STOLEN: My 1993 Mazda RX-7

[speedjunkie]

I'm gonna be pretty busy the next few days so I'll respond to EVERYTHING after that, but glad you got it back. Furthermore, NO TRANNY SHOPS. Clutches and trannies are easy, I can get one out and back in by myself in 4 and a half hours. If we can find a lift somewhere I can help you and we'll have it done in no time.

[RX-7 Chris]

I'm gonna be pretty busy the next few days so I'll respond to EVERYTHING after that, but glad you got it back. Furthermore, NO TRANNY SHOPS. Clutches and trannies are easy, I can get one out and back in by myself in 4 and a half hours. If we can find a lift somewhere I can help you and we'll have it done in no time.

Since you like doing clutches haha. I may have to get you to help me.

[Obie2kenobe]

congrats on getting the car back buddy...I will see ya out there.

[Ranger]

So, driving it a bit more, I've noticed something else. Occasionally, the "add coolant" light comes on when I start the car, with that annoying buzzer. I know I don't need to add coolant, and it goes off after a few minutes at the most. I'm pretty sure that this is happening because of the ghetto-rigged overflow tank that the thieves made, which is basically just a bottle of coolant with a hose in it that goes to the AST. The stock overflow tank is all cracked and wasn't even being used, so I guess it's good that they added this, but something doesn't look right. I'm not quite sure how the AST system works so I can't say for sure. I'll post pics of it in the morning.

Speaking of the thieves...I looked at the wires hanging down. Aside from the blue and white wires (which appear to go up into the a pillar) there is a red wire that goes to the fuse box, and another red wire, but I couldn't tell where that one went. I think you're right that those are for the gauges. If it wasn't hot wired then how on earth did the thieves get it started? They must have had a key made...which means whoever did it could potentially be out there ready to take my car again...scary Maybe I should change my ignition out...

[deepSpeedMS3]

that is really scary. when i bought my car from sil-ther i only got one set of key(i pick up another set being made this weekend) im kinda scared too....let me know what you do

[RX-7 Chris]

So, driving it a bit more, I've noticed something else. Occasionally, the "add coolant" light comes on when I start the car, with that annoying buzzer. I know I don't need to add coolant, and it goes off after a few minutes at the most. I'm pretty sure that this is happening because of the ghetto-rigged overflow tank that the thieves made, which is basically just a bottle of coolant with a hose in it that goes to the AST. The stock overflow tank is all cracked and wasn't even being used, so I guess it's good that they added this, but something doesn't look right. I'm not quite sure how the AST system works so I can't say for sure. I'll post pics of it in the morning.

Speaking of the thieves...I looked at the wires hanging down. Aside from the blue and white wires (which appear to go up into the a pillar) there is a red wire that goes to the fuse box, and another red wire, but I couldn't tell where that one went. I think you're right that those are for the gauges. If it wasn't hot wired then how on earth did the thieves get it started? They must have had a key made...which means whoever did it could potentially be out there ready to take my car again...scary Maybe I should change my ignition out...

Have you checked the coolant when the car is cold by popping the radiator cap? I would for sure get a new coolant tank. Not good to be without one.

You may want to look at getting a new set of keys that includes a new ignition and door locks.

[Ranger]

Well, IIRC there are two coolant tanks on these cars...one main reservoir (which is still there) and an overflow tank that attaches to the air separator tank. Someone correct me if I'm wrong though. Here's a couple shots of what this ghetto setup looks like.





Like I said before...these guys had some nerve treating it like it was their car!

Noticed a few other things I forgot to mention. For some reason, with the headlights (or even just parking lights) on, the car idles around 300 RPM higher. It idles too low with them off (anywhere from 800-1000 RPM) so I always leave the parking lights on when I drive it anyway. This morning on the way to work I turned them off on accident and the car stalled in the middle of a turn lane. I couldn't get it started again; was worried that it was flooded. But with enough cranking I got it to start, sorta. I had to let it run for a bit and burn up the excess gas.

Oh and another thing I forgot to mention that was an existing problem with this car. The tach likes to jump around randomly. Most of the time it's accurate, but sometimes it jumps up to around 300-500 RPMs higher than it should be. I've read that this is because of loose solder joints on the back of the gauges...Eric, do you know anything about this? I'm planning to take the gauges out anyway to do the linear water temp gauge mod, so I guess I could fix it then.

Gah, sorry for the huge post. I'm just getting really excited about driving this car again! Last night I washed it and scraped the crayon / shoe polish crap off the windshield. Now I don't look like I stole it out of the impound lot One thing that absolutely needs to be done...I need to change the steering wheel. It's too big and hits my legs. Anyone have experience with removing an air bag / cover from a steering wheel? It's the only way to get the wheel off. At the same time I will probably put in my Sparco seat, along with a harness bar and 6-point harness. Anyone got recommendations for harness bars?

[speedjunkie]

I just typed out a huge long post and lost everything, so I'm about to break this computer. I'll just tell you in person. I'm so fucking livid right now.

[Ranger]

Firefox dude! Saves your post if it crashes. Anyway when are you gonna be up in Denver again? I may be coming down to the springs one day this week or the next to have the car tuned, so if you can't make it up here I'll probably hit you up then.

Also, I'm going to try and get coilovers on tomorrow. I'm installing hardwood floors in my place and that's a priority so I don't have to live in this mess for very long, but I will spend some time in the garage tomorrow for sure, at the very least cleaning the car up. I don't think the rims will fit without rolling the fenders (they are 17x10 +22) but I'm gonna try anyway

[speedjunkie]

This is a government computer, it doesn't have firefox and I can't install it haha. I'm not back yet, I'll be back by the end of next week.

Those might fit. You'll have to roll the fenders but you might not have to flare. I had 18X10+38 on the rear and I rolled them at first, it all depends on the tires you use too. I'd roll them at first though.

[speedjunkie]

Alright, after taking a couple days to cool down, I'll attempt to repost again...

I drove it to work today! Woooohoo! What a great feeling to be driving this car again. I smell like gas fumes now, good ol' rotary Its current condition saddens me, but I'll clean it up soon enough. I found the badge that was scraped off in the hatch, so that'll save me a bit of money. And yeah, I will definitely be installing a fuel cut switch and probably a battery cut switch, too. Putting one on the ECU is a good idea too if that's possible.

Anyway despite being super rich the car seems to run well. With staying out of boost, and with it being rich, it doesn't run hot at all. I don't know if the PFC is accurate anymore but it never reached temps above 40*C. This makes me think that the main reason for it running so hot before is probably because it was running lean, but I'm still going to get an oil cooler for it. There's only one thing I'm concerned with...the drivetrain seems to have a lot of slop that wasn't there before. During engine braking the car shakes after I get off the gas, and I can hear a ticking sound coming from the engine bay. But I'm not too worried at the moment. Oh, and the boost/vac gauge doesn't seem to work...I need to call Precision about that and ask if it worked for them. I can still monitor boost on the PFC but I'm not sure how accurate that is. I just have to listen to the turbos and make sure they're not spooling too much during the break-in period.

There is definitely something about the gas/smoke smell from your very own rotary…they should bottle and sell it haha.

To battle heat, I’d suggest water injection. Another oil cooler is still a good idea, but water injection (rather, auxiliary injection) will cool your intake air and combustion chamber more, and the engine should run much cooler as a result.

To clean up the drivetrain slop, I suggest checking all the mounting bolts on the tranny and diff to ensure they’re tight. There are 4 nuts on the tranny/front of PPF, 5 bolts on the diff/rear of PPF, and it probably wouldn’t hurt to check the two holding the diff in at the top, but I doubt they’re loose. You never know though. After Simon and I put his tranny back in, his shift knob was jumping about an inch when he’d slow down. Turns out we didn’t tighten them down with a breaker bar, just the air gun he was using.

Since you’re still breaking in the engine, I’d try to stay below 3000RPMs and try to stay in the really low boost numbers, like only 2 or 3 psi at the most. It’s hard to stay out of boost with stock turbos sometimes.

I’m not sure how accurate your PFC is for the coolant temp either. 40*C is 104*F, and that’s not really possible on a rotary unless you JUST started it haha. Your thermostat might be removed, but it still shouldn’t get THAT low.

Since you like doing clutches haha. I may have to get you to help me.

Yeah that's cool, I'll help you. I've never worked an FB tranny before, but I imagine it should be about the same.

So, driving it a bit more, I've noticed something else. Occasionally, the "add coolant" light comes on when I start the car, with that annoying buzzer. I know I don't need to add coolant, and it goes off after a few minutes at the most. I'm pretty sure that this is happening because of the ghetto-rigged overflow tank that the thieves made, which is basically just a bottle of coolant with a hose in it that goes to the AST. The stock overflow tank is all cracked and wasn't even being used, so I guess it's good that they added this, but something doesn't look right. I'm not quite sure how the AST system works so I can't say for sure. I'll post pics of it in the morning.

Speaking of the thieves...I looked at the wires hanging down. Aside from the blue and white wires (which appear to go up into the a pillar) there is a red wire that goes to the fuse box, and another red wire, but I couldn't tell where that one went. I think you're right that those are for the gauges. If it wasn't hot wired then how on earth did the thieves get it started? They must have had a key made...which means whoever did it could potentially be out there ready to take my car again...scary Maybe I should change my ignition out...

Like Chris said, I would check the coolant while it’s cool. I know you’ve probably done this, but knock on the filler neck, squeeze the hoses, stuff like that, to see if the level goes down anyway and keep refilling it until it won’t go down anymore. So are you saying the thieves actually FIXED something on your car? LOL It’s almost like they were planning on keeping it haha, but obviously that wouldn’t have lasted long if they weren’t going to do anything more than ghetto fixes. Definitely replace the broken reservoir though. I think I still have my old one actually. I got a newer one because it seemed like mine was leaking or something but I’m not sure that’s the case. We can check it out and see when I get back. Just for the record, I’m deleting my AST this summer. I know at least 1 veteran off the top of my head that’s had his like that for a while now with no ill effects.

Those guys either knew something so advanced that I’ve never heard of it, or they were so stupid I can’t even believe they know a car when they see it…if they actually tried to hot wire the car with gauge wiring HAHA. That’s too funny.

Instead of getting a new ignition, just take it out, along with your door locks and hatch lock, and take them all to a locksmith to have it changed to a new key pattern. That’s what Morris did when he snapped his key off in the ignition, and that’s what I’ll be doing too.

[speedjunkie]

Well, IIRC there are two coolant tanks on these cars...one main reservoir (which is still there) and an overflow tank that attaches to the air separator tank. Someone correct me if I'm wrong though. Here's a couple shots of what this ghetto setup looks like.





Like I said before...these guys had some nerve treating it like it was their car!

Noticed a few other things I forgot to mention. For some reason, with the headlights (or even just parking lights) on, the car idles around 300 RPM higher. It idles too low with them off (anywhere from 800-1000 RPM) so I always leave the parking lights on when I drive it anyway. This morning on the way to work I turned them off on accident and the car stalled in the middle of a turn lane. I couldn't get it started again; was worried that it was flooded. But with enough cranking I got it to start, sorta. I had to let it run for a bit and burn up the excess gas.

Oh and another thing I forgot to mention that was an existing problem with this car. The tach likes to jump around randomly. Most of the time it's accurate, but sometimes it jumps up to around 300-500 RPMs higher than it should be. I've read that this is because of loose solder joints on the back of the gauges...Eric, do you know anything about this? I'm planning to take the gauges out anyway to do the linear water temp gauge mod, so I guess I could fix it then.

Gah, sorry for the huge post. I'm just getting really excited about driving this car again! Last night I washed it and scraped the crayon / shoe polish crap off the windshield. Now I don't look like I stole it out of the impound lot One thing that absolutely needs to be done...I need to change the steering wheel. It's too big and hits my legs. Anyone have experience with removing an air bag / cover from a steering wheel? It's the only way to get the wheel off. At the same time I will probably put in my Sparco seat, along with a harness bar and 6-point harness. Anyone got recommendations for harness bars?

Nope, not two coolant tanks. Just 1 tank, the filler neck and AST.

I think my car idles higher too when the lights are on, but I don’t remember for sure. I don’t think it does anymore because I’m running underdrive pulleys and more electronics and my lights dim when the engine lopes, so I’m getting my alt rebuilt to put out more juice. The car is supposed to idle at 750RPMs stock IIRC, so 800-1000 is supposed to be good, but not if it’s stalling obviously.

I don’t know anything about the tach jumping around, sorry man. My gauges are messed up but it’s my own fault haha.

I have a MOMO steering wheel, Daikei hub (it’s a Miata hub but works on ours, and it has a resistor in it to keep the air bag light off) and NRG quick release on mine. It’s great, so much more comfy to drive now. Swapping out the steering wheel is pretty easy actually, and I still have the tools to do it, so I’ll help you with that. One thing I haven’t figured out on mine yet is how to make the horn work, but I’m fixing that this summer. Oh, I don’t have cruise control anymore either, but I might see if I can hook that back up somehow too.

I have a Race Shop harness bar. They also make ends for this bar that have connection points for a roll cage, so if I get one of their roll cages I can swap out the ends for a different one with roll cage mounts. I’ll see if I can find the link. I got it a couple years ago so I’m not sure if he’s still in business or whatever.

[Ranger]

Well I don't think the thermostat was removed, I believe they replaced it though, I found instructions for installing one in the car. And yeah I think my PFC must not be accurate about the water temps. But it is definitely not running anywhere near as hot as before...it used to be that after I got out of the car you could feel and see the heat coming out of the engine. Now you can still feel it (obviously) but it's much cooler. As for the low coolant light, it definitely was low, I have filled it up twice now and it seems to be ok. I do plan on going with a water injection setup if I still have problems with heat after the oil cooler is installed.

My car used to idle around 1200-1500, which it seemed to like. It is just too rich anywhere below 1000 and I think that's why it stalls. I try to stay below 3000 RPMs but that's not really possible if you want to go anywhere, 4000 is more like it, haha. In any given gear, if I let it fall down to around 2200 RPMs or less and I'm not on the gas, the drivetrain starts bucking. I think since the car isn't tuned, it doesn't like engine braking. I noticed that clicking noise only happens during engine braking, it sounds like it may be more of an exhaust leak or something. Regardless, when I install the coilovers, I'll check the tranny and diff mounting bolts like you said. Oh and I can't figure out what's up with my boost gauge...but I'm not really sure how it works, either. The vacuum line must not be hooked up, or something. I trust the PFC is accurate but maybe not. Regardless I just listen for boost and let off the gas if it starts building too much.

Also I noticed that Precision put my intercooler piping on backwards...the pipes are supposed to be the other way around! Really though this looks like a better setup; this way the filters are not so close to the charge pipe. I guess that's why they did it. Speaking of the IC piping...what's a good way to clean that kind of thing? I don't want to just blast it with the pressure washer at the car wash, but I don't know of any good cleaners that I could use to get all the areas that need it.

[speedjunkie]

You mean Precision replaced the thermostat? Unless the thieves were previous owners, I doubt they'd either know or take the time to swap out the thermostat, nor do I think they wouldn't know if it was bad. Just a hunch though, I could be wrong. I saw the pics last night, and I'm not sure why that coolant tank is added there unless it's to be used in place of the cracked stock tank. That is definitely not a stock piece. What I was saying about water injection versus oil cooler, is that the oil cooler will only cool your oil, and won't really do much to cool your engine. Whereas water injection will cool your engine a little better. If you use water it cools your combustion chamber more but not the intake air as much, if you use meth it will cool your intake air more than the combustion chamber but you would make more power off meth, but only if you tune up on it and use it in place of some fuel, which SHOULD get you better MPG too since you won't be using as much fuel.

Yeah you definitely need to get it tuned soon. The clicking noise might be the drivetrain itself knocking around. But I haven't heard it with my own ears so it's hard for me to say. It might be an exhaust leak, but I think you'd be hearing it all the time if that was the case, not just during engine braking.

Do you have a Factory Service Manual?

http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=614824

You can access both FSMs and Parts manuals from wankel.net
-covers 79-95_RX7 and 04 RX8
http://www.wankel.net/~krwright/file...parts_manuals/

93/94 FSM Backups from wReX:
(also Body Electrical Repair Manual, Wiring Diagram, Collision Repair Manual, and Frequently Used Part Number List)
http://www.wrex-racing.com/web/fd/info.htm

93(+) Service Highlights Manual: (this describes the design and features of all systems in the FD)
http://www.wrex-racing.com/docs/fd/9...highlights.pdf

93/94/95 Parts Lists from FDNewbie's website:
http://www.fdnewbieimports.com/Backup/ordering.php

(How to use the parts lists: http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.ph...71#post6546571)

93 Technical Service Bulletin Mazda Documentation:
http://www.wrex-racing.com/docs/fd/...e_Bulletins.pdf

Vacuum hose diagrams, both stock and simplified:
http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=749702

For your boost issue, the vacuum diagram is in the FSM, which should be found in the first wankel.net link I gave you above. Just look on all the nipples of the UIM, one of them should be hooked to the boost gauge. Or just trace the wiring and hoses from teh boost gauge and make sure it's still hooked up. If it's not, you should be able to see a vacuum line disconnected in the engine bay anyway. OR, there might be a hole in the hose too. Actually though, if you had a vacuum line blown off you would have a boost leak and you would feel that. So if the car is boosting fine now, that's probably not the problem.

Whether your PFC is accurate or not, I'd say the PFC itself is probably fine, it may just be one of the sensors that's bad or something. I'm thinking that might be the case for the coolant temp, but there are checks you can do per the FSM to see if everything is working properly.

I'm not sure of what kind of chemicals to use, but I'm sure there is some kind of cleaner and/or polish you can use to clean them up really well. I'll be home in a few days and I'll ask Zico and Sean if they know of anything, they've probably done that before.

[Ranger]

No, I think the thieves replaced the thermostat...or they took it to a shop to do it. I found the directions in the car the first time I saw it after it was recovered, in the impound lot. They were the ones who added that coolant tank, too. And yeah, it is there to replace the stock one that is cracked. (I added some water to it yesterday and it leaked.) So I'll definitely buy that coolant tank off you, if you find it. I highly doubt the theives were previous owners, they seem pretty stupid (like most thieves), and I doubt they could ever afford an FD. But they definitely knew some things about the car...

Tomorrow I'm probably going to put the coilovers on, so I'll take a look at the tranny and diff bolts, try and clean up some of that drivetrain slop. Oh, and I have not boosted it at all since I've had it, for fear of messing it up while it's being broken in...the most boost it's seen (according to the PFC) is around .75 PSI, haha. But after 600 miles I'm going to change the oil and open it up a bit, still keep it under 5k though. I assume it boosts fine or Precision wouldn't have said the car was done. It definitely feels strong...it really wants to boost, I have a hard time keeping it out of boost. I cannot wait to put my foot on the floor again I'll take a look at where the wires / vacuum line for the boost gauge are going, too, though it might be hard to trace. As for the water temp, I'm sure the PFC itself is accurate, the sensor is probably fine too...but there are settings on there for water temp correction. I wouldn't be surprised if the thieves messed with that. As soon as I find the time / motivation to take off the gauge cluster, I'll do that linear mod for the water temp gauge. That is, if I can find the instructions on how to do it again...google searching hasn't done much good so far...

Oh and thanks again for all the help! Those are some great links...bookmarked all those. I used to have a real FSM (the giant thick green one), but it was in the car when it was stolen, and it wasn't there when I found it. That also might explain how the thieves knew about the cooling system, haha. I'm pretty sure they just tried whatever they could to get the car running cool. Obviously none of it worked though How long are you going to be in CO? It'd be great if you guys could give my car a once-over, so to speak, to at least make me aware of any problems, and hopefully prevent some, too. I'll be at the NASA event in Pueblo next weekend, but maybe during the week I could head down there, or the weekend after that.