RX7Club.com - Mazda RX7 Forum - 3rd Generation Specific (1993-2002)

LF advice on car purchase and fixing up to get a sitting Rx-7 running

psiW — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 10:54:46 GMT

Back in 2001 the owner before did a whole rebuild on the rx-7, before eventually selling it to the current owner. Since then only ~10k miles have been put on (from 87k miles) and the car has not ran roughly for 6-12 years (Owner service logs only go up to 2012 from what I was sent) and I'm really interested in buying it from the owner as is. The reason for it not running is because they got into an accident ending up with the front fender rubbing against the tire so they have not been able to drive it (everything else looks amazing). Until that happened, the car was being serviced yearly and running fine. Ever since, the car has been garaged.
Since the car has not ran for a long time, I was worried about what could have potentially degraded in that time and what I may need to fix/repair. From what I can guess, the rats nest will still be a problem since the pettit racing turbo kit is just an upgraded oem turbo. Would a full rebuild of the rats nest be necessary or would I be able to just get it running as is. While I plan to flush out the coolant, oil, old fuel, and potentially bleed the brakes, I am a little worried that the old liquids could cause corrosion or some sort of damage to the engine or fuel tanks? And then if I am able to get the car running, I was most likely going to use 10w30 motor oil but in the service logs they do seem to use 20w50 motor oil. I was thinking that 10w30 is fine but not too sure on it. I think that once I get the turbo system and liquids all freshened up the car should run great since it has an aluminum radiator and cold air kit on it.
I included the original logs for when the engine bay was rebuilt. Any advice or inputs is really appreciated!

Aftermarket Oil Pan Question

FD3S2005 — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 15:25:41 GMT

So my motor went about 10 years ago at the time I started getting some parts to prepare for the build. New upper and lower elite intake system, rail, and other things. Hit some troubles but slowly saved up to get the car painted while motor was out, now ready for the rebuild. But my question is, i got a bacon racing oil pan. At the time turblown didnt have an intake system nor oil pan system (product) like today. Is there any difference? One better than the other or they both do their job since they both got baffles.. also regardless of the situation with elite, and difference with their intakes and turblowns? I already got them from before ppl were having issue with the company but not sure about issues with their products

Gauge Cluster / Rev Counter

jhr — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 19:14:16 GMT

Hi,

My rev counter gauge died. (it always stays at zero)

Is there a place where I could purchase a new rev counter gauge that I could replace mine (with stock gauge cluster and stock ECU) ?

I need of course the gauge with all its electronics.

Regards.

EGT Sensor Probe Mounting Depth?

Pete_89T2 — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 14:06:04 GMT

For those of you that run EGT thermocouple probes with your turbocharged rotaries, how deep into the exhaust manifold do you center the probe? I'm getting some conflicting info from the internet on that question - some say to center the probe tip smack in the center of the exhaust runner, regardless of normally aspirated or turbo applications. But I've found others (see screenshot below from Haltech's website that says go no deeper than 6mm in for turbo/boosted applications. Which is correct an why? I've got one of Howard Coleman's new exhaust manifolds coming for my FD, and I want to get the EGT installation right!

Cel light gremlin.

TankisSick — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 01:19:14 GMT

Found myself puzzled the other day with the fd, wondering if anyone else has had an issue with their cel light not flashing codes?🤔

So, after following the usually steps and jumping ten / gnd my cel light will go through it's usual routine except it'll stay solid. Now I've pulled codes before from this car so now I'm wondering what the deal is, if anybody could shed any light on it would be much appreciated.

Bouncy headlight fix?

Ace Callaway — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 03:55:20 GMT

My headlights are getting bouncy and begins to drop with the "semi sleepy eye" mod required with the Originwerks Nova 2 headlights.

With stock headlights and fully open, there is zero play and the headlight does not drop and they open and close without any issues. With the "semi sleepy eye" mod from the controller, my headlight has a lot of play and eventually drops causing the light to not work effectively.

According to Originwerks ( I think I spoke with the owner), he said this was caused by bad retractor rod bushings. I have changed the retractor rod today with new OEM Replacements and still have the same issue. Before I start buying and replacing things, does anyone have any recommendations or input on what is causing this?

Locks

Cream Papa — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 03:34:29 GMT

The outside door locks on my FD don't work anymore was looking at having them replaced. I see that Mazda still offers the 3 important key locks (2 doors P/N FD01-76-210D & FD01-76-220C and ignition lock column P/N FD01-76-290B). Was wondering if it's possible or if anyone has had any experience getting the OEM locks re-pinned to take their original key. Was also wondering if the 99 Spec keys can be cut to work with the original key, according to Sakebomb the 99 spec key/locks tend vary slightly.

Roof foam insulation

Luke does stuff — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:16:27 GMT

As shown at the top of photo my rx7 had roof insulation from factory, it has since been removed and lost. Is it necessary? Can I use anything else?

Dowel Pin o-rings correct size

Gregoryp — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 02:03:28 GMT

Have a mazda seal kit and there are two different sizes of orings that fit the dowel pin o-ring grooves, one slightly thicker. Anyone know which are the correct ones. I think the thinner ones are correct, but wanted to confirm. Pick of orings in question attached.

Help identifying some plugs / wires

ethan77 — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 10:35:01 GMT

Currently in the process of fitting a TKX and have come across this rats nest of wiring, just want to see if I can identify what's what and WTF is going here before I start removing it. Of this entire bundle, the only wires connected we're the ones suspended above which went to the speedo sensor in the FD box, and the wires going to the starter.

1. What are these 3 plugs circled in red? assume one could be a reverse switch and a neutral switch? The bigger plug looks to be 7-8 wires.

2. What could these cut wires circled in blue be? They were just cut off and taped up. 5-6 of them from the looks.

3. Wire coming off what I assume is the earth for the starter circled in green. The one below was attached but broke off as soon as I moved it. The other end wasn't attached to anything.

4. Starter motor wiring circled in yellow, does this look normal? Battery is in the boot hence the power wire coming in from the rear. I'll tidy this up before putting it all back together.

I've searched through the wiring diagrams but it's not overly clear around the transmission, thinking it could have started life as an auto.

Rethinking my catch can routing

Valkyrie — Sun, 31 May 2026 00:54:05 GMT

This is how my car's catch can came routed. The upper nipple us connected to the catch can, which is vented to atmosphere. The lower hose goes straight into the intake before the turbo.
This leads to a managable but annoying amount of oil getting into air filter, the intake piping, etc.

Is there some reason I couldn't cap off the bottom nipple and run a hose back from the catch can to the pipe going into the intake?

Or would a single stock nipple (hooked to an 6 mm ID hose) simply not be enough crankcase ventilation?

I only have two 6m ID (9 mm OD) nipples on the catch can, so doubling up hoses to the catch can wouldn't work without changing the catch can.
Unless I replace the current nipples with much bigger ones (9 mm ID should suffice), and then use a Y-fitting. Then I could just eliminate the hose to the intake entirely.
That wouldn't be a very elegant solution, though.

e

I suppose I could also buy a used oil filler cap, chop off the stock nipples, and thread in a much larger hose fitting, and then run that to a more substantial vented catch can.

FD Wiper Linkage Restoration

JP3 Motorsports — Sat, 30 May 2026 11:49:10 GMT

We discovered that the cause to a majority of the slow, sticky, or non-functioning front wiper arms are not due to bad motors, but rather due to the linkage arm pivots binding/sticking. This in turn makes the wiper motors have to work twice as hard and in most cases slow down, stick, or otherwise stop working because they are not strong enough to overcome the binding.

We've put together a kit which includes all the components necessary to replace the front wiper linkage plastic bushing cups and eliminate any binding in the two pivot assemblies on the FD.

https://jp3motorsports.com/products/...r&_ss=e&_v=1.0

Potential Rx-7 Purchase

psiW — Fri, 29 May 2026 02:58:03 GMT

So I was thinking of getting this 1993 Rx-7 FD with 97k miles on it. It is full stock and the owner was saying they were taking care of it when they were using it. Currently it has been sitting in their garage for the past 2-3 years because someone reversed into their fender and it's rubbing against the tire. After getting it my budget is roughly 8k to fix it up and get it running. Not too sure if the engine has been rebuilt already but was curious on what other ppl thought. Planning on keeping it as a weekend car, but I'm a little worried about the health of the engine. What should be some of the first things I fix up? Willing to put in the time and effort to learn but a little apprehensive knowing the reputation of the car. I think it is worth it but other opinions would be great to hear.

Aftermarket steering wheel horn connection

seattlejester — Thu, 28 May 2026 23:02:03 GMT

I wanted a removable steering wheel for my 1993 FD as the previous owner installed some pretty aggressive bucket seats that make getting in and out pretty difficult due to the high bolsters making it a tight fit between the factory steering wheel. I had a good experience in my Miata with a similar setup so went with a quick release steering wheel.

Given the hub design, I went with the NRG style short hub with the contact plate on the back.

I had designed a 3D print to use with a contact brush style setup using a pen spring and making a plunger/brush type setup using the stock clock spring mounting hole:

Then I found this in my box of parts from my Miata:

I needed a spacer so I cut a butt connector crimp in half

Then bent the contact into place.

I still have to wire in the electronics, but thought this was an easy alternative to what I've seen. Hope this helps a couple others

Rough idle when engine cold

linnadawg — Thu, 28 May 2026 14:35:29 GMT

I�ve seen a few of these threads but no solutions. Car is a 94 LHD bone stock except for a racing beat dual exhaust. Brand new engine from Mazda. Almost everything under the hood is brand new. Stock pre cat and main cat.

Im in so cal so weather is about 60-70f. When I first start the car with a cold engine it stays at about 1500 rpm�s. The problem is it�s not a smooth 1500 rpm�s. I get vibration, minor shaking and popping. As soon as I hit operating temp the rpm�s drop to normal range and the idle is almost smooth. Not 100% perfect but feels nice.

I notice when I turn on the ac at operating temp, the idle is rougher as well. Just more vibration. Also getting noticeable pops out of the exhaust when letting off the throttle. I�ve heard the popping is normal with downpipes etc, but my car has the pre cat and main cat so not sure how loud normal is.

Any ideas?