Hi, 88 FC < new guy

[RobXcore]

:wave:wave Hi guys,
Just purchased an RX7 FC 88\' non turbo.
 
Though had unlucky sale, the sale was smooth, but the guy was showing over the engine bay, opened the upper and lower rad caps, all full, ya know the basic stuff. had a \'how to buy an rx7\' guide printed off for reference
 
Anyway, thought YES. sorted, nice new car, rx7 to take home to meet the celica.
 
Driving nice and smooth down the motorway back from liverpool to derby, taking slow so that i can keep it \'as is\' to go over again the next day before going a little more.. :driving
 
10mins later. .. .. .
 
*loud buzzing* ADD COOLANT.. .
 
damn, coming up a slip to motorway island.
towards light, temp gauge gets about 1/2mm from the top, think, screw this, engine off! ...
 
..
 SMOKE. lots of it. lift bonnet open only to find the dumbass hadnt put the radiator cap back on the upper bit. water all over place boiling away.
 
Anyway, we filled with more water at a services after finding the cap (luckily) and left it cooling down. worrying if the heatup had blown the sensitive engine from all the overheat=murder threads.
 
it seemed to start up instantly, no streaming bubbles (advice on a thread) no smoke, no funny noises, etc. but then rad caps didnt fit back on smooth an water started pouring again. . so had to be recovered (1hour into my insurance policy lol)
 
Now when i start it, it fires instantly, but after warm up process an revs lower, it holds at 1k for few seconds then starts bouncing down to as little as 300. and sounding like it\'ll stall then speeding back up. if i take it up high and let off, it doesnt stop at idle it falls down low an stalls.
 
Its OK after its been on a while. but still sounds a little \'weak\' on its idle in comparisson to other cars, but i\'ve never even seen or heard a rotary til now.
 
Anyway nice to meet you all!
I\'m rob, i live in derby (alfreton) owner of FC non turbo. and a celica GT in ccuk.
 
I\'ll be on here loads with problems, if its anything like my celica. (even the steering wheel fell off on that)
 
:wave

[RobXcore]

Ahh, today i going to be checking over the car..
Will it still run fine if the engine had burnt up from the heatup incident ? ?
 
Im assuming from the smooth running that its ok and im lucky, but I know my luck.
 
Im going to bleed the oil today too, etc, hmm,  anyone know if \'flushing fluid\' ok to  throw down one of these? or shall i just use the new oil to flush through the system with?

[RobXcore]

infact i have a few questions for these forums..
 
(btw i know im a new and non paid member, hope this isnt getting me frowned down on
i WILL be buying a membership profo when i know i can save my car, I loved the celica club uk for assist/idea\'s/and general laughs.
 
-how sensitive ARE these engines exaclty? like if i use injector cleaner/let it hit redline a bit/cheap fuel on skint days/etc
 
-Any strong advice for a new owner? (i love cars and keeping a healthy RX, looks to be expensive with replaces and im not that deep pocketed)
 
-Is the cooling at standard sufficient for the Non turbo model to keep it happy?
 
I\'ll get some pics up, and keep posting. even though  i  had NO replies !!! :O
warm welcome.
 
^_^  Any owners in derby? ? if so it\'ll be ace to have a contact nearly local since no one i usually work on cars with around here understands/seen these.

[L18M]

hello,

welcome to the club
im not very techi but just let her warm up b4 redlining her
not sure about injector cleaner but red lining her is def a good thing. thats how u ment to be driving rotaries.
cheap fuel.. even the new rx8 suggest running 95 ron so that will be fine in an egi.

b ad idle can be air leak, unmetered air going into the block. check intake pipes, maybe take off intake manifold thing n check the gasket. if u \'search\' u cna get plenty of info

[RobXcore]

Hey thanks.
Yea i heard they loved to be driven well.  

 
Been checking for air leaks, will this harm the car if i still use it while working on finding the leak? or can it be hazardous to use?

[RobXcore]

I have no smoke, the pipes do feel hard after its fired up for minute or 2. still can be squeezed, just not soft.
Theres no smoke no matter what i do (rev it, etc) no bubbles appear through the water tanks and no \'mayo\'
so im hoping after that little incident after picking it up, it isnt blown. doesnt match the symptoms ive read, and only really a idle problem
 
just wondering really, if its safe to keep driving with this?
It seems ok no loud noises bangs, im new to these cars so definately dont want to break it.
 
had new rad cap on today, since the old one was leaking. ^_^ first new part, of by the looks of it MANY.

[RobXcore]

Well, this is a busy forum
 
Just been out for a drive, the water pipes feel hard. but still no smoke, or anything, and the temp gauge never rose past like around 1/4, no lights or buzzing either :p
 

 
will keep looking bk here, to see if anyone posts a \'STOP DRIVING\' it will break post.
 
LOL..

[clive]

Hi Rob and welcome to MRC

Lets hope that your car is all o/k now.

[L18M]

u should be fine. if any damage has occured then it would of by now.
best to fit after market gauge as stock gauge is nt that great!

just an idea, to check for air leak.. maybe try spray some wd40 (or similar flammable liquid) in possible areas. if theres a leak then the revs will increase due to the flamability(?) of the wd40

[RobXcore]

cheers, i\'d feel a little cautious about spraying flammables over my engine? maybe will try the old soapy water trick or something that will stay but bubble. ?!?
 
Well, i took it out for hours today, it still has the idling problem, and well, i have no idea if it sounds healthy or not, since it sounds nothing like other cars.
 
any local\'ish folk? derby.
 
wil fit extra temp gauges for oil and water. and probably some other little gauges just for fun
 
Hmm, dash lights keep going out now! fun at night!
gear stick feel SO loose and wobbly, selects and holds gears FINE, well if i can find them
strong smell of fuel always, could running too rich cause idle problems?!
hmm, all interior lights, (as in the ones you turn on to see stuff) dont work, passenger window switch, dash lights(as said), clock wont stay right an sometimes vanishes.
Dont suppose these all connected issues? or a million wires to check all over :/
 
dont you just love buying a car that \'appears\' fine, then finding thing after thing wrong.
 
Also would an engine needing a rebuild drive fine without smoke or hesitation?
 
oil change, is there a \'cheap\' oil that works without ANY problems? im skint
 
Also i think i\'ve used nearly 3/4 tank on like 100miles, driving no faster than 60, and most of it in 4/5th gears.
THIS HAS TO BE RICH!, no way its quite this thirsty LOL.
 
I did spend like 10minutes being well, \'childish\' in the old empty car parks.  but that didnt drink.

[L18M]

dash light going \'off\' is common prob. just smack the dash n will come back on lol

n/a engines can last 150k-200k between rebuild but depends if its been flooded or left flooded for a long period of time.

halfords mineral oil is good to use. make sure its MINERAL!!!!

[TiddlesRX7]

Yeah Mineral oil all the way. Morisons are doing litre bottles at the filling station for £2.50 ish (10-40w). Does sound like its running a bit rich. This could cause your idleing problems but I would think you\'d be getting a bit of smoke or something (and some flames!). How hard is the top radiator hose when the engine is on? if its rock hard thats not good it should be fairly squeezable but not too soft either. There are so many things that can cuase a rough idles on these things, so the best thing is to keep doing what you are doing.......read read and read! TPS, fueling, air leak, AFM could be any one or all of these.
Oh and Welcome to the club. Maybe post some pic\'s up and introduce yourself in the 2nd gen section and link this thread. You may get some more replies.

[Prof]

Hi - Welcome Rob.
 
Air leak - if you do have an air leak, it will be sucking air in - so you aren\'t going to see bubbles with water.  You\'re best bet is to squirt some carb cleaner at the intake hose joins and gasket areas - but very carefully :Giggle - a little bit at a time to see if the engine note picks up - if it does then you\'ve found your air leak.  Not for the feint hearted.
 
Water - as long as the oil didn\'t overheat - and it sounds like you got it quick, you should be ok on the cooling front.
 
Injector cleanng - just chuck a half a bottle in a full tank and run it through with normal driving.  If they are leaking - it might be hard to start when warm - then they most likely need replacing in the long run
 
Apart from that - enjoy

[James H]

Hi Rob, most of what you have said, reminds me of when i got my egi, so realy wouldn\'t worry to much its just a case of working through the problems one by one but def sounds like she is running rich, the egi are well known for knackered & leaking fuel injectors, so she is probably using more fuel then she than she intends to. Anyway gets some pictures up of your motor! Hope she turns out to be ok for you, once they are sweet they are well worth it, James

[RobXcore]

Yea i\'ll take her out for some pictures today. might have seen it on ebay/pistonheads recently, grey one with white advan wheels.
 
Hmm, when it did heat up, when we poured fresh water in, it took about 1/2minutes before it could hold it down.
 
it does start right away first time every time still.
 
The top hose is kinda hard, but it is possible to squeeze just hard to say if its \'too\' hard or not.
 
Oh, yea, i remember driving last night, as i got to around 6300rpm while giving it a little go, and just the split second before i dipped the clutch i haerd a buzzer, does this have like a shift warning just before redline? i was too nervous to take it back up to see after this, since the add coolant light an buzzer.
only happend for a split second as i was already about to engage the clutch.
 
LOL.
Going to examine my gear stick today, try and tighten it up some how, feels like it will fall off o.0
 
and its first photoshoot. Will throw some pics up, downloaded some manuals on the car to brush up my knowledge..