What have I done???

[marcusf]

Hi, I have been driving rotarys for over 12 years. I am now on my 3rd RX7, and I can say that they are very reliable provided you are prepared to look after them.

I now own a 2001 RS model, had 1978 Series 1, and a 1992 Series 6. The series 6 was far more reliable than the "simple" series 1, however I payed very careful attention to the engine department because of the enormous amount of heat that is in the engine bay.

The only problems I had with my series 6 were cooling problems. I never overheated the car (if you do, normally the housings warp). The top radiator hoses are known to fail after 80,000 kms, the air separation tanks splits, and the filler cap body distorts over time, causing a leak around the filler cap.

My recommendation is to replace all the cooling hoses, replace the filler cap body with the newer metal ones that mazda supply, replace the overflow tank, and get the system flushed every 2 years or so and you won\'t have any further overheating problems for another 80,000 kms (sorry we\'re on the metric system).

You have to realise these cars are over 10 years old in most cases and those hoses are exposed to big temperatures.
Also most import cars haven\'t been looked after too well :-(

Most of my cooling system related components failed within a few months of each other (except the radiator and water pump, they were still ok after 100,000 kms).

If you can, get into the habit of inspecting the cooling system every two weeks for signs of problems. The tell tale sign was the smell of a small whiff of antifreeze.

Also get a turbo timer installed.

My 2001 RS, runs dramitically cooler than the Series 6 did, so they have made improvements on the later cars.

Series 7\'s (1995 to 1999) have metal fillercap bodies too.

You should get at least 100,000 miles out of engine, provided its been maintained.

Cheers
Marcus

[yonner]

i saw a 1995 original uk car at a show once 120 000  miles on it and stil on stock motor it had a cold air induction kit on it and thats all i could see