hello, got a hold of a 90 vert. It will start, but it idles very rough, and has a top speed of 10-15 mph... if you try to give it more gas then that, it just makes noise through the intake (kinda howling) and when it does that creates NO power at all. If you pull the air cleaner and cover the air intake with your hand, it will rev up, but other than that you cant get it to go over 2500 rpm. You can drive the car for a block or so at a time before it dies, then you need to let it sit for a while before it will restart. The car had a bad radiator in it and the guy SAID he didnt overheat it, but my suspicion is that he overheated it and warped a rotor housing. Does this sound like a good diagnosis? or should I be looking into something else. The car is at a friends house now, and needs to be towed here. if i'm wrong about the diagnosis and can fix it there and drive it home, that would be great.

This should be moved to 2nd gen forum





To do a quick compression test, remove the lead plug on the front rotor housing, disconnect the EGI fuse, and crank the motor. Listen for wooshing that will be constant, like a train.. (choo choo choo choo).



If it sounds more like a galloping horse (choo ...... choo choo ..... choo) then you are missing compression on the rotor somewhere. Obviously if there is no wooshing, there is no compression.



Do this one rotor housing at a time, make sure the EGI fuse is disconnected.



This will help determine if it's a raw motor/compression problem or some kind of injection/ignition problem.

Oh BTW welcome to the forum, the car is very nice looking, hope to hear it's running again smoothly soon.





BTW what do you mean by it will rev with the air cleaner out... If the problems are solved with the air cleaner removed, buy a new air cleaner... https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/smile.png

dude if you wanna sell it let me know

same... nice lookin car.

[quote name='ColinRX7' date='Jun 1 2005, 04:51 PM']BTW what do you mean by it will rev with the air cleaner out... If the problems are solved with the air cleaner removed, buy a new air cleaner... https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/smile.png


[/quote]

thanks for hte welcome... I wish it was as simple as dropping in a new air filter.... if you pull the air filter, reach down inside the air box and block the flow to the afm, it will rev up, take your hand out, it bogs

also bogs with or without the air filter

Well, try the quick compression test method and let us know the results.

Any smoke from the exhaust?

[quote name='Baldy' date='Jun 2 2005, 07:50 AM']Any smoke from the exhaust?


[/quote]

very small amount of smoke, not any more than the other rotaries I've owned. Its got a coolant leack (top seam of radiator) and the guy said he had a huge puddle underneath it one day, and since then it had a rough and uneven idle, he SAYS he didnt overheat it, but I'm thinking he did. Thats why I'm suspecting warped housing, especially since it runs a little bit till it gets hot, then dies.

I guess that could be somethign else heat related though :\ I'll check the compression tomorrow, never made it home with the car, wound up making it 4 blocks from the guys house then having to tow it to my father in laws house. Wont be able to go over there till tomorrow

".... if you pull the air filter, reach down inside the air box and block the flow to the afm, it will rev up, take your hand out, it bogs"



Sounds to me like a big vac leak, or maybe a stuck AFM.



CEL??

Check your fuel pressure and check for vacuum leaks.

Hows the oil look. my engine would start cold. Idled very rough. Would not rev past 2500rpm and it would die once it got warmed up. It was a bearing check for gold paint colored oil.

https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...#>/biggrin.png you guys are so great, THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the advice...

compression test would have been the first thing if I had a compression tester.... but I did do the 'ghetto' test, and it sounded "normal" at least it sounded like my fb did when I cranked it with a plug out. I could also tell from the plugs that I wasn't gettting any coolant into the combustion chambers, good sign. Checked for vacuum leaks and couldnt find any. oil looked good (sticker in corner of windshield said the oil was changed less than 1,000 miles ago, still going to change it as soon as I get her home though)

I checked, and reset the timing, didnt help. I pulled the bolts connecting the exhaust to the thermal reactor, didnt want to drop everything so I just pryed it back about an inch, hit the key, fired right up, idled smoothly, hit the pedal and it revved wide open !!!!!!!!!

I was SOO jazzed :] And another thing that excited me was how clean it was up underneath the car,there wasnt grease and dirt and sludge under there, the paint was even shiny, the ONLY rust I could find under there was surface rust on the flanges where the mufflers connected to the Y pipes, the mufflers themselves and they Y pipes were clean and solid. I still havent got it home, I need to get a radiator first, its got a small leak in it, no sense risking it. So, I got an RX7 with less than 90K, a perfect top a VERY VERY nice body, almost perfect interior, clarion cd/cassette and a running engine that needs exhaust work and a radiator and shifter bushings, shifter boot, and one center cap for 200 dollars :] I couldn't be happier

the exhaust is interesting though, someones got it welded up, from the flange on the thermal reactor to the flanges for the muffler is one piece, one ENORMOUS Y pipe, so much for changing just that cat, lol. Anyone in the KC area got a factory cat for sale cheap? or a radiator or shifter bushings, or a center cap lol

Nice work





Never heard of a clogged cat causing that much of a problem, but there you have it



Glad to hear it's solved

Just for the short term, go to a muffler shop and buy a cheap Cat. They'll weld in place for you.

thats an amazing deal!

well, to the guys that wanted to know if I ever decided to sell it, I'm gonna either sell it or trade it. Its too damn slow