I\'ve been looking around the site for a couple of weeks now researching before I commit to buying a gen3 RX7.
Looking on eBay and general RX7\'s for sale it appears to be a big deal to rebuild the engines as low as 45k miles which seems a bit extreme to me?
Please could you just offer your opinion of this? I\'m sure it\'s worth it but what else maintenance wise other than servicing needs to be done?
Thanks in advance.
Hi and welcome
With the average engine lasting approx 60k miles, it is just precautionary of people buying a new car to get a rebuild, if you bought ine with 45k and drove it a couple of years, you would have to rebuild before selling as it would be close to 60k, hence why many are aprehensive.
Depending on how handy with tools you are, you could rebuild yourself as they are pretty straight forward.
I believe its also a good tool for getting the price down, to be frank.
QuoteI believe its also a good tool for getting the price down, to be frank
Thought you were gary not frank?
Thanks for the prompt reply.
I\'m not too bad with a spanner and a hammer and quite enjoy the challenge, but I have been working with simple Fords for a while and never attempted an engine rebuild.
Checked out the rebuild post in the technical section and I\'d have to agree, it looks relatively simple in comparison to the common four pot. On the same note, moving from the simple 80\'s CVH carb engine to the Wankel is still very alien to me.
I\'ll have more of a poke around the site regarding buyers guides etc.
Been to my local imports (Bradford) but he doesn\'t import RX7\'s, so having a search around to find a place in West Yorkshire I can find one and have a poke around.
Also, the prices on eBay seem to range dramatically, from 5k to 20k+.
I haven\'t got a huge budget and performance really isn\'t important to me, it\'s the car I\'m interested in, what sort of spec can I expect to get for 5-6k?
Cheers,
J.
mm i would say you would be looking at a standard 1992-94 import with no mods maybe with a rebuild or 2nd hand engine with ok bodywork check out http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16920&highlight=rust for rust and bodywork.
It also seems to me now there are a lot coming out of the woodwork needing engine rebuilds now so just be carefull, and take your time shopping.:cheers
there is a place in bradford thats got two black fd3s in at the moment,i belive they import them,cant remember what they are called but they are behind motor world on allerton road,might be worth a look.
Cheers Vinny, found them. MIR motors they\'re called. Will see if I can pop across to have a look at their stock.
Well thanks for your input folks, it\'s kinda reassured me a little but wanting to use it as a daily drive I don\'t really want to be in a situation where I\'m underneath it every other weekend.
I\'m getting the impression that common faults are generally tuning or electrical in some way and not much else really, I might be wrong.
So servicing would include, oil, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs? How often? Anything else I\'ve missed? Nothing to the equivelant of cam belts to take note of milage etc?
Thanks.
Hi mate, I do my oil & filter every 3000m and plugs every 5000m. You hear some horror stories but i got my car for a good price done over 10,000m been the most reliable car i ever owned but totaly standard. Nothing like cam belt servicing wise but check for cluncking at rear as bushes can be expensive.
As a daily driver the fuel consumption is more hastle than the reliability in my opinion, but they are a great drive.
Phil
Why not try and source one from here, will get a better idea of its history
I jusssst could be tempted to sell mine, red 92 , standard except for rear silencer. My engine overheated, and I am replacing engine with a good one with 40k on it. The engine came from a running car on here, from a member in good standing.
Thanks again guys for the sound info.
Phil, great advice on the servicing. I don\'t really mind servicing the cars regularly, often quite enjoy it and you can\'t really service any car enough.
rotaryart, yeah, I\'ll keep a look out. At the moment I\'m just trying to find out about the car before I go further, I\'d never actually looked around one yet, only seen em on the road. I wouldn\'t mind test driving a couple first so at least I\'ve got a half decent comparison.
Martiny, thanks for the offer, seems you\'ve got almost what I might be after. Standard or close to but, call me picky but my RX7 will have to be black. Cheers fella.
How do you prevent overheating? Is this common?
Also, do someone wonna shock me what sort of fuel comsumpion I can expect to get, or is fuel economy a sware word on this forum? :Giggle
hello mate how long can you wait before you buy one,im halfway through a rebuild on a mint black 3rd gen,im using mazda parts including tips and seals,let me know if you fancy a look,theyre not good on fuel:guinness i aint gona lie,though ive had two and aint on the streets yet,
Overheating happens when there is a leak, and then coolant is lost , and then it overheats. I should have not driven mine till I fixed the leak.
Consumption on a standard car will be around 20 MPG, if used on a mixture of Motorway / City driving.
Well, I experienced my first ride in an RX7 today and I was more than impressed. It wasn\'t the cleanest example and there were a few things knocking about but at least I have something to compare to.
All was going well until I asked the guy if I could take a look in the boot... can any of you tell me where it is?
It certainly caught me by suprise as I thought with the long sweeping boot it would be long and wide... which it was... but it\'s so shallow! Couldn\'t even stand a bottle of coke up in it.
I was gutted it had let me down on a stupid practicality. I know, I know, it\'s not a practical car, it\'s a sports car but it just never crossed me mind.
Perhaps in a few years when I\'ve got more space in the garage and can afford to fund a third car then maybe. :oD
The spare wheel and the fuel tank are under the boot, hence its shallowness. Yes its small where the lid meets the back of the car, but its actually quite big if you put stuff more towards the front, even bigger if you remove the strut brace and then use the back seat space, too.
It\'s amazing what you can cram into the boot. I have fitted tons of stuff in mine - although as you say as long as they are not tall!
Thanks again folks, but today I had a reality check.
I thought to myself walking home from work, what am I doing at 26 year old thinking about practicality and fuel economy?!
However, as it\'s going to be used as daily driver and we aren\'t lucky enough to have such smooth roads as the Japanese, a rattly bumpy ride like the TypeR I was in last week doesn\'t appeal.
So I\'ve been looking at spec\'s and I think I\'d prefer a single turbo, TypeRB. Being the base model am I right in thinking the suspension is "slightly" softer. Not really fancying bright red leather like the Bathurst either though.
Does the normal TypeRB have black leather?
I understand they made these from \'96 onwards?
Any info advice appreciated as always.
Well I use mine as a daily and have Tein superstreet\'s - think they are brilliant! :Thumbs-up Get yourself a test drive in one and see what you think :)
When to see Pip at WGT Auto Developments in Cheshire today. He\'s a really canny guy and was kind enough to spare me some time to ask a few questions. I feel a bit more reasured now after a quick chat.
Also went for a spin in a Skyline the other day and it just didn\'t give me that feeling of \'I must have this car\'.