FD RX-7 owners, step in.

[Got Insulin?]

So I'm going with a friend to look at an FD this weekend, and as much as I love the way the car looks and sounds, I know very little about rotaries or the FD series other than what Wikipedia and some Google-ing could tell me, so I'm not going to be a whole lot of help to him. When asked for a mod list, my man was told that it was on the stock turbos with intake, exhaust, MBC, and coilovers with 60xxx miles on the car total. The paint is kind of rough, but the dude is asking a pretty reasonable (as far as KBB and a little researching went) price.

So, give me a crash course in what I should be looking for, looking at, turned off by, turned on by, common rust spots, easity tested problems, etc. Any light you could shed would be greatly appreciated because I am way out of my zone on this one.

[toplessFC3Sman]

a big one is have the seller start it from cold. watch/smell the exhaust as he does... some condensation is normal, but there should be no hint of coolant or oil in the exhaust. These are big hints that the engine is on its way out. Also, on the test drive, wind it out in second or third (watch out, these will put you at 60 and ~90 or so mph) and watch the rearview mirror for a puff of oil smoke; sign of the turbos going bad. If you can (like, if there's an enumerated boost gauge installed), look for a 10-8-10 psi boost pattern stock... with an MBC I dont know what it'll boost to, but you'll still get that little dip in the middle as the second turbo comes online.

A steady idle is always nice, if it doesnt its most likely a cracked vacuum line (this will also affect the amount of boost), which in and of itself is a simple fix, but will require a lot of searching/troubleshooting. Id basically just plan on replacing all of the vacuum lines if he gets the car.

The coolant overflow tank is plastic and tends to develop leaks over time, check and make sure its not leaking, cause a failure of the coolant system that goes unnoticed will mean a new engine. On this note, ask about any overheating, various leaks and whatnot, because the oil coolers account for probably about 1/3 of the rotaries heat rejection, and getting rid of all the heat from the naturally hot rotary as well as two turbos is the main challenge in keeping these cars alive.

The interior plastics tend to scratch easily, this may be a bargaining point, and they also develop a thunking noise from the rear suspension over time. IIRC this is just bushings and not really a big issue, but something to look for anyway.

Search "FD RX7 buying guide" and i'm sure you'll come up with a few other pages from RX7club or a few other sources.

[93rx7r1]

The best advice is to get a compression test done by someone/shop that works on rotary powered cars. That is the best way to know what shape the engine is in. KD Rotary is in New Tripoli & they know what they are doing!

I would be a little concerned as to what the guy has set the boost controller at, because a stock ecu isn't tuneable and upping the boost with out being able to add more fuel isn't a good thing (on any engine!). The clunk that toplessfc3sman was talking about in the rear suspension are the pillowball bushings that usually go bad (there are 6 of them).

[Got Insulin?]

Thanks for the insight, fellas. Keep it coming.

[rotarychainsaw]

Just join rx7club and look through the FAQs. There are so many little quirks on stockish 3rd gens that the list is like a mile long. At a high level though, I would really recommend not beating the **** out of it until you can at least make sure it is running right. Buying a rotary and blowing it up right after purchase is pretty much part of the rotary buying experience, but most people still like to avoid it for a little while.

[toplessFC3Sman]

and that doesnt even just pertain to FD's... when I did the turbo swap in my 'vert I was so excited to drive it, that the day I got it running well enough to venture out on the street, I went WOT and... pop. had to limp home on one rotor, pull out the $400 found-in-a-field engine and get it rebuilt. I think the FPR was connected to the wrong nipple on the intake manifold (not actual vac signal, an injector bleed), but that may not be it.

Basically... take your time and work into the car slowly; you want to find the PO's mistakes (or your own) before they become problems

[Got Insulin?]

Thanks again, guys, and thanks for the link Chainsaw, I was doing a little cruising over there, too.

We went and checked out the car on Saturday, and, man, it was a blast. Turned out to be an imported RHD, with a clean PA title. It's clear by driving it that the car was well loved and pretty well maintained (no quirky idle, things seemed legit); mods were same as when he got it from Japan with intake, exhaust, and coils. First RHD car I was ever in, much less drove, so it was an interesting experience to say the least. I'll let you guys know if Dave winds up picking up the car or not.

[TurbosaurusRX]

Got Insulin,

Any word yet on the purchase?

I just want to second what 93rx7r1 mentioned about KD Rotary in New Tripoli. It's a great shop to go to if your buddy does go through with the buy. Dave and Kim are some of the nicest people I've met and really know their stuff when it comes to rotaries.

Theres another guy on the forum (I think his name is BudFc3s) who I believe works at KDR. I'm sure he could probably toss you some info if you or your buddy still need it.

Good luck!

[driftingrx5.7]

The best advice is to get a compression test done by someone/shop that works on rotary powered cars. That is the best way to know what shape the engine is in. KD Rotary is in New Tripoli & they know what they are doing!

I would be a little concerned as to what the guy has set the boost controller at, because a stock ecu isn't tuneable and upping the boost with out being able to add more fuel isn't a good thing (on any engine!). The clunk that toplessfc3sman was talking about in the rear suspension are the pillowball bushings that usually go bad (there are 6 of them).

I would agree with all! make sure the compression is getting a good 110 on each housing! if it does 110, less then 110, less then 110 then back up to 110 then something is wrong with one of the seals on some spots. keep on spark plug in ( in the bottom) put the compression testing tool on the top spark and make sure it stays around 110 and your good. make sure you can go though all the gears and make sure it doesn't pop out! no smoke or coolant smell and so on. if you got all that then have fun with it and enjoy it!