Famous Last Words. Engine Troubles.

buckman67 · November 05, 2006, 07:51:43 PM

Bought my 94 Type R 3 weeks ago and have only just stopped singing its praises in the non technical section until I went for a joy ride this afternoon and the engine malfunctioned !!! ( thats the a clean word ).
Warmed up the engine as usual, accelerated fairly hard and then backed off completely into a bend, rounded the bend and got nowt from the engine when getting back onto the accelerator. No untoward noises and it feels like its running on one rotor. Chugged into a laybye. Everything looks oK. No fluid loss, no smoking, no noises, starts OK but runs poor.
Have been all over this forum and picked up some clues. ECU reset, birds nest for dis hoses, map sensor hose, check compression...anything else for starters ??
Just to rub it in had to listen to the Eng/ All blacks rugby match in the laybye cos the breakdown man was late...bah !

Thanks

Bob

elford_tim · November 05, 2006, 08:10:52 PM

Can you elaborate a tad on the "runs poor" part?

buckman67 · November 05, 2006, 08:27:15 PM

Quote from: elford_timCan you elaborate a tad on the "runs poor" part?

Engine runs with a regular misfire. Starts OK but no free reving . Don\'t know much about rotaries but 30 years of DIY experience on piston engines. Feels like a plug lead off, first thing I checked.
There was no indication of problems before I tried to accelerate away from the bend, no pops or bangs.

Thanks

Bob

elford_tim · November 05, 2006, 08:31:27 PM

Does it idle rough as well? Hard to start?

buckman67 · November 05, 2006, 08:37:33 PM

Yes, sorry rough idle and takes a few more turns to start.

Further info to the checks tomorrow please.

The famous " birds nest " is hidden under the large intake yes with the solenoids ?
The car still has the original Sony minidisc/CD player. Is the unit coded ?? Will I lose the player when I disconnect the battery ?. I had no documentation at all with the car.
Compression check on top two plugs yes ?

Thanks for your help

Bob

elford_tim · November 05, 2006, 08:41:25 PM

Quote from: buckman67Yes, sorry rough idle and takes a few more turns to start.

That\'s bad news. Rough idle is usually a sign of low compression...

Quote from: buckman67The famous " birds nest " is hidden under the large intake yes with the solenoids ?

Yep, afaik.

Quote from: buckman67The car still has the original Sony minidisc/CD player. Is the unit coded ?? Will I lose the player when I disconnect the battery ?. I had no documentation at all with the car.

Should be OK, I don\'t think JDM radios are coded.

Quote from: buckman67Compression check on top two plugs yes ?

Get someone with a proper Mazda compression tester to do the test if possible - chances is that it\'s one or two faces of the rotor that are bad.

dandan · November 05, 2006, 08:42:38 PM

If it sounds a bit like a tractor and idles at around 600rpm then it is doing exactly what my first car did when I blew a tip. Although you can definately hear when the tip goes so if there was no muffled \'bang\' from the engine prior to it running rough then it may well not be this. There are plenty of other reasons for it running rough, hope it\'s a minor one.

antnicuk · November 05, 2006, 08:50:17 PM

has it had a rebuild?, what mileage has it done?
sounds like a tip i\'m afraid

buckman67 · November 05, 2006, 09:00:25 PM

Quote from: antnicukhas it had a rebuild?, what mileage has it done?
sounds like a tip i\'m afraid

Car is totally original apart from wheels and silencer. Therefore no rebuild and has covered 56K miles. Not too disappointed as I bought the car for 4.5K and it is immaculate inside and out. I bought the car on the understanding that a rebuild may be due soon, just a shame that it was going so well and gave no prior indication of impending doom !!
I will do a comp.test tomorrow and see if as winter rebuild is on the cards.

Many Thanks

Bob

antnicuk · November 05, 2006, 09:02:59 PM

56k! definately sounds like it\'s on time for a rebuild