Hey guys,



I have been doing a lot of research on the fc3s and there seems to be a lot of good info, but I am unsure what fluids to use in this thing.



My car ia an 88 fc3s n/a 5spd GXL with 48,287 original miles!!



I want to know, what is the first thing I should look into as far as maintenance. I am considering changing the oil, I am thinking about using Indemitsu as recommended by mazdatrix, but am not sure what weight I should use, it's my daily driver, with minimal track usage. I live in San Diego, and the weather here is in the 60's-70's as far as temp.



What tranny fluid is everybody running, I want a good synthetic in my car. Is premix 100% necessary. What are the real benefits to using it, I heard it prolongs engine life by about 30%, if this is true, then it's worth it IMO. Indemitsu has a premix, has anyone used it, how is it?



I heard rotaries were unreliable, but I also heard that most of that was with the turbo versions, mainly the FD, due to the emission hardware causing back log which increases engine temps to the point to detonation and apex seal failure over time.



Any pearls of wisdom, I have a pretty good maintenance schedule from fc3s.org, but I want to know fluids of choice etc...



I want to get past the urban legends, and figure out how to maintiain these machines in tip top shape!



Thanks guys

 

n/a's are very reliable i daily drive mine with 113k and it starts right up every morning even when its 36 degrees!! wooo just take care of the bitch and youll be fine

 

same here and mine has 238k





premix is not at all necessary if you still have the metering oil pump, which you probably still do.



i use royal purple for my tranny fluid. its supposed to be really good stuff so why not

 

I would do the following:



-drain and replace coolant and thermostat, use a Mazda thermostat



-change oil and filter, use a mazda filter and because it seems like it stays warm where you are- you can consider using 20w-50, otherwise stick with 10w-40



-change plugs, use NGKBUR9EQ and BUR7EQs, its really hard to mess them up, those are what the car originally came with and it runs best with those. Put a dab of anti-seize on the thread of the plugs



-if the wires are original- change them



-inspect the belts, they may be orginal, order the belts from your local dealer or from mazdatrix, its not that much more then auto parts store belts.



-inspect the battery and its connections- clean connections



dont pre-mix and dont remove the emissions, most people remove the emissions and take away from some of the cars reliability, they are very smooth running cars when they are in proper tune, you will pass inspection and you wont stink out the neighboorhood.



I have never been stranded with any of the RX7s I have owned, treat it to some goodies now and then and it treats you right.

 

You should also check the oil cooler lines. I did not check mine, it came loose, and I blew up the engine. Congrats!

 

thats a pretty odd thing to happen

 

Everything these guys have said. If you don't know the car's history, do a full tune up. Use Castrol GTX or Havoline in the crank case 10W-30 or 20W-50. Don't use any oil additives. Use a high quality synthetic gear lube in the xmission and rear end...Neo, Redline, Royal Purple.



Plugs and plug wires...use 8 or 8.5mm plug wires.



Replace the fuel filter..its mounted on the firewall driver's side under the car, so it is a pain in the tush but change it anyway.



Set the timing to factory base specs.



Set the TPS and the idle speed. These are important because RX-7's can have no end of idle problems.



Flush out the radiator and coolant system and refill using distilled water and 50% yellow antifreeze.



RX-7's burn oil in the combustion chamber by design, so check the oil level at every fill up. Typically they will burn off about a quart in 3000 miles.



Learn how to search the forums and do lots of RX-7 homework.