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After reading about the idea here in the forum, today I finally added an "emergency" hood release wire in case the normal one fails. It turns out there's a perfect little notch for a looped, laminated steel wire to encircle the mechanism. Also there's a nice little hole for the loop to exit. You can see it here just above the normal cable. I looped up the spare length and will attach it to the firewall with a magnet.
It seems "no good deed goes unpunished," I had to remove my shifter boot (and I hate remove trim pieces that are NLA) to repair a loose corner. I noticed that the insulation pad and middle shift boot were missing (I'm "assuming" when I had the transmission rebuilt in 2003 it was reinstalled they left those items out.) I drove my car while the trim panel/boot was out and didn't realize hot hot it gets in the transmission tunnel. I thought this would be a good time to pull and lube the Mazdatrix short shifter that's been there for the past twenty-three years, and as you can imagine it was bone dry. What I didn't expect to find though was that the upper shifter bushing had literally "disintegrated" and the only trace was pieces of white nylon stuck to the shift lever. I called Mazdatrix to see if I could get new bushings for the old kit and was told that they had no idea what bushing were used on that particular kit back then and there were no spares available. I was told on the kit they sell now they use stock Mazda bushings and I considered trying to get a bushing kit and try and replace the ones I had, but the likelihood of pulling the 23 y/o inner boot over the shaft to install a new bushing without it tearing was "iffy." And then hoping the stock bushings would work with my shifter was not an ideal situation so I decide to bite the bullet and purchase a "new" Mazdatrix short shift kit. On the Brightside the kit cost me $266.00 back in 1999 and the new kit only set me back $192.00 plus shipping (and I figured I got my moneys worth with the first one.) The kits have two differences that I can see, one is the use of stock bushings in the new kit, and the other is the the lower half of the shift lever in the new kit has a "thicker" diameter from the pivot ball on down to the ball on the tip. The new kit along with the recently installed M Theory transmission mount has greatly improved my shifting experience and it's much easier to get into reverse. I was fortunate that I never experienced any issues due to the lack of an upper bushing when shifting. I think as the bushing degraded and my trans mount started to fail the changes were subtle and I just adapted to it without noticing any problems but my new combinations rocks!
New kit below, new shifter and middle boot to left. At least I know it's got oil now. Ready to bolt-in the new shifter. furnace duct wrap to replace missing insulation and the new middle boot. It's done and it was worth it!
After reading about the idea here in the forum, today I finally added an "emergency" hood release wire in case the normal one fails. It turns out there's a perfect little notch for a looped, laminated steel wire to encircle the mechanism. Also there's a nice little hole for the loop to exit. You can see it here just above the normal cable. I looped up the spare length and will attach it to the firewall with a magnet.
I did mine 7.26.2021.
>>> looop a 14 awg wire where the release cable goes tie bowline knot threat it down the driver's side of engine bay tie another knot at the end for identification and easy gripping <<<
Your post should be ARCHIVED because everyone's hood release cable is gonna break.
Last edited by midnight mechanic; Sep 19, 2022 at 12:25 PM.
Rx8 JDM non-illuminated 5 speed shift (k)*** arrived from the motherland today, thanks Ray!
PN: F151-46-030B
Thread: m10x1.25
It was a multi month lead time and we weren’t sure if it was going to become NLA in the meantime. I asked Ray if he could check in on quantity remaining.
Use case: NA Miata short shift kit with an additional Mazda bushing, drops right into the rx7 shift tower. I’m considering swapping over the entire upper tail shaft extension housing to get the improved neutral return spring setup. I already have a few of each torn apart, might as well try. Wouldn’t be surprised if the bolt patterns matched.
These are SO cool for us 5-speeders. I got a new one years ago from Europe when I learned the base RX8s had a 5-speed there. Something I was impressed by is the HEFT! these have some serious weight to them! Totally unique piece of Rotary-kit... nice!
Mine, with the PN if anyone can still chase one down...
>>> looop a 14 awg wire where the release cable goes tie bowline knot threat it down the driver's side of engine bay tie another knot at the end for identification and easy gripping <<<
Your post should be ARCHIVED because everyone's hood release cable is gonna break.
so, if it breaks, you would reach under the car to pull that cord?
For info, I got mine 9/22 at a cost of $157 direct from Mazda. $15 in extra for shipping from Japan. I got a bunch of other things (oil filters, etc under the same shipping cost)
I’ll weigh it tomorrow and update. Agreed it has a nice weight and feel. The inside of it reminds me of my 626 k-no-b. That one developed a rattle over a decade and a couple hundred thousand miles. Also really similar to an 11’ wrx one that I tore apart to fix a similar rattle.
added pics. Got a new badge too. Makes perfect sense to worry about the jewelry when the car doesn’t have a rear end, trans, paint or an engine.
Here’s an na Miata one for reference. Nice simple one, still has a nice weight and feel.
M523-17-520 - Urethane K-no-b, Change Lever $40.07
M515-17-520 is the part number in the parts fiche I pulled.
Ole fuel pump became noisier and noisier so I replaced it with a Delphi pump from RockAuto. It made a loud ticking knocking sound and the car stalled out on the highway. So I put the old pump back in. RockAuto let me return the pump for credit. Ordered a carter pump, and just put it in. So far, it is quiet. And that's 3 fuel pump removals and installations, THANKS DELPHI !! (are you a GM company, figures!)
It's looking like all sub $100 pumps are a crap shoot these days.
I had a Carter fail on me a few years ago, hummed like normal but just wasn't pumping.
It was a P60504 model, which looks like others sold by Delphi and Airtex and probably comes from the same plant.
the pump that replaced the OEM pump in 1998 was carter 3k20a50
I wouldn't have minded paying +$100 for a pump that works. It takes me 6 trips up/down 1 1/2 flights of stairs just to get the lumber raise the car safely. Every year 50 backyard mechanics get crushed while working under their cars. That's one every weekend.
Fyi, The fuel pump and isolators for the 12a s1/s2/sa/fb are still available from Mazda. Just got one last year. The mounting situation is a little different than an s3/fb but able to be adapted.
I have a Mallory that stopped providing good flow, took apart the impeller head to see why, the whole thing was full of gas tank junk. Clearing that out, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work again.
i run a mr gasket 12s pump on a streetport 13b with holley 600. says it's rated at 4-7 psi. no issues at all for many yrs. also ran the 42s on a stock 12a rated at 2-3.5 psi, also no issues.
Down cone. In RallyCross you point out down cones on course by honking your horn before you pass it. You don't stop on course like autocross unless you want a DNF, and all runs count so a DNF is very painful time wise. Plus it is unsafe to try to stop quickly on course, especially if there are multiple cars on course.
Verified the OPM is working - disconnected lines from carb and observed a drop of oil every 20 seconds or so.
Bought a quart of Castor 927 oil for premix but will switch to Idemitsu when that shows up
Removed non-working stereo. Took it apart, it's not the main fuse. Dropped it off at a local repair shop for their analysis.
Removed shifter, all bushings looked ok but turret was dry, added 90W oil. Car shifts better now!
Repaired broken latch on sunroof. The plastic was disintegrating.
