The day started well! Me and a mate left my house at about 6ish and headed up to WGT. The drive up went well and was quite enjoyable.
At about 9:50 we pulled into WGT and I could see Donato and his car â€" the pictures did it no justice at all!!
After the introductions, I got a guided tour around the car and could not believe how good the car was. I felt like a child at Christmas :) I was a bit embarrassed when it came to showing my car :p Moving along, Donato took my car out for a quick test drive â€" all seemed well. When we got back his car was about to get the compression test, so we made our way over to Burger King to settle some grumbles.
Back to WGT and the car was coming out form having the compression test â€" it was looking good!
Now for my test drive :D Rather than killing myself it was decided Donato would show me what it could do, then I’d have a quick go to see if I liked the feel of the car. From the off it was different â€" special. When he planted his foot in 3rd I could see why you all love them so much! The acceleration was phenomenal!! Then it was my turn. The car instantly felt different to anything I had driven before. Apart from a wee stall it went well. Got up to about 4k rpm in 3rd before I backed off.
Back to WGT for a quick chat to Pip, who confirmed that the car was as good as it looked. Also had a chance to meet another club member agroupuk (sorry terrible with names :p), and had a chance to get some good advice. We all agreed on the deal and shook on it! We went to the local pub to deal with the papers, and have a quick pit stop before heading our separate ways.
We said goodbye to Donato and agroupuk and started the journey back. We made our way onto the motor way and settled to a nice steady pace to get used to the feel of the car. It felt good! I’ve never had seen to many people go passed with their faces pressed against the windows! :p Made a quick pit stop after about a 100 miles and carried on. The drive was quite uneventful â€" keeping to a steady cruising speed with the odd boost here and there :p All was well!!
With about 50 miles to go, coming on to an A road in 3rd, I opened her up no more than I had at any other time in the journey. Up to just under 7k rpm, change in to 4th and there was a loud pop â€" in the rear view mirror was a big cloud of dark smoke. Instantly the car became lumpy and the boost was all gone. I slowed down to about 3k rpm and looked for somewhere to pull over. I was told it pops flames when you lift off at high revs â€" but I didn’t remember hearing anything about a cloud of smoke! No warning lights had come on, just a couple of minutes before the commander was showing water temp at 86 and air temp at 35ish â€" didn’t check the knock! :(. After I found a place to stop, I opened the bonnet to let the car cool for a few minutes.
The car was rattling and shaking all over and the boost needle was fluctuating up and down. I turned it off and called Donato. He was very helpful â€" suggested checking if the map sensor or anything else had become disconnected. Checked everything but no luck â€" so I gave Pip a call. Again very helpful â€" suggested the same things as Donato but confirmed that it didn’t sound healthy. I checked if it was safe to drive it home, and set off at low revs.
I headed back staying below 3.5k rpm. About 25 miles to go and the heat light flickered. Pulled straight over, lifted the bonnet and waited for it to cool! Checked the commander and knock went as high as 95, and water temp to 94. Turned off the car and I waited for water temp to get down in the mid 80s before setting off again. This happened once again on the way home. Both times, the car started up first time.
When I finally got home I parked it in the garage and left the bonnet up over night to let it cool. Went down the next day and spent about an hour checking everything was connected â€" things seemed ok. I started it up first time â€" black smoke out of the exhaust, boost needle fluctuating and car rattling like a lawn mower :( So, I turned it off and decided that I defiantly have a problem!!
I guess it could be something along the lines of a boost pipe â€" but after a bit of reading more likely a rotor tip :( Well… I knew what I was doing when I decided to buy the car â€" and I know the car was in perfect working order when I picked it up. I guess its just one of those things. I’m going to get a friend of a friend (ex Mazda technician) to come and have a quick look in case it’s anything simple.
I guess I can take this two ways â€" really badly and whinge about it. Or see the positive side â€" I was still undecided if I was going to be driving it regularly now or waiting till I was 21. Now the decision is made for me :p The insurance alone was going to cost more than a rebuild â€" so I’m not going to be out of pocket so much, just out of car.
It would be nice if I didn’t need a rebuild, but I’m not keeping my hopes up.
I just want to say a big thank you to Donato for being so helpful (and I’m sorry I killed it :() Thanks to Pip for the testing and advice, and cheers to agroupuk for more advice! It was certainly an interesting day â€" the biggest high and the lowest low.
One other thing â€" I don’t regret my decision for one minute!
P.S - Sorry for the long post
Crikey. Really gutted for you mate, but it\'s good you\'re still focusing on the positive side of things. Cars can let go at any time, probably more so in a Rex given it\'s complicated engine setup. Considering the previous owner and also WGT\'s involvement, this is really down to bad luck.
I\'m hoping to pick mine up this coming weekend for the first time from Newera. It\'s been in the shop for some additional goodies so have had to wait 2 months !
After reading your post about your \'virgin\' experience with a Rex, I\'m positively salivating now since I\'ve never driven one either.
That\'s really bad luck...Just to get the taste of the car and then have it taken away like that...Still you will get it sorted and it sounds like a great car.
Sh*t mate, that\'s bad luck. I admire the fact that you can be so philosophical about it. Glad to hear there\'s another FD in South Wales tho, if you need any help with anything gimme a shout....I\'m only down the road in Port Toilet.
TwistedHumour....you are a top man,you show signs of maturity beyond your years..:cheers :King .There are not many people around to have your outlook on what happend to the car.Unfortunately these things happen...:Hammer ..keep your chin up and a solution will come your way :chat
Regards
Era
here`s hoping its ot terminal m8
keep us informed of updates
cheers
Thanks for the support everyone - it is much appreciated!!
Millspeed - thanks. I might take you up on that offer if it’s ok. Beer tokens will be provided!
Cheers
No worries mate, love messin with 7\'s. Gimme a shout on 07850 622028 whenever.
Sorry to hear about this chap. Its a real shame as both you and Don acted in the best possible way; having a compression test and it being all clear should have meant some trouble free motoring :(
Good luck with it, I hope its nothing too bad. I\'d start with checking the sparkplugs and ignition, if the car is only firing on one rotor it may just be that somethings popped off. Fingers crossed its not a rebuild job!
gutted matey, im sorry to say that rough idle + smoke + fluctuating boost is signs of a tip seal going.
Well done for keeping yopur chin up though!!!
Rmaj
sorry to hear about your car mate :( ... what were the compression results and the mileage on the engine?
Quote from: kash_5sorry to hear about your car mate :( ... what were the compression results and the mileage on the engine?
All + mid 6\'s - very consistent too. Pip said the engine was in perfect working order - and that if I maintained it as well as Donato, it should have plenty of life in it. Cant remember the mileage since rebuild off the top of my head - but again, this was done at wgt.
Good Attitude To Have, Sorry To Hear It Though, Good Luck With The Build
Oh no cant believe your luck there mate,
I know Donato and his car very well, a very brill car and very well looked after i guess you were just unlucky that this has happened, does sound like you might have thrown a tip if the power fc had gone into limp mode for whatever reason the following day when everythnig was back to normal it would have started and idle\'d perfectly.
I take my rx up to 7000rpm almost weekly to give it a blast and has always been fine, just luck of the draw, must say your attitude is brilliant mate as some people would be very upset,
hope all works out for the best,
Gurj :wave
damn dude. that is seriously unlucky. i would be majorly depressed if that happened to me. chin up and hope you get it sorted soon :)
Having read through this thread, I would suggest you get someone who knows about rotaries to have a look before you get into full blown doom and gloom, it could be something as simple as a plug lead that has come off in fact it could be a number of things.
Bearing in mind Donnato must have driven her down from Scotland and that it had just been compression tested and knowing Pips maps are quite conservative I would be quite shocked if it is a tip failure.
As stated by the others I take my hat of to you on your attitude.:cool Best of luck with her you have a very good car there.
Quote from: John YorkeHaving read through this thread, I would suggest you get someone who knows about rotaries to have a look before you get into full blown doom and gloom, it could be something as simple as a plug lead that has come off in fact it could be a number of things.
Bearing in mind Donnato must have driven her down from Scotland and that it had just been compression tested and knowing Pips maps are quite conservative I would be quite shocked if it is a tip failure.
As stated by the others I take my hat of to you on your attitude.:cool Best of luck with her you have a very good car there.
Your right - there’s always a chance. I\'m going to take millspeed up on his offer and give him a call later. It\'s always worth having someone who knows what they are looking for! As I said, one of my mates is going to speak to a friend who is an ex mazda technician and ask him to have a look.
Again - thanks everyone for the support! :wave
check the boost hoses under the plenum - they can cause the bad idle and irratic boost readings ( from what i have read )
you can always compression test it using a normal compression tester - this will give you a good idea aswell
Stu
Quote from: grindercheck the boost hoses under the plenum - they can cause the bad idle and irratic boost readings ( from what i have read )
you can always compression test it using a normal compression tester - this will give you a good idea aswell
Stu
Dont even need a comp tester - Take out the EGI fuse, remove lower rear plug and turn her over you should get 3 even whooshes of air, put the plug and lead back on, remove lower front plug, repeat the turn over, if you get any uneven whooshes [1 good one followed by 1 or 2 poor ones] this will indicate poor compression [dont forget to put the egi fuse back!]. As the car has been converted to run non-seq. a great deal of the \'rats nest\' will have been removed so it should be quite easy to trace the hoses.
i was gonna suggest that - but i thought the comp tester gives a visual indication rather than guessing the number of WHOOOOSHES !
still a poor mans way of testing it though :D
Stu
hmmm I dont think the engine has popped. I reckon the fault lies with the MAP sensor myself or one of the plugs has gone, get it to rotary specialist.
Black smoke indicates a very rich mixture which all points to the map sensor. When I have thrown a tip/seal in the past the symptoms were slightly different, no smoke as such and difficult to start with a weak idle, but would drive fine past 3000 rpm
Im sure is something simple matey, fingers crossed for ya
Quote from: BlitzBoyhmmm I dont think the engine has popped. I reckon the fault lies with the MAP sensor myself or one of the plugs has gone, get it to rotary specialist.
Black smoke indicates a very rich mixture which all points to the map sensor. When I have thrown a tip/seal in the past the symptoms were slightly different, no smoke as such and difficult to start with a weak idle, but would drive fine past 3000 rpm
Im sure is something simple matey, fingers crossed for ya
I do hope your right. During the drive - at wot the air/fuel guage did show it move towards to richer side. Even when it all went tits up, the guage showed the same levels as before.
As posted before - I will give millspeed a call and see if he can see anything simple. I tried to get at the plugs to check yesterday, but it looks a bit awkward. I\'ll give it another attempt later.
I\'m not sure who the closest rotary specialist to me is (Swansea) so I may have to hire a trailor and get it to one.
In the West you have Ross at Dragon (Exeter) or Tim at RX Motors in Blandford Forum in Dorset.
I don\'t remember having loads of black smoke when I threw a tip (or two!), just a really lumpy idle (wouldn\'t hold idle without a bit of throttle) and an absolute pig to start! also ran with half the power it should have had as I ended up running on one rotor!
Quote from: sadgothIn the West you have Ross at Dragon (Exeter) or Tim at RX Motors in Blandford Forum in Dorset.
I don\'t remember having loads of black smoke when I threw a tip (or two!), just a really lumpy idle (wouldn\'t hold idle without a bit of throttle) and an absolute pig to start! also ran with half the power it should have had as I ended up running on one rotor!
I\'m trying very not not to get my hopes up - but after a lot of these posts its getting pretty hard :p
As I said, when I have tried to start the car it has worked first time and it doesn’t need throttle. The power loss was terrible though!! I don’t know if anyone has ever been from Abergavenny to Merthyr and seen how steep the hills are - I struggled up there at no more than 25-30mph. That was easily the worst part of the journey.
Hard to say at the minute - but at the moment I\'ll be quietly cautious and not expect miracles. It will be easier to deal with if a full rebuild is then required
could well be a manifold leak or map sensor.
Rmaj
Aww man !
Gutted for you - I really really hope its something incredibly simple.
With all the expertise offered by this forum and its members I\'m sure it will be an easy fix ! (fingers crossed)
It was nice to meet you at WGT - and if Pip gave the car a clean bill of health then it must just be down to luck - bad luck - but luck just the same.
Heres hoping it\'s nowt major.
Agroupuk
Unlucky mate, I\'m impressed with how your handling this I don\'t think I\'d be the same.
Hope its a simple fix.
Alan
Closest to you i think is Dragon performance in Exeter, or possibly Hayward rotary ?
Both have links at top of page cheers,
Gurj
Hats off to you mate, just remember to keep the feeling of that 3rd gear boost in mind while its off the road! :yes
The symptons sound like the MAP sensor so much, hope it goes well for you.
News isnt good :(
MillSpeed came up last night to give me a hand to find out what was wrong. We took out the EGI fuse and one of the plugs and got puff..puff.........puff..puff.........
That\'ll be the rotor tip then :p At least I know what is wrong with it!
My plan for the weekend is to get my note pad and make a list of every single thing that I want to do to the car - and then do what I can until after x-mas when I will have the funds for a rebuild. Time for a jumble sale I think :p
A very very very big thanks to MillSpeed for coming up and helping out (well, doing it and me watching :p) it was very much appreciated :D If I can ever repay the favour please just let me know!
No worries mate, only wish the outcome could\'ve been better. We decided to do the poor man\'s compression test first as last, it was literally a strong woosh followed by one weak \'putt\' from the front rotor, couldn\'t even hear the third rotor face, suggesting one of the apex seals has been \'compromised\'. Genuinely gutted for you mate, it\'s only gonna get better from here, honest! Anyways, if you decide to pull the motor yourself and get it stripped back to the bare block, just gimme a shout. I\'ll be more than happy to roll up me sleeves!
Cheers fella,
Chris
you mean there were only 4 compression sounds? Im confuzzled.....what did you do? turn it over by hand?
Tis gutting when you buy a car and you get bad news quite so soon....Mine was amost the same except mine got me to and from uni atleast till I took it off the road...
Have you considered a DIY rebuild? You could learn an awful lot and it can be done over a period of time...(i think mine has been over 7 weeks and im still about 6 from completion) and itll allow you to do loads of other things in the engine bay....to put it into perspective...the level of rebuild Im going for would cost over 2900 at pretty much any specialist due to the amount of parts im changing....its costing me 1400 in parts.
Nice one for taking it it on the chin so well though! :)
We turned her over on the starter with the leading plug out and got a woosh putt......woosh putt......woosh putt.......woosh putt, where it should be a consistant woosh woosh woosh woosh woosh.
I don\'t really know what to say, I just don\'t believe it mate, im so gutted for you, it was running fine all the way down and on the test drive it was at full power and revs twice without a stutter. Its only done 20000 since the rebuild and the compression test was good according to Pip. Everything was replaced at the time of the rebuild, uprated fuel pump, fuel filter, leads, coils etc would be a good idea to try and source the route of the problem so you can sleep easier once the rebuild is done.
Im really sorry that this is your first experience of the Rx7 and its gone so bad, as others have said full marks on not letting it get you too down. Its not a thing that could be foreseen but i feel really bad as i looked after that car and was sad to see it go, as i said to you on the day i really wanted someone to get the pleasure out of all the work and money i pumped into that car, as i was not using it anymore. Im so sorry it has let you down.
Im always at the end of the phone if you need any help.
Donato
I\'m more inclined to wait a little bit longer and get it done by a pro.
If they get it wrong, then at least it\'s covered. If I get it wrong then I\'ll be paying twice.
I still might invest in the rebuild box set just for a bit of rotary education - and if it doesn’t look so bad I\'ll consider it.
Quote from: DonatoI don\'t really know what to say, I just don\'t believe it mate, im so gutted for you, it was running fine all the way down and on the test drive it was at full power and revs twice without a stutter. Its only done 20000 since the rebuild and the compression test was good according to Pip. Everything was replaced at the time of the rebuild, uprated fuel pump, fuel filter, leads, coils etc would be a good idea to try and source the route of the problem so you can sleep easier once the rebuild is done.
Im really sorry that this is your first experience of the Rx7 and its gone so bad, as others have said full marks on not letting it get you too down. Its not a thing that could be foreseen but i feel really bad as i looked after that car and was sad to see it go, as i said to you on the day i really wanted someone to get the pleasure out of all the work and money i pumped into that car, as i was not using it anymore. Im so sorry it has let you down.
Im always at the end of the phone if you need any help.
Donato
Like I said mate - there\'s no more anyone could have done. All work done at a reputable company, good compression tests and pip said the car was every bit as good as it looked and that it had been well looked after. Plus I know the car was fine when I left.
I guess its just one of those things that happened - perhaps the reason will become clear when it gets a rebuild.
Thanks again for the help you\'ve given me so far.
Chris
I\'ve got a video at home with my plugs out cranking to unflood the car, I\'ll post it so you can hear what it should sound like.
Once again sorry you\'ve had such a bad start, things will get better from here :)
on a modified car, theres very few builders who wil honour the engine build warranty....and youll pay thru the nose to get the warranty if they do! Probably the number one reason why i decided to go ahead with my own build but with loads of advice from a couple of builders.
I still think you should get it compression tested correctly its the only way to be sure
almost all builders will warrante an engine they built! as long as you run it at a sensible boost. for instance pip, wont warante anything over 1 bar.
One other thing - can you still rev the engine to redline if you apply the throttle slowly, not going into boost ? You usually cant do that with one tip gone.
I had the EXACT same symptoms when my MAP sensor hose disconnected and I did take a look at it and thought it was still attached. Guess what, it wasnt, and after 4 days of worry, it was a simple fix when I took another look at it.
Really, dont jump on the rebuild wagon too soon.
Chris,
I tried to email you to confirm a couple of things but it keeps getting sent back to me, do you have another email address i can try?
Cheers
Donato
Email sent to you mate
omg, sorry only just seen this thread.
I feel so much for you. I\'ve only met Donato once at rotorstock, when I managed to blow my turbo up!!!
top car. I really hope you get some good news!! It will be worth it once its sorted!!
Graham
Quote from: BlitzBoyI still think you should get it compression tested correctly its the only way to be sure
I\'d be inclined to agree, it would be nice to see the 6.5-0-0 on a gauge before commiting to a rebuild (well, not nice but you know what I mean!). Did not sound good tho, there was a huge difference in the sound generated by the three rotor faces. Would be really interested to see the condition of the other plug (NGK iridium plugs). I wonder if this is another case of them disintegrating?
Here is a video of how my car sounded while deflooding.
Its a poor mans compression test but you can here the whoosing
Clicky (http://www.prelude.ndo.co.uk/deflooding.wmv)
On a new brighter side of things... I\'m going to phone Pip today and get the car booked in asap! With any luck I can get the car up and back in a month.. or maybe a little more.
Cant wait to get the car on the road again :D Will keep you all posted!
Gutted for you.
Id be really ****ed..esp if youd payed top cash for it