Hi,
I have a 1988 Mazda RX7. It has been my baby all these years, but I now have to part with it. I took it to my mechanic to identify anything wrong with it so I can accurately describe it in ads, but there is one thing he could not identify.

When I go in reverse, there is a loud high-pitched squeaking, screeching sound that goes eeehhh eeerrr eeehhh eeerrr, apparently coinciding with the rotation of the wheel. I'm sure it's kind of hard to understand this type of description, but any ideas?

Second, my car is in beautiful condition, inside and out, but the compression is low, making it hard to start sometimes. There is also an "oil leak at the rear axle and the transmission has an oil leak at the axle seals. The exhaust system is in need of some repairs." I'm quoting the mechanic. I assume, because of these problems, I will have to sell it to someone who is an enthusiast and can give it a new engine? Is it of value to anyone not so inclined?

If so, can you suggest the best way to go about selling the car?

Thanks!

 

You will no doubt have to sell the car to an enthusiast anyway. How many "normal people" you know would buy a 20 yr old sports car as their daily driver?

As far as your noise in reverse is concerned, I personally don't have a clue (brakes? Bearing?) but the rotary junkies on here would have more experience with your car and might be able to help you better than I but I think I understand your description of it perfectly.

Just in case you decide to use our Classified section, and I invite you to do so, here is a link to the FS rules and regs: https://www.mazdaforum.com/m_76475/tm.htm

 

Drum rear brakes, eh? OK, the noise is coming from contact between the shoes and drum. The eeeeh is one shoe, the eeeer, the other. A few things to check.
1. Does your handbrake work smoothly, with free clicks per the manual?
2. Does it release cleanly and return smartly to the off position ?
3. Has your rear braking system inspection,lubrication, and maintenance schedule been
respected?
Deal with these issues first.
If 1 to three above are affirmative, here's what can happen. Drum brakes are what are called twin leading shoe. This means that when the wheel rotates forward and the brakes are applied, as the nose of the shoe makes contact with the rotating drum, the friction torques the shoe in the direction of the wheel, and the shoe mounting/pivot arrangement is such that this drag pitches the shoe harder into the drum, greatly magnifying the initial braking effect.
If the drum is warped or rusty, the force amplification factor is so high that the shoe is dragged into the drum anyway, and the shoe damps out any tendency for the drum to "howl".
In reverse, the system geometry is totally counterproductive and you get zero force amplification, so now the pressure the shoes exert on the drum are weak enough to allow the drum to do its thing, like eeeeh eeeer.
The causes: worn linings, warped drums, or RUST.
If the car has been left out unused for a while (even a few days will do it), a bit of moisture will collect in the lowest part of the drum, causing a rusted sector.
The solution? Drive at about 15 mph in 2nd while tugging on the handbrake just hard enough to make the engine labor a bit. Do this for 2 - 3 minutes. Now check for noise when reversing. If rust was the culprit, the treatment described will have scuffed it off and eeeeh eeeer will have gone.

 

Hey, thanks for the detailed info. I'll try this out and see what happens!