Hey guys, I am looking at picking up an 88 from a buddy and I am totally new to the mazda and rotary worlds. I have a Jeep cherokee so I know about common issues vehicles have! I just want this car to putt around in when the Jeep is on jackstands and to use at the autocross track. Its gonna get a set of wheels and tires and thats about it for now. Anyone have any good links for me? I would appreciate it a lot!

 

Like any car, maintain in properly and it'll treat you well.



Unique things:

It consumes oil be design, so check your oil level frequently.

Don't shut it down before it's warmed up, or it will flood, and you have to do an un-flooding procedure. Let it warm up before shutting down.

High revs clean out the carbon, take it to redline occasionally (plus it's fun).



Ummmm, I think that's it?

 

Oh wow, thats not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. It will see redline every once and a while. Hell the 4.0 in my Jeep sees it frequently! Tell me more about this unflooding procedure please. Or send me a link.

 

If the engine floods, it will not unflood itself. Under the hood by the driver side shock tower is a fuse block. You need to remove the EGI fuse (which will cut off fuel flow), floor the gas pedal and crank the engine over. Some say 15 or 20 or 30 seconds, I always did 30 and it worked for me. Replace fuse, try to start car again.



If you have to do it more than once, give the starter time to cool down between each attempt.



Oh, another maintenance item (or just a check), make sure your auxiliary port actuators are working. They open up 2 additional (for a total of 6) intake ports at higher RPM. With this stuck open or closed, your performance and/or driveability will suffer. They are on the passenger side of the engine, and each has a rod coming out attached to linkage that rotates. Under load, they should open. A couple ways of finding out if they're working are to put a paper clip or blob of grease on the rods, take a spin around the block (get over 4k rpm), and see of the clip or grease moved.



edit: I've been assuming your car is non-turbo, is that right?

 

Yeah its NA. Its also an auto. Are the auto trannys worth a crap in these things?

 

The impression I get is that they're sorta rare, but not in a good way.



And someone else better jump in here with more info, I'm no expert.

 

Haha, go figure! Most sportscar autos are piles anyways. If I could drive a stick I wouldn't bother with an auto but my Medical condition wont allow it. In the Jeep world an auto is great for wheeling but I've seen guys with sticks hang with automatics on the trail. It really improves your skill with a manual doing that.

 

Another options is a fuel cutoff switch to deal with flooding; my FC had it in when I bought it; makes short trips much more feasible now; just startup can be a headache at times

 

Thanks for the tip. This will be my second car so I wont worry so much about short trips with it. Especially in the winter, who wouldn't want to do 4wd drifts in the snow!

 

Lol beware of snap overstear. It's not as bad as a Porsche but I would end up looking the way I just came from without warning if I was going uphill on a slick surface. So what's the condition that won't let you drive stick