how does the pressure look on this fd.

[rotary_rogersFC]

hey guys looking at buying an fd project car and just wondered what you think. i got three pics one at cold idle, one at warm idle and one at warm 3500rpm. its a 94 jdm type r with almost 50,000 miles on the clock. runs really nicely smooth idle and smooth revving havent test drivin it yet tho and new plans of buying a run around 306 for the year while i get out of debt mean this might be on the cards as a project.




the cold idle dropped to around 1100rpm right after i took the pic.





cheers for looking guys.

[nikp]

Problem is, you can\'t go relying on the stock oil pressure gauge - it can be unreliable at the best of times, so it\'s really difficult to tell. Best thing to do is get it compression tested - that\'ll give a good indication to the sort of condition the engine is in. Make sure it\'s had a good oil change. And all the basics really!

[antnicuk]

if its done 50k without evidence of a recent rebiuld,  it doesnt matter what the clocks say,  expect a rebuild shortly

[rotary_rogersFC]

ok cheers guys, i should be picking the car up for pretty cheap anyway so im not to worried but would like it to last a bit before it needed the new build. are rotary comp testers easy to come buy.

[antnicuk]

no,  the proper ones are from Mazda as far as i am aware.  Take it to Tim, Geff or one of the others.

[Martiny]

I think someone is making a Compression tester, maybe jump on to the Rotary bike forum, I seem to remember some of them bought one.

[the lemster]

if its done 50k without evidence of a recent rebiuld,  it doesnt matter what the clocks say,  expect a rebuild shortly

oh the eternal optimist!!!

mine has done 70 odd k and is still as sweet as a nut...

if the car has been abused it might go... but the same can be said for any car... rotaries get such a bad name for \'reliability\' but it aint all that bad... the only two I know personally that have gone have been due to driver abuse or poor maintenance... lack of oil and coolant and then raggin it... you dont put oil in a fiesta and it will go bang... were you hurt by one in the past... did it run off with urex ( hehehe pun intended )

if these cars were so unreliabe why are they getting ever so more popular  I k of sme that have done over 100k miles and still going on original engine...

its just down to luck... you ahve to think why is the owner gettinr rid...

personally I think that the oil pressure unit is sitisfactory and consistent ( if not the most accurate) I am sure that mazda weould not put a part in a 30k car that didnt work properly...

sorry for the rant but I am tired and emotional!!!

[nikp]

It\'s not that the gauge is innaccurate as such - just that after time can get \'gunked\' up and start to misread and perform badly.

But I would have to agree, the rotary gets a bad name, and doesn\'t necassarily deserve it. I agree that there shouldn\'t be any reason really that any engine should need rebuilding as long as it is treated well, and modded properly.

However, I think i\'m losing water! In the past 2 months now, i\'ve had the low coolant buzzer go off! uh oh! Gonna give it an oil change and coolant change next weekend.

[andyrose]

buy it! you know you want too!
Plenty of US cars running ok well over the 100k mark, all depends on servicing etc.
Andy

[FD3SNuttah]

you dont need more oil pressure mate, you need some petrol so you can get a decent fuel pressure!!

[Ada7]

you dont need more oil pressure mate, you need some petrol so you can get a decent fuel pressure!!

Beat me to it :rollin

Adam

[Trevrx]

Looks fine to me,  does it start ok when hot too?

Did you try the air con at idle?  It may struggle to tick over if it has a compression problem.  Also, boost gauge may be bouncy at idle if prob.

That\'s the first air filter I\'ve seen the same as mine btw!  Fit a heat shield over the coolant rad and hose, makes a big difference.

[rotary_rogersFC]

the car starts and idles really nicely both hot and cold, coolant and oil levels are good althought the oil is in need of a change very soon. cheers for all the help guys i appreciate the tips.

[gsb876]

As far as pics go they all seem about right, as the others have said its hard to gauge the engine just from the dash readings, if you are not that bothered about the engine anyhow then i guess buy the car as @ 50K you may still get another 20K out of it yet, 60K rebuild is a guideline not cemented.
My previous fd had 64K and pulled as normal and started hot/cold without fault, the less mods it has perhaps the less the engine can be abused.

Once you get it change oil / filter / coolant straight away.

[Warthog]

Good luck and welcome to the FD clan. You will enjoy the pure pleasure of ownership and envy that a Rex brings. ( As well as the empty wallet that modding can bring  :rollin )