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I'm getting tired of reading about fires and leaking pulsation dampers from owners.  It pains me to see Mazda deny responsibility of their faulty design.  I paid dearly (thousands of dollars) to fix my FC after it burned down a few years ago...
Any of you who have gone through a puslation damper failure, PLEASE log a complaint with the NHTSA at this URL!  If you have found your pulsation damper leaking, please log a complaint!
The fuel pulsation damper is a rubber diaphram that softens the strong pulses of fuel delivered to the injectors. It is prone to rupture which results in fuel leak and engine fire. If your car smells like gasoline while driving or if you notice any gas leak, get it replaced right away. It's around the upper and lower intake manifold I think.
I just got mine replaced while my LIM gasket was replaced.
I think this thing is specific to the RX7, never heard so such things on piston cars. I am not sure why it fails so easily...
I think you just have to replace it when you see or smell gas! Treat it like a radiator hose, it's more like a wear and tear item, if it's broken or real old, replace it. Don't know if Mazda ever came up with stronger ones that last longer. Doubt it since the FDs have the same problems.
RETed if you know someone in the auto insurance claims dept you might get some info from them as to how many claims they have paid out on this. possible class action suit if enough instances can be documented and initiate a recall .ex...
This is something that has bugged from for a long time now...
I can't confirm that the 1989-1991 pulsation dampers are better.  Why?  I've heard of FD(!!!) pulsation dampers leaking!  Now tell me you think the 1989-1991 pulsation dampers are an exception?
What I theorize is that these pulsation damper were not designed to handle the increase heat of the rotary engine.  Look at it's placement - right over the roasting engine!
Now, there are people who have found loose screws that popped out of their pulsation dampers, but this isn't the cause of the problem (unfortunately).  The fuel leak is caused when the rubber diaphram TEARS inside the pulsation damper itself.  Having the screw in or out does not matter; once the diaphram tears, it's going to leak fuel.
FC owners who smell gas under their hoods are probably victims of a pulsation damper failure already.
I'd like Mazda to fess up to a bad design.  I dunno about a class action lawsuit - I don't have the time nor the money to initiate such a case.
I don't know if any of you guys heard about the Club DSM folks exposing a problems with the differentials on their vehicles and reporting it to the NHTSA?  All their complaints was enough for the NHTSA to start a formal investigation that eventually lead Mitsubishi Corp. to order a voluntar recall of parts.  This is what I want.  Any of you that have gone through a pulsation damper (engine) fire shouldn't be left with a sky high bill for repairs or forced to sell or get rid of your vehicles.  It wasn't your fault...
I know my pulsation damper engine fire nearly killed my enthusiasm for my FC.  It was the sickest feeling watching your car burn on the side of the road.  This is what I want to prevent.  The potential for human injury and death is very real when it comes to an engine fire.  I HOPE THIS NEVER HAPPENS!  A recall by Mazda would see to that...
If I sound pretty emotional on this issue, I am.  Like I said, you don't want to be stranded helpless while your car is on fire.  I went through this myself, and I hope this will never happen to you.
Is there a better PD on the market that we can replace our faulty one with? There is no point in a recal if there is not a new part to replace the bad one.
I replaced mine on my 88TII last year with approximately 180k on the car. The screw was loose, but it was not leaking yet. The one I bought is a second design which hopefully is not going to leak. While I have a lot of sympathy for Reted and everyone else that has suffered fires from these failures I don't expect a Mazda recall will ever happen. Mine did last for fourteen years and 180k without failing. As we all know we have two choices with automobiles, make car payments or purchase parts. Of course the kicker here is the potential loss of the car and lives. Reted do you see any point in me reporting the screw loose, but no leakage?
What if we just zip tie lil plastic baggies around the PD? The baggy could catch any leaked fuel and prevent fire, it would also give you a heads up if you found that the baggy had fuel in it one day. I know a stupid sandwich baggy would melt but there are high grade baggies that could haddle the temps. I think it makes sense and might even save a life someday.
The PD is a bit of a pain to get to on the 88 TII. Taking off the hood helped a great deal. It probably cut the time in half compared to if I left it on. List of crap to take off: front air duct, air filter box, intercooler, throttle body and surge tank. The most pain in the butt was the throttle body since it has tons of vacuum hoses that I needed to chisel away. I'll be replacing them with silicone ones. I'll post pics of my wet PD soon. I'm surprised my car hadn't burst into flames.
hondas use the same part. all of the fuel injected rotaries use it, as well as all of the 89-98 mpv's, fd 626's and proteges. i dunno how far you can take this most of them last beyond the time that mazda is on the hook to fix it. most of them last at least 10years
mike
btw i have recepts for like 4-5 of these things
Hey, no problem. This post is more than worthy considering it could easily save people a lot of money, or perhaps even injury.
For the record, if anybody sees a post that you feel should be stickied please send me the link through eMail or PM. I can't watch everything here and as hard as I try I can't read every post. So don't be shy about requesting.
Personally, I've never had a problem with this. However I'm about to start tearing the FC down to clean stuff, mainly the dirty injectors. So while it's all out I'll take a look at it. But if it's only a S4 problem I don't think I have anything to worry about.
Wether or not they perform a re-call is not the only thing to do. I would have gotten a good lawyer and taken Mazda to court for pain and suffering, loss of property, reckless endagerment... etc. With all the documentation on this issue, the case would be pretty much open and shut. All they would have to prove is that they had no idea this was happening, which, once again with all the documentation, would be EXTREMELLY hard to do.
Then you would have enough $ to buy another 2nd Gen, fix it up, then go out and buy a 3rd Gen. AND Mazda would have to fix the problem.
I don't see this as a ploy to get MAZDA for some sort of law suit. More as a recal to justify a faulty part. Trying to make money off of something like this is the reason this world is going down the toilet. Are we not the biggest supporters of MAZDA? Attacking them is like attacking your own mother for sexual discrimination because she liked your sister more.
Yeah, I agree. I think Mazda should just fix the problem, not have to pay out. Like Ted said, this is what Mitsu did with the AWD DSM's, which have a well-documented transfer case (not front or rear diff) seal problem. The recall that MMC now has on the DSM transfer case is the result of a grass-roots effort of a group of enthusiasts. Much the same as Ted is suggesting.
Word of caution, though. It will take a LOT of time and effort to accomplish this. This means you and you and, yes, you too, get involved.
FWIW, another well-noted problem with turbo 2nd gen DSM's is crank walk. There has been a lot of effort to get this turned into a recall as well, but to no avail. Yet.
Gee, now I know why I smelled fuel and saw gas puddles on top of my engine. I seriously thought it was a bad hose or something. Isn't that funny, been working on these cars for over five years now and I never knew that's what caused it. Learn something new every day.
The pulsation damper is this knob-looking-thing (anyone got a better description?) that's attached on the end of the primary fuel injector rail.  On J-spec engines, it's actually on the secondary fuel injector rail.
Engine fires caused by the leaking pulsation damper usually burn under the upper intake manifold.  This will typically roast:
1) main engine harness ($1,200+ from Mazda)
2) all four fuel injectors (4 x $300 from Mazda)
3) oil injectors ( 4 x $25 from Mazda)
4) oil injection lines (4 x $20 from Mazda)
5) all vacuum hoses and fuel lines
When mine burned down, I nearly cried when I asked the Mazda dealer how much those parts were.  You're looking at around $3,000 JUST IN PARTS!  Add to that about another grand for labor, and that's enough to piss ANY FC owner off.  All this damage due to a <$100 part that failed...
It's going to be hard to make a claim now.  My fire happened way back in 1996.  The car was slightly modified (intake, etc.), so Mazda can easily claim it was not their fault with even a slightly competent lawyer.  I find it easier if we file complaints with the NHTSA (which only takes a few minutes) and let out taxpayers money hopefully to the rest...
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