Some Questions

Hi, i'm new to this forum and i'm from Toronto. I curently drive a AE86 GTS Hatchback and i was looking for another FR car. I came across the RX-7, it looks amazing. Fell in love with it the first sight. Well i need to know something and i need some opinoins from RX-7 experts (u guys!). How much longer will the engine last with 199,000km on the N/A engine? Also what to look for that are problems when buying a 1987 - 1990 RX-7? I found one that is for sale for $3500CDN 1990 RX-7 with 199,000km N/A motor. Do u guys think it's a good deal? Thanks for your time.

86B~

what is that in miles? a 2nd gen motor if taken car of is good for 200,000 miles but a lot need rebuilt after 100,000 or so.

I'm not sure what that translate to in miles, but other then that. What should i look for when buying an old RX-7? Anything in particular that i should check before i buy it? Also which area of the car has the most potential to be damaged by rust and does it cost alot money for the maintainence of the car? Thanks for your help.

86~

For rust, look at the floor pan just behind the front wheel wells.
If memory serves, 100km=60miles roughly, and the NA motors are solid for 150,000 miles if they've been taken care of. Oil changes every 3000 miles and spark plugs every 10,000. As for cost of repairs, things like brakes etc are normal, but if you blow either the apex seals or the oil seals on the face of the rotors, you need to rebuild the motor and that will cost you more than what you're paying for the car.

SuperchargedRex, thanks for your answers for my questions. If you don't mind me asking a few more questions. How can I tell when the apex seals is broken or other serious problem is in the engine? Does it affect the performance alot? And how much hp does the N/A engines produce? I have seen from other RX-7 websites that it ranges from 140-160, and you sound like an expert on RX-7. I was hoping if possible you can answer my questions. Thanks!

86B~

86. if one of the apex seals are damaged you would know it.. the apex seal is truely a seal that presses up against the wall of the motors interior to create a sealed space for each intake exhaust ignition sequence that the motor produces.. its part of the rotor itself.

another problem i would look out for is the oil gauge inside the car. The presure should read 30 when the engines just idleing and not more than 60 i believe even when you mash the gas... this would tell you if there is a seal broken anywhere there is oil in the car.

if you find out that the car is mechanically and physically sound i would go for it.. a 1990 n/a produces between 160 and 165 horse at its best.. this is so because in 89 they made lighter rotors for the 13b engine.

like i was saying tho if you find it worth your money i would definately get it.. the rx7 is a true rare sports car.

Like Endur@nce88 said, if the apex seals are broken the motor will have very little power, and again, it would be very obvious if you had a compression check done.

One of the best indicators of a rotary engine's health is its exhaust.
1. If its black, its running rich which could be a bad O2 sensor/plugs/wires etc and can probably be fixed with a basic tune up unless the MAF sensor is bad.
2. If the exhaust is blue, then you're burning oil and that means the oil seals on the face of the rotors are leaking, its really obvious after running at highway speeds and then lifting off the throttle, the vacuum inside the motor will literally suck the oil into the combustion chamber and burn it. This requires an engine rebuild to fix.
3. Lastly, if the exhaust is white, its eating coolant. This is really bad because it usually means that the motor has been overheated and you can have warping of the housings and melted water jackets. So not even a minor rebuild will work, you have to replace the housings.

You're right about the range of hp, its because the 2nd generation is split into two sub-groups: 86-88 motors had about 10hp less than the 89-91 motors due to a couple of differences. The later series had lighter rotors with a slightly increased compression ratio, and there were differences with the intake manifold as well. All of these changes also bumped the redline from 7000 to 8000rpm.

And as you can tell, I don't mind answering questions. I don't consider myself an expert, just a guy that's been living and learning with a rotary for going on 5 years now.

Hey! Thanks to all the ppl that answer and reply to all my questions. I'm going to go take a look at the 1990 FC this weekend. If i have more questions i'll be sure to ask u guy. Thanks

86B~