars. There are so many people that have had them and just plain ragged on them. They hear "those things can be revved high as hell" or "throw a full exhaust, intake and fcd and your good to go." Then they go redline them every gear for months straight without doing any maintence at all. They then sell that car to you and you wonder why the engine lasts a week.

ninjaboy

Man, i just bought a tII last night! i didnt know all this crap about turbo rx7's!! ah, i wish i had read this post last night...my car has 153k on it. i thought that was pretty decent, because most of the rx7's around here have close to 200k. so if i take my car to a rotary shop, what should i get them to check? anything specific???

ninjaboy

jeffpullano

Just for the record I have owed two 87's, one na and currently a TII. The na had close to 140K on it when I sold it and it still ran great (used to hit redline all the time with it). My TII has 120K on it and it still runs great. It does experience some electrical glitches from time to time (most cold solder joints). The only engine work on either engine has been an alternator and plugs.

Just take care of it and make sure you know what your are doing before you modify it.

Ryde _Or_Die

1.compression check
2.change the pulsation dampner
3.change oil, filters(air/fuel/oil), plugs, wires
4.flush coolant

I don't know how much of the maintence you plan on doing yourself but you can do all of that except checking the compression prolly.


Just so you know I was not saying that redlining it will kill the motor. I just think that its pretty dumb to push the limits of a car that is not well maintained. And your last sentence pretty much says it all:

Just take care of it and make sure you know what your are doing before you modify it.

gotorx7

What's all this rubbish about not revving your rotary?

I have owned most model RX-7's, and have always driven them hard - with no problems apart from a bad water seal on a N/A '83 - hardly a symptom of over-work. I think the people who have trouble with Rotaries either under-drive them or under-maintain them.

Cheers,
Dave