Newbie To Rotary Help Plez.

[HasNoTiresLeft]

Hey guys im looking at a 89 FC3S Convertible 5 Speed as a daily driver. Bodys in great shape and the interiors not to bad. 150k On the dash. Im getting it for $1,000 bux.

Now onto my main concern. What knowledge of rotarys i have from Howstuffworks.com lol Got plenty of good old Piston motor knowledge this will be the first time i own a wankel.

Any thing i should know before i finish buying this car?
Like a rundown of Initial maintence/tuneup i should do. things to watch for. etc.


Now remem this is gonna be mostly a daily driver. Im prolly gonna still play in the rain with it but for the most part ill be looking to get it runnning dependably. Ive heard all the rumors about rotary, lol but i guess ill see for myself if theyre true. Oh and yes i searched but mostly found stuff on turbo'ing/motor swaps and making more hp. No real maintnence info.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

[s13/350z]

uhh for 1000 dollars the only thing that would keep me from buying it is if the undercarrage is rusted through, has no motor, or something along those lines. I guess rev it up an make sure it doesnt sputter, let her run for a bit and check the temp. Check the synchros in the tranny. etc. GL and post pics if you get it...ohh and please make sure the top works.

[ToplessFC3Sman]

Remember to change the timing belt! Make sure the valves are seated properly, and the headgaskets tend to leak.




Ok, seriously, heres a list.

-make sure it rev's smoothly and doesnt stumble or pause anywhere on the tach (if its going to do this, it will happen around 3500-3800).
-Look for rust.
-Make sure the synchros are good.
-No ripped top.
-Start her when cold and look for smoke. If theres smoke, smell it. If its gas, you're probably ok, its most likely some injectors in need of cleaning. If its coolant-smell, its due for a rebuild. That doesnt mean it wont still run (mines actually getting better fuel economy with a dead coolant seal, go figure), but to fix the prob it will be some money.
-Shut off the engine after about 15 min (or til its warmed up), wait about half an hour, and try to start. see how hard it is to start, and whether it smokes then.
-Take it for a test drive, and redline it at least once. See how it feels (and get addicted)
-Even if its not raining, check the wiper switch and make sure the intermittant settings work (not vital to the car, but could give you a bargaining chip)
-Listen for suspension banging noises over rough stuff. Also not vital, but means you will need to redo the bushings and the rear control arm links.
-If you can, get a compression test. look for 3 even pulses on each rotor

Check for other wear-type stuff too, other generic car stuff. Also, rx7club.com has some posted write-ups on stuff like this

[HasNoTiresLeft]

Thanks. Yeah gonna buy some forged connecting rods for it. Yeah but as far as i noticed, it did blow a small puff of smoke but didnt smell like gas but not like coolant smelt like... well oil put it only did it for a second. and didnt do it while driving. The only problem response wise seemed to be when i floored it, it sputtered like someone had just *Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored* slapped the motor, but then i looked at the gas gauge and it had no gas whatsoever... Then the gas finally made it to the motor and it seemed to be fine. I keep it floored it taps the revlimiter and the beeping sound thing worked. I can see now why people get addicted... My V8 Buddy was freaking out how high and how fast it reved. Only thing that got me worried was... it kinda had a vibration when you were going through the gears.... kinda felt like the tranny mount was bad.


Everything else checked out, cept for the top its gota small rip in it. Know anyone who makes a replacement top?


Will post pics soon.

[ToplessFC3Sman]

I got a robbins top for mine, its been good for 2+ years, so im happy with it. no signs of overheating or anything? thats always a plus, good buy. The verts are a lot of fun. even if they are a lot heavier, all that weight went into making the chassis as stiff as the coupes (within 1%), so it takes corners just as well. I love mine, and am doing a turbo swap to remedy the power issue.

[ToplessFC3Sman]

Oh, forgot the tune-up stuff, and it wouldnt let me edit (even tho i just posted it like, a minute ago... w/e) Anyway, change all the fluids, who knows how long ago thats been done. Oil, Coolant (& Flush), tranny & diff fluid, and if you're feeling ambitious, the brake fluid too, just make sure you have a buddy around to help u bleed the brake sys afterwards if it needs it. Check tire pressures, plugs (if you have the stock plugs, you cant exactly adjust the gap the way you could on normal engines, so you usually just need to replace them), and plug wires. You might want to consider putting in a new thermostat too. The fuel filter may appreciate being changed, and bang a bit of hte dust off of the air filter. No distributor points, carb setup, or anything like that to check, so that should take care of everything.

If the car continues to do the sputtering thing, even with enough fuel, adjust the TPS. There are write-ups about this on rx7club and nopistons, IIRC

[NHDrifter]

Welcome to the club.

Don't forget to check out FC3S.org