Hiya
I have a \'93 Type-R, and am having an issue where intermittently, from around 5k rpm up to the buzzer, power will rise, fall, rise, fall all the way till you change gear, then do the same in the next gear.
It feels like it starts pulling, then its as thou power has dropped, then it will get spurts of power as you keep going towards the shift buzzer.
Ive checked coolant and oil, but am at a loss as to what else may cause this.
The difficult thing is that its intermittent, so hard to nail down, so wanted to find out if anyone had experienced anything similar. Below 4.5/5k rpm, it never has a prob, but pushing on from that is when it occurs.
It has induction, peformance cat, exhaust and ecu, if that helps diagnose anything.
Cheers for any ideas.
Graham
My car was doing similar. Thought it was a boost problems. Turned out to be a misfire and new plugs has fixed it.
Lee
Thanks Lee, been wanting to change the plugs anyway, so will order a set and try that.
Plugs are worth a try deffo. I\'m presuming you dont have a boost gauge? If not, get one. If its boost problems the gauge will highlight them in all likeliness. Mine has similar problems; intermitently I will make:
no boost at all, or
make .75 bar which drops off to not a lot, or
make and hold 1 bar
This can happen in 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th. Generally if I let off the gas and then reapply it I will make boost again....
In addition to this I can her BOV or W/gate doing its nut, dunno whats happening. All bloody annoying. Sure its a cooked solenoid or popped hose or some thing along these lines.
Fortunately I\'m ditching the stock turbos etc imminently so I\'m not that worried about it now :-)
Good luck,
Rich
I do have a boost guage, what should I look for on it? (im new to turbo\'s)
It does flicker small amounts, as in doesnt rise completely smoothly, but I assume thats normal, but what should I see on it as I go through the revs? considering im running stock boost?
Bob, depending on the vintage of your car, you should see the following boost pattern.
MY92-95 = 10-8-10 psi
MY95-02 = 12-10-12 psi
14.7 psi = 1 bar, so 10 psi = .8 bar and 12 psi = .9 bar
Might also be worth checking how clean the air filter is, this can also restrict boost.
Dan
Thanks Dan, its a \'93 Type-R, so at 2.5k revs, it should be at 10PSi, then drop to 8Psi, then at 4.5k, when the second turbo comes on line, it should go to 10 again and stay there, is that about right???
Yep, thats about right bud.
R.
Yeap, expect to go back to 10 psi AFTER 5000 rpm.
Dan
Some more points, could these be related?
The car idles at well over 1000RPM, and doesnt drop below this. The car loses coolant all the time, and needs to be topped up after every drive, a huge plume of smoke is emitted from the exhaust when starting, and it idles poorly for a long while, then when warm idles better, but still doesnt feel well.
Are you a member of FDUK? only rather coincidentally a guy on there has just described the very same symptons as these - sounds scarily like water seals and time for a rebuild....
That was probs me, im trying all avenues, really dont want to have to rebuild!!
Is it the symptoms expected in that case then? imagine being without it for most of Summer, wont be happy.
QuoteOriginally posted by SideShowBob
That was probs me, im trying all avenues, really dont want to have to rebuild!!
Is it the symptoms expected in that case then? imagine being without it for most of Summer, wont be happy.
The water seals on my FC went a few years ago. I faffed around for months trying to nail down the problem for definite. Continually lost water, poor starting, overheating....
Eventually, (thank goodness), found an oil/water emulsion on the spark plugs which confirmed the problem. (Just like a blown head gasket on a normal engine.)
Booked it in for a new engine with Hurley Eng. in coventry and got it back in around a week. Sorted. :)
Martin.
l am afraid l agree with Martin , sorry but you have lost a water seal as you have the symptoms for this which will mean a rebuild .
All the Best Clive
e-mail: clive@mazdarotaryclub.com
web: //www.mazdarotaryclub.com
Thats not good then, going in for a full service to see if its fouled plugs, or fuel filter, maybe ill get lucky and it\'ll clear up the problems, but you all sound pretty confident it a rebuild :confused:
Okay, so the bad symptoms are:
It idles at 1300-1400RPM
It emits a large plume of smoke on startup
It idles very rough, and backfires a lot ( may be normal? aftermarket backbox/cat)
Power delivery seems low, and after 4.5k rpm it pulls in fits and starts, and doesnt pull cleanly at all, power comes on and off, althou it appears to be worsening, and power is staying off more than on now.
Coolant goes down very quick, and the buzzer comes on a lot, and I need to fill it up lots (may be a split seal on the bottle on the very left (drivers side) of the car, as it has this black seal around where the tube part meets the bottle part (highly technical description), and this is split as it leaks water if I try fil this bottle, would this cause loss of coolant?)
The GOOD "symptoms" are:
I have stopped it after running for a couple minutes, then restarted it, and it starts (thought a bad engine wouldnt start if run for only a couple mins?)
It has 56k miles on, so a little (only just a little) early for a rebuild.
It hasnt been serviced for a while, so may be all clogged up, so service would give it a new lease of life? (okay, that one was clutching at straws, but Im a desperate man!!)
Right then, from those symptoms, is this almost without question a rebuild job? or is there a chance it just needs a good service?
Thanks
Graham
Hi Graham sorry to hear bud, atleast you have it covered under warranty if it is a rebuild. Unfortunately that\'s what it sounds like.
Have you contact any garages yet to have a look ??
rgds
Brian
Hi Brain, ive been in touch with a few places, Rotechnics can compression test it, but I cant get to them for a bit, but when it goes for a full service next week at TW Whites in byfleet, even thou they cant compression test it, im hoping they will be able to tell me the extent of whats needed.
Finding puddles of coolant wherever I leave my car, recon the rad must be leaking, just to add to the list of problems.
Im a bit peeved, went with what was supposed to be the most reputable supplier of RX7\'s, was told engine and clutch were in excellent condition, and then before I even picked it up, the air pump and clutch had gone, now had it a week and a half and problems are just multiplying.
Its very annoying, im getting fed up with the car already, its pretty much ruining the whole experience of getting a car Ive always wanted since Ive been into performance cars.
As I feel at the moment, if I could get my money back, Id take it and wouldnt touch one again, and having built this up for so long its gutting to feel that way.
If you are serious about returning your car and maybe getting your money back from the vendor then I suggest you don\'t let somebody else attempt to fix the problems, maybe Whites or Rotechnics can do you a report? Better to say nobody else has changed anything and make it the vendor\'s problem, also gives them a chance to fix the problems and uphold their reputation.
Hope the car get\'s fixed and you decide to keep it.
Kevin
Sorry to hear Graham I can imagine how you feel.
First things first is contact supplier, and tell him whats up with your car at present, and see what he says. It would seem a shame to get rid of soemthing you really wanted so soon. Who knows maybe he will take it off you and exchange it with another one for you or something ??
I suggest giving him a call.
rgds
Brian
(ps keep your head up Bud)
sideshowbob
sorry to hear your feeling down about rx.
im not in your leage of a late rx but i had similar probs with my turbo 2. i bought the first one i saw mostly to do with the hks air filter fcd and big bore system. it had lowered suspension and a fancy stearing wheel. as these were things i wanted to fit i thought i had a result.
i used it twice and the callipers seized. i took the wheels of to have a look and found that 10 of the 20 nuts were wrong and had damaged the studs. i changed the engine mounts too bottom line £400 just to use car twice.
3000 miles later engine go boooommm. car off road
i bought another car for spares with a few probs of its own. got it going and am useing it now. this car is 13 14 years old but driving it is great. it was great fun on a track day and i really love driving it, so much so that i kick myself for not getting one when i wanted it and keeping it as good as i could instead of buying old neglected ones. i would take the advice of the others and get the supplyer to have a look first and claim what you can to get it fixed.
once the car is sorted i would say it will be the best car youll ever buy. if it does get rebuilt then you will have many miles of fun fun fun
good luck
A puddle under the car doesn\'t necessarily mean the rad. It could be top or bottom hose or water pump. (A friend at work with an oldish BMW has now got a similar problem!)
When I bought my FC (1989, with the faulty water seals) I had the same leaking coolant symptom and buzzer going off.
I quickly found the top hose had burst because of the extra pressure. (Faulty water seals can mean engine compression leaking into the water system and breaking things.) New hose sorted the leak, but not the other problems, therefore the rebuild.
Now done over 40,000 miles without a single problem. (Althought, my water pump has now started leaking slightly, but it is 14 years old!)
The last RX I bought had a slipping clutch and I didn\'t notice it until I started driving it normally after buying it. But that can happen with any car.
The air pump is normally very reliable. (At least I\'ve never had a problem and I\'ve had 3 RX7\'s.)
I have to say though that I don\'t trust any garages and would have got the car checked over by a rotary specialist before buying it. (Sorry, doesn\'t help you much I know.)
I\'d also have to agree that if you can get the probs sorted then you\'ll really enjoy driving it...
Martin.
Had a night to relax about it all, little more positive now, and its good to hear success stories after faults have been fixed, I was just getting fed up with it yesterday, a nice (althou lowish rev :) ) sunny drive into work today has made me remember why I wanted this car, and do want to keep it.
If it needs a rebuild, Im going to overemphasise that along with a *little* extra power, I want reliability as the top priority.
Only a week to go till a full service, and will ask them to check out the rad and pipes, wouldnt mind a cost effective but better aftermarket one, as ive heard these are a weak point anyway.
All willl be revieled then, and until then going to take it reasonably easy, and enjoy the poser side of the car, rather than the performance side, lol, time to get some drum and base cd\'s me thinks, er, or not.
QuoteOriginally posted by SideShowBob
wouldnt mind a cost effective but better aftermarket one, as ive heard these are a weak point anyway.
I wouldn\'t mind a new rad either as mines a little gunked up. Unfortunately, Mazda have quoted me £299 + vat. :( so a cheaper aftermarket one would be great. Let me know if you find a supplier of one.
Cheers,
Martin.
(PS: Can\'t agree enough about reliability, I rely on mine to get to work every day like you.)
Was that including fitting Martin?
I have read about direct replacement ones, that use the same fans etc, and are twice the thickness of the stock item, and they fit straight in.
Ill be finding out some costs next week after I know how my car is, and ill let you know.
QuoteOriginally posted by SideShowBob
Was that including fitting Martin?
I have read about direct replacement ones, that use the same fans etc, and are twice the thickness of the stock item, and they fit straight in.
Ill be finding out some costs next week after I know how my car is, and ill let you know.
Great. :)
No, that price was just for the rad. :(
Martin.
Any updates on this?? Did you manage to sort the pulling problem?
Thanks
Matt
anyone knows the outcome of this?
i have the exact same problem since a rebuild (only ~3000 km after rebuild done now)
allready pm\'ed him but untill now no response so ireally hope somebody other than him knows something
furthermore: he stated there\'s a cloud of smoke @ startup but i\'m wondering if it\'s white or blue
Wow this is an old one.
This car needed a rebuild. After that it was sold to me, and since that time has run with 100% reliabilty (apart from a broken door handle).
If you have a problem just 3000km after a rebuild I think you should contact the people who did the work in the first instance.
Lee
QuoteOriginally posted by J4P RX
Wow this is an old one.
This car needed a rebuild. After that it was sold to me, and since that time has run with 100% reliabilty (apart from a broken door handle).
If you have a problem just 3000km after a rebuild I think you should contact the people who did the work in the first instance.
Lee
sorry for asking but are you 100% sure?
your reply is really really bitter to me :(
why?
i bought the engine here in the Netherlands and i was told that the engine was rebuild.
from day ONE excessive oilsmoke from start and EXACTLY the symtoms as stated by the threadstarter
well, after breaking in and going back 4 or 5 times to the garage because of this problem i was told:
- the turbo\'s are faulty that\'s why it spits so much blue smoke
- the lumpy idle should still be looked after
- the enigne has 9 bar on each chamber
after 5 visits i got sick of the story and did a compression test somewhere else and guess what?
6.8 bar on 1st rotorhousing and a 8+ on the rear. so where is the 9 on both!
so i returned the car, it was there 6 (six not a typo) months for a rebuild.
and guess what, now again problems? this looks like another rebuild???
oh man, i\'m going to have the compression checked and sorry for shouting BUT OH BOY _I_F_ THE ENGINE IS BAD ... I\' M GONNA EXPLODE
sorry for this respone but i feel sick now and had to ventilate. hope this is NOT the case
Quotesorry for asking but are you 100% sure?
Well im sure I own the car, im sure it has had a rebuild and im sure it has had no problems since. :)
I cant help with what was wrong with it, because I didnt own it at that time and im not great mechanically.
Lee
QuoteOriginally posted by J4P RX
Well im sure I own the car, im sure it has had a rebuild and im sure it has had no problems since. :)
I cant help with what was wrong with it, because I didnt own it at that time and im not great mechanically.
Lee
now i understand the Zoom Zoom Boom in your sig
thanks for the info, a compression check will tell me more...
Andreas
Zoom Zoom Boom was just a joke based on a few things, but not on any problems with my car...
Look at how old the first post is here. This thread was dead a long time ago. I bought this car in July time last year (2003), and it had an engine rebuild before that. All the things stated are from before I even purchased the car. Basically the old owner sorted all the problems but had enough of it.
How many people on here do we see buying these fresh imports only to have a lot of issues (and rebuilds) just a few weeks later. Loads. Thats why I bought a car with all the issues sorted out.
Lee
QuoteOriginally posted by J4P RX Look at how old the first post is here. This thread was dead a long time ago. I bought this car in July time last year (2003), and it had an engine rebuild before that. All the things stated are from before I even purchased the car. Basically the old owner sorted all the problems but had enough of it.
yeah i saw the date but no outcome/results/cause on it. and i wanted more info, searched here, on nopistons and rx7forum but found nothing related so that\'s why i replied here since the (now former) owner could still be around
that\'s why i got a deal with a freshly rebuild engine but nothing but troubles from day one. can you imagine i have enough of it too?
QuoteHow many people on here do we see buying these fresh imports only to have a lot of issues (and rebuilds) just a few weeks later. Loads. Thats why I bought a car with all the issues sorted out.Lee [/B]
good thinking, seems normal to me...
i think that when you buy a rebuild engine from a "rx-7 specialist\' that you can consider that the engine is fine and will give you many happy km\'s. it wasn\'t the case with my fd...
so after the engine seems bad and a new rebuild under warranty again problems drives me nuts.
oh well, i\'ll see what the check brings.
Yeah I see your points. My first one had loads of trouble right after I got hold of it.
Part of the advantage of me buying this car was nigh on a years engine warranty or 20,000 miles.
As I said before though, if you have problems right after a rebuild I think the builder is the best person to speak to. I cant help with what your problem might be as I dont know much mechanically myself, or of the exact problems with this car just that it needed a rebuild, and that it is now fine.
Cheers
Lee
oh well today i\'ll find out... in 8 hours i\'ll have the compr. tested... just can\'t sleep, wonder why...
so here are the results:
rear rotor:
874/979/837 KPa
front rotor:
929/905/931 KPa
1000 KPA = 145 psi = 10 Bar
so i have a difference of 0.94 Bar
convert: http://www.chromatography.co.uk/Techniqs/Other/Pressure.htm
so with these numbers: i guess no rebuild needed and something else is wrong.
any throughts about these numbers?