Right now I am not that familiar with my RX7. I just recently bought it and there are a bunch of problems with it. I think I know what is causing them, but I don't want to make it worse by tinkering around. I was wondering if there was a rotary shop near me that I could take the car to for a check up and diagnosis/fix.

I saw the list, and found that StreetPower and RotaryDynamics were the ones close to me (I live around the Toronto area), but they didn't seem like shops for novices like me. RotaryDynamics seemed to specialize more in engine rebuilds.

I was wondering if anyone knew of a good place near me that I could take my car to.

Or, maybe I can list some problems here and someone can confirm what I think to be the problem.

- backfires when idles and driving.
- low idle and weak at approximately 1000rpms. There is a clicking noise near the engine/UIM. When it clicks, the car gets weaker, and then stronger when it clicks again.
- Upon start up, there is a lot of white smoke being burn (coolant?), but then after 5 minutes it goes away.
- seat belt light keeps on clicking even though the seat belt is in. And when i try to roll up the window it starts and stops in rhythm with the seat belt light. (low battery?)

The car was bought from a dealership, and I have no idea how long it was sitting there. I'm assuming it's been sitting for well over a year at least.

I think that there is either a problem the fuel relay, and the car seriously needs a tune up.

 

There is this sticky at the top of the Canadian section on Canadian rotary shops:
https://www.rx7club.com/canadian-forum-42/list-canadian-rotary-shops-796639/

The clicking you describe, along with the window starting and stopping, makes me think of a shorting/grounding issue.

 

you should check shawn at streetpower
really nice person
he will charge u around 90 bucks or so for a diagnose...
n then u knoe wat to do .. he will do a check up.. n tell u wats needed in the car to be fixed
... dont take any chances by trying to find the problem urself .. if u are new like me to fds....

 

Just a quick tip. Wherever you choose to take your car, do a search on here about them just to get some feedback from others who have gotten work done there.

 

- backfires when idles and driving.
Common when driving, especially if you still have the air pump/cat. Check your spark plugs, you might need new ones from what your described.

- low idle and weak at approximately 1000rpms. There is a clicking noise near the engine/UIM. When it clicks, the car gets weaker, and then stronger when it clicks again.
describe weaker?

- Upon start up, there is a lot of white smoke being burn (coolant?), but then after 5 minutes it goes away.
Perfectly normal due to condensation in the exhaust

- seat belt light keeps on clicking even though the seat belt is in. And when i try to roll up the window it starts and stops in rhythm with the seat belt light. (low battery?)
Possibly, could be your alternator, battery, battery connections, grounds. This might be the cause of all your problems.

Now the question is, why are you driving the car in the winter? Is the car still stock? What is done to the car?

On a side note, I haven't heard good things about Streetpower.

thewird

 

I just bought the car, and decided to drive it around a bit to clean out the engine. The transportation company flooded the hell out of it. I replaced the spark plugs.

I checked the sticky, and it doesn't seem like there are any shops close to me that would do a check up. At least, not described in their website.

The car is mostly stock, except for the exhaust. Everything else though is, which makes reliability mods my next step. I also heard something that sounded like a leak near the UIM when the car was shut off. Like something was dripping and burning. Maybe that is normal as well, I don't know.

Right now I need to get the car to pass emissions, and I need to push it on the road to get rid of whatever crap is still in the engine. But I don't want to push it if it is going to blow up on me or make a problem worse. I will try doing a complete tune up on the car and try again.

In terms of the car getting weaker, is sounds like its about to die, and the rpms drop to around 800-900. But it doesn't stay like that for long. I really think it's due maybe to a weak battery, but I could be wrong.

And does anyone have a place they go to get work done to their car? Would they do simple things like vacuum hose replacements and other things that a lot of members in here do themselves?

 

try some of the shops listed on the sticky
call them up .. see what they say about your situation.... tell them everything
there is rotary dynamics
street power
mazdees
mazmark

i am also planning to go for some minor works.... to a mechanic.. again ..about the end of this month....again call them n tell ur problem...see wat they ssay?

 

Excellent advice. People have their preferences but one should definately do some research because it can be a very costly error to end up at the wrong place. There are some real scumbags in the business as well as super nice guys. I would also recommend soliciting senior member's opinions as some of us have been customers of all of them, good and bad.

My car is currently serviced by rotarydynamics.

 

So your saying once the car is warmed up, it idles at 1,000 RPM? A stock car with the stock computer should idle around 800 rpm. Sometimes sellers raise the idle to mask an engine problem (not a good sign).

If the car can start on its own power, its probably not the battery itself but may be related to the charging system.

As for sounds, hard to know from a description over the forums. Opens up more possibilities. Could be vacuum lines or pressure/vacuum chambers or a whole bunch of other things.

thewird

 

If I was in your position, I would do a search here first.
Then I'd take the car to either rotary dynamics or mazdees. Just me....

 

From personal experience, how is RotaryDynamics? I'm debating taking my car to them to run a full diagnostic on it. I first want to see how it performs after I do a full tune up.

 

Jim and Darryl of rotarydynamics are both great guys to deal with. I have no issues referring someone to them. The key thing for me is honesty and they are both standup guys. Darryl is an engineer, which in my mind gives him a real technical advantage over most technicians.

When dealing with any customer problems can arise, what differs the best from the worst is how they deal with difficult situations.

They've always handled any situation that I have had professionally.

You sound like someone that is willing to get their hands dirty. Jim and Darryl have always encouraged me to do what ever I want on my own and have been willing to give advice when necessary. Other shops I've dealt with are too intimidated to give away any information to a customer.

 

Agreed, if I had to take my car anywhere I would go with Jim and Darryl without a doubt. Just like Scrappy said, they are stand up guys and if you are mechanically inclined they will help you do as much work as you can yourself. They are in the business to help out the rotary enthusiast. Oh and did I mention they do awesome work?!?!

 

Same here. I have not heard positive comments regarding the other shop in Mississauga, and I can say for certain my car will never end up there.

Very true, I had the same experience. Very personable, honest, and encouraging guys. I only wish they would take me on, so I can learn from them. Hell I would even work for free

 

OK sounds good. I'll do the tune up on Sunday and see how she runs. If I still don't feel completely satisfied, I will probably go to them sometime this week.

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

Go to Rotary Dynamics, you can't go wrong.

 

Define tuneup?

thewird

 

I just got new spark plugs. Now I'm going to:

- Change oil/oil filter
- Drain and replace coolant
- Install new battery

 

how much yyou think thats gona charge you

 

The check up? I don't know.

The "tune up"/maintenance I'll do myself.

 

Is there something wrong with your battery?

The coolant replacement is always a good idea but you will probably want to change it when you replace/eliminate your AST as part of your reliability mods.

I don't think the items above are going to change the symptoms you are describing.

Always remember the three things needed for combustion. Air, fuel and fire(spark)

Your battery replacement is the only item that touches on one of the three. But even a battery only really starts the car leaving your alternator to take over after that.

You should check yourself or have someone check that all three of your core requirements are working correctly.

It may be prudent to do a compression check on the engine and learn where you really stand.

I definitely wouldn't start trying to "push it on the road to get rid of whatever crap is still in the engine" as you said.

Anyhow that is just my 2 pence worth.

 

Thanks for the advice. I just did those thing above and the car is running a bit better, but not 100% (or what I am completely satisfied with). I think a check up and compression test is the next step for me right now.

 

so did u take it for the tune up?