matthew_hyden

Hi,

So I picked up a stock convertible Tii S5 with a plan to keeping it and restoring it over time, I know it's going to cost me but I love the Tii and don't mind spending as it will be worth it in the end (I hope).

I'm trying to work out the best plan for restoration based upon my observations so far.


Good points:-
Bodywork is in really great condition and hardly any rust also the wheels are very nice condition too.

Electrics all seem fine, apart from a non working fuel gage.

Starts ok (with a little gas to begin with) and will drive fine and seems to pull as expected, turbo is boosting steady and holding, it's boosting to just over halfway on the gauge and staying steady there until loosing off the gas.

Bad points:
Have to give it a little gas to start up then it will idle at about 2000rpm. - TPS?
Little white smoke on start up until engine gets warm - possibly coolant seal?

Did the champagne test and was getting foamy bubbles although it wan't exactly gushing over the top.

Had it go high temp 2 times now when going up a steady hill. - checked the fan clutch and I think it needs replacing.

When it was getting high temp after I switched off the engine i'd hear the coolant bubbling and there's definitely some escape from the coolant overflow pipe, a rusty looking brown to be precise. - I've had the radiator flushed and coolant filled but perhaps it needs doing again? or maybe replacing the caps?

Convertible top is split either side at the rear, currently temporarily fixed this for now but will get a new top eventually.

After driving the car around for a bit it starts to get hard to change a gear after a while and almost impossible until it's cooled down again. - Possibly the clutch master cylinder as the clutch pedal also gets a bit funny and lower down when this happens, it also slightly pulls in 1st gear when it's all the way down when this happens too.

I'm just wondering what the best plan of attack to get things sorted are?

I know it sounds like the coolant seals are probably going but i'm wondering if I should wait a bit longer first as the car seems to drive ok otherwise?

Should I try and get the fan clutch and master cylinder done (possibly gear stick boot and bushes) and then see if it overheats after that?

As I said, I don't mind spending on it over time but i'm worried if it is the coolant seals I probably wont be able to get the engine rebuilt straight away so it will have to sit around which I know is bad. Would it still be as bad if I drove it once a week to save it from totally sitting around cold?

Any help or thoughts would be much welcome.

Matt

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

Ok..let's try this.
OEM thermostat and new rad cap(or caps)

Best plan would be to test the Cooling system with a "leak down test" to see if the System will hold pressure as it honestly sounds like there IS a problem with a Bad seal...that means REBUILD...BUT you will not know until you perform BOTH a leak down test and a Compression check.

The clutch
How is it getting hard to shift..it won't engage?.
does the shifter feel like it does not want to put the transmission into gear?
(sounds like a good case for a Slave/master replacement..cheap to do BOTH..if you do one,then the other will let go later..so save your energy and get them done with one GO.)
Clutch throw out bearing and pilot bearing,new trans fluid etc .check clutch,etc while you are there.

You have your hands full and a lot of the needed info on HOW to do this is Well documented so grab some of your favorite refreshment and enjoy the hunt 'For Red October'..uh..I mean the Required info..

The info awaits you!.
Cheers and stay safe.

matthew_hyden

Thanks for the info.

I'll definitely give those a try first, I'd really love to get the convertible top replaced first but I guess i should really wait and see what the extent of the potential mechanical issues are I think first?

As for the gears, yep when it's hot it's impossible to select a gear at all but as the car cools down again (after 30-60mins) it's fine again. The clutch pedal also feels different to press down when it starts doing the problem with the gears too.

I tested the fan clutch earlier and i'm pretty sure I should also replace that because it was spinning pretty much the same way when hot or cold if i manually tried it, if anything it seemed a bit easier after I tried it when the engine was warmed up.

I forgot to mention the fact that under the bonnet there is a Rotechnics sticker so it's possible it could have had some work done on it by them in the past although I contacted them but they said they had no record after 2004. It's likely they did something before then, the back story to the vehicle is that it had been sitting around in storage for several years and it's only covered about 2000 miles since 2001 until now.

Also, i've took a picture of the side indicator because there seems to be an unusual grille around them? I've not seen any other Turbo II with them, I was wondering if it was a stock part or something which someone has put on themselves although it would seem an unlikely thing to do? Either way it looks kinda funky.



Anyway, i'll get the parts ordered next week and see how it goes from there thanks.

RotaryBobby

iTrader: (4)

im pretty sure those are not original on any 7 its the PO showing a bit of his rice side and adding useless stick on vents also WELCOME

matthew_hyden

Lol.... I should have known...

Anyway, quick update, going to take the car over to Hurley Rotary in Coventry next Wednesday to see what they make of it.

Drove it around tonight with the Top down and loved it.

I really love driving this car, the engine is just so smooth and catching it right to allow the turbo to boost is great.

I've not really give it any hard gas yet just in case bad things happen lol.

I'll see what they say next week anyway, there's defo a problem with the cooling system I think as I can hear it bubbling over after I switch off and some slight excess coming out the coolant overfill bottle.

Got a new rad cap to try tomorrow so maybe that will help for now we'll have to wait and see.

I'll keep you updated with how it goes anyway.

He said he'd not seen a Turbo II for a while so it would be good to get one back in the yard.

matthew_hyden

Just to give you a quick update...

Had the car compression tested at HME Rotary and the results to my surprise were actually ok, the compression isn't massively high but on the other hand it's not drastically low.

It's still with them for now as they are fitting me some bits...

New Exeedy Clutch (wanted a stage 1 or 2 but couldn't get one in time so had to stick to standard OEM version)

New Clutch Slave and Master Cylinders
New Gear stick bushing and also Rubber Boot.

After all that I still need to get a new radiator but i'll do that in a couple of weeks.

I'll also probably get some other sort of induction kit although i'm unsure about this because the stock air box seems to be pretty well isolated, any of the usual cone style intakes would surely suck up more hot air than the isolated stock box will.

I know people seem to like a KN replacement filter in the stock box but is it really worth it?

Matt

RotaryBobby

iTrader: (4)

depends on your plans. if you are going to track than a full intake system will be best BUT you have to box in the filter and duct the air from somewhere. if the intake is just open not boxed in then all it does is suck in hot engine bay air
heres a link to a thread where someone fabed a cold air box
https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...ir-box-830116/

if you just daily the car then the stock air box will suffice and the K&N is a prefered replacement to the stock filter to most. heres an other link with some drop in filter info https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...vs-hks-875381/