Apexi PowerFC Repairs Now Available In-House at Rotary Performance

Posted by Chris Ott  from Rotary performance.com

We love the Apexi PowerFC. No other engine management solution combines its features. With all this appreciation, nothing breaks your heart like when things go wrong. When they do, we can help. Most common mishaps can be repaired in house at Rotary Performance.

• Injector driver failure (commonly secondary)
• Radiator fan driver failure
• Air pump driver failure
• AC compressor signal driver failure
• 2-speed fuel pump driver failure
• Oil metering pump servo control failure

There are other possibilities, but these are the most common. The only area we cannot repair is the processing or operating system. The usual symptom of this failure is a PowerFC that does not operate and is frozen in the boot up screen on the Commander. This is symptomatic of a failed main chip set. It is a large surface mounted CPU and is not practical to fix. Fortunately, it’s a rare problem usually found on boxes that were hard shorted from an under hood fire or from water damage. Of course, there is nothing to be lost by testing. Send us your non-functioning unit and we’ll see if it can be rejuvenated. There is no charge if it cannot be fixed (modest return shipping not included). The repairs are performed at a flat rate of $125. Call us so we can issue an repair order number. 972-350-3335 Repairs are usually performed within one business week. Let us know how we can assist.

TROUBLE CODES?

Posted by Matthew Schroeder from Rotary Performance.com

We have had a rash of questions this week about Tuning Valve troubles in RX-8's. I thought I would take a few minutes to start some support documentation:

P0661 / P0662: SSV Solenoid: This solenoid controls the flow of vacuum to the SSV Valve Diaphragm and is the center of the three valves on the back of the engine -- near the oil filter. The connector is white. It is difficult to reach the connections to test this solenoid while installed on the car, but the resistance should be around 30 ohms. Anything above 40 ohms will often trigger a CEL (Check Engine Light). Sometimes there are other troubles in the SSV system; see SSV Switch, and SSV Valve, for more information.

The SSV Switch: This switch detects the actual movement of the SSV Valve. The SSV Valve and related switch are located in the intake manifold behind the thermostat housing. The SSV valve is a barrel valve inside the manifold that faces front to rear, and the switch detects the movement from closed to open. There should be continuity (0-3 ohms) when the SSV is in it's nominal position (closed). When the valve is opened, the resistance should be infinite. It is not proportional to how much the valve is opened. Check to make sure that the valve is moving smoothly throughout its range and that the switch works consistently.

The SSV Valve (as described above) can become dirty and fail to rotate smoothly -or at all. Cleaning this valve on the car is not vary practical, and you will likely flood the engine by spraying carburetor cleaner and lubricants down the intake. Additionally, solvents tend to liquify the carbon and wash it into tight places causing the valve to jam again after it drys. The best answer is to remove the valve assembly, clean it and the cavity it fits into, and reinstall it.

PROJECT: 50,000 MILE 1983 RX-7

Posted by Matthew Schroeder from Rotary Performance.com

We've been entrusted to work on a first time customer's 49k mile 1983 RX-7. I have a soft spot for the FB RX-7. I've had five since I was in High School. This clean example may rival my current and best!

                           I'm a little jealous of the zinc plating!

Opening the hood was like opening a time-capsule. I believe that everything but the spark plugs was original. I feel a little better knowing that we can still get a lot of original manufacture tune up parts for these. This one came in because it lacked power at high rpm. We like to use a little modern technology to work on old cars but are mindful of making modifications in doing so.

A wide-band oxygen sensor port will be hidden under the factory heat-shield.

Watching fuel bowel levels while on the dyno revealed a fuel volume problem that was corrected with a simple filter change. From there, we had poor choke operation, a stumble off of idle, jerkiness at cruise, and it felt a little weak on the big end. Not wanting to spoil the stock appearance of the car, an o2 sensor connection was placed where it would be hidden by a heat shield. With this, I was able to see what was really going on. Idle was lean, cruise was lean, and it was way over rich wide open. Adjustments to the choke's throttle linkage, re-sizing the pilot and primary main jets, and cleaning foreign matter from emulsion tubes made the mixtures correct and the power smooth.

                     Smoothness and a few horsepower as a bonus

Performance isn't always about getting the most power from an engine -- particularly on vintage cars. No extraordinary efforts were made to extract more power from this car, but 107.8 silky smooth rwhp isn't bad for a 100% stock car. Got a special old rotary that you think could run better? Contact Us to find out what we can do for your rotary.

SAVE MONEY AND TIME ON MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS

Posted by Matthew Schroeder from Rotary Performance.com

We have had a rash of cars this week getting repairs which were more expensive than they needed to be. Customers often want to know how long they have before a costly service becomes imminent. While we understand the desire to get the most service life from parts, consideration must be given to additional damage that may be done by stretching the life of worn parts.

The most common example is a worn clutch. A customer comes in for other work and we notice that their clutch slips fairly easily. Knowing that replacing their clutch is a pretty expensive periodic maintenance, customers often try to "get by" with the problem as long as they can.

Waiting until your car's clutch make the car not drivable often creates two new expenses: a flywheel, and a towing bill. The per mile cost of delaying that clutch repair if often quite high when you add these new expenses. Over the years we have talked to many customers who were stranded by mechanical failures that we had warned them about. I cannot recall any of them being glad that they waited because the complete failure came at a more convenient time!

Everyone's got a budget and has things to do. Budgeting for things like future vehicle maintenance expenses may seem like it is tying up resources, but it will likely save you money when the time comes. I like it anytime I can reduce the cost of a repair and / or avoid financing anything.

At Rotary Performance we have been servicing the Mazda RX-7 and RX-8's for nearly 30 years. Our enthusiastic technicians share more than 50 years of rotary maintenance and repair service experience! If you have a rotary problem, we can help!

THE BEGINNING OF A NEW BARN FIND RESTORATION: A GREEK TRAGEDY

Posted by Chris Ott  from Rotary Performance.com

It's certain to raise eyebrows when tragedy is combined with restoration. Unfortunately, that is commonly the case when projects begin with a rope, a tow chain or  a buddy's truck and trailer. Let us begin with the "Greekly Tragic" proper prologue.

Enter one 1986 RX-7 Sport model. A worthy candidate stored lovingly in a garage for 15+ years. Being a Sport model, this steed possesses the simplicity and lightness of a base model combined with the brakes and wheel diameter of a GXL. Having an undented aluminum hood and straight body without corrosion, worthiness of resurrection is obvious. May we introduce the catalyst of the tragic, the innocent good meaning buddy. This individual remains nameless as his identity is not required to fully receive the gift of the lesson. His willingness to help, noble and well meaning as it may be, spells out the doom for our lovingly kempt machine. 

  

The tragedy unfolds with the arrival of said steed on a fine and wonderful day. To this point, no woes are to be found. Loading and driving went as planned. As the unloading begins, the plot thickens. Renting or borrowing trailers is commonplace. Familiarity with the equipment is not. Most trailers won't let you open the doors much, but U Haul solves this with a great feature allowing you to flip the fender down for clearing the door. Once sitting inside, close the door, hold the brakes and let others push her off the trailer. Another, less savory option would be to leave the door open and help push the car off the trailer and not be there to hit the brakes when it abruptly starts moving. Imagine the painful sounds of the machine when his door is caught on the trailers tire and has to succumb to gravity's might. The twisting of the bottom of the door pales to the sound of being caught mercilessly by the parking pole that stopped the downward motion. Like a bird with a broken wing, this poor steed has been grounded by the most innocent of them all, the good meaning buddy. 

From tragedy, there is a lesson for us all. Let pro's do what pro's do. This poor machine needed to come just a few miles and the tow bill would be about $75. What has been done is easily $1,000. Fortunately this tragedy can be solved, but what a way to begin a new start of life. 

EVAPORATIVE EMISSION PROBLEMS

Posted by Matthew Schroeder from Rotary Performance.com

P0441 / P0442 / P0443 / P0446 / P0455 / P0456: Code are all related to the evaporation emission system. The system periodically test that the fuel system sealed from the outside world. This system consist of an air pump and pressure transducer assembly that pressurizes the fuel tank and a Purge Solenoid that vents the pressure into the intake when the test is completed. It takes a few drive cycles for the computer to be satisfied that everything is OK. So, there is a delay before the system shows that all emission systems are ready as far as the emission testing is concerned.There are not too many places in the system that are problematic. I'll discuss them in order of how often we encounter them here at Rotary Performance.

First, the purge solenoid. The plumbing and electrical connections are pretty trouble free, but the solenoids themselves do fail. The resistance between the two terminals should be around 30 ohms. Above 40 ohms or so, the computer detects that they are faulty. This solenoid is in plain sight near the oil filler neck.

Second, there are air leaks in the system. Sometimes you get small, medium, or large evap. leak codes from the computer. The classic problem is the gas cap. The cap has a check-valve in it and should allow air to flow into the tank through the cap, but air should not be allowed to escape. Also, the o-ring can fail to seal. Beyond that, the next most common place for evaporation emission leaks is from the threaded rings that hold the fuel pump and level sending units in the fuel tank. When they fail, they will have cracks on their sides. This allows them to stretch and keeps them from compressing the o-ring seals enough to seal the covers to the tank. Of note, there is a level sending unit under each tank. Sometimes, these are simply not tightened sufficiently. An easy test is to fill the tank completely and look for fuel leakage on top of the tank.

Rotary Performance.com

GAS SMELL AND FUEL LEAKS...

Posted by Matthew Schroeder from Rotary Performance.com

The RX-8 is known for fuel leaks. Fortunately, it is almost always has to do with the fuel pump.
Unfortunately, when the leak is from the top cover for the fuel pump it comes as an entire fuel pump assembly.  You need to determine if the pump cover is leaking around the large seal that holds it to the tank, or if the pump-outlet -tube is cracked.
With the left rear seat base, and the metal inspection cover removed, you will likely see and smell gas. If it is a cracked outlet tube, there will be a hairline crack down it's length. It typically appears on the bottom side of the tube and will be visible with the fuel line still attached. A small mirror can help you see it. If you don't see it, start the engine and look for it dripping. It should be really obvious. If not, the problem lies with the seal between the tank, and the tank cover. Often, when the fuel pump is replaced, the big plastic nut that holds it down will not be adequately tightened. Sometimes, that plastic nut will crack on it's side when it gets old. A careful inspection should reveal your troubles.

RotaryPerformance.com

Nikki Carburetors

Posted by Matthew Schroeder from Rotary Performance.com

The Nikki carb that came on the 1979-1985 12A powered RX-7 is pretty reliable and performs well in most circumstances. With regular driving and periodic fuel filter changes, they are pretty trouble free. The introduction of E-10 Ethanol gasoline in many parts of the U.S. has however presented problems. These break down into two categories: Mixture and Maintenance.

All carburetors mix a quantity of fuel proportionately to a quantity of air. E-10 gasoline has less specific energy than the fuel that was sold when the cars were new. Since the carburetor does not know this, the result is a lean mixture. This can create running and performance issues that often manifest themselves as either starting and idling trouble, or a lack of smoothness or surging at cruise. The cure is changes to enrich the fuel mixture in the idle (or slow) circuit and often in the main circuit as well. While you can sometimes smooth out the idle pretty well with the mixture screw on the side of the carb, it is usually still a bit lean at idle, and does little to help leanness at cruise. The best answer is to resize the pilot jets. This type of work is best done with a dynometer and feedback from an air/fuel ratio gauge. When done correctly, the carburetor will work smoothly at cruise and the idle will be set with the mixture screw somewhere between 1 and 2 1/2 turns out. When tuning any carburetor, one must take into account each circuit and the transitions between them. "Seat of the pants" tuning is a poor way to get the desired results.

The second problem that we often encounter (which can exhibit many of the same symptoms above) stems from maintenance and driving habits. Many 1st generation RX7's are not driven frequently. This causes modern fuels to 'skunk.' When diagnosing running problems, we consider gasoline that is more than 3-months old to be suspect since ethanol enriched gasoline both absorbs moisture and degrades quickly. We advise that you drive your cars enough to burn through a tank of fuel at least every 3 months. Also, poor maintenance of fuel filters and gas tanks that are rusty can allow foreign matter to clog jets and passages inside the carburetor. The take away is this: Before modifying a carburetor that was working fine, you need to verify that it is clean and functioning properly first! Also, remember that it is very common for mechanics to mistake ignition problems for carburetor troubles.

At some point in your quest for rotary performance, you Nikki carburetor will become a performance bottleneck. There are aftermarket carburetors and intake manifold kits available for the RX-7, but they all have their drawbacks. We now offer modification services which increase the flow by about 65 CFM and still allows for proper idling and vacuum secondary control. This is a service that is done to your carburetor and tuned on our dyno for your engine. Give us a call or email us for more information on this or any other parts or services you may need. 

Rotary Performance.com