84RX7'nSTi

That was the other option, although I have not called them yet. How loud is it, are you still able to drive the car comfortably on the street? Right now, everything is stock, from the reactor/manifold to the muffler. I would perfer to spend $150 on the bonez, instead of $364 for the header and presilencer. Would there be much performance difference?

Thanks again,

Mike

darkfrost

iTrader: (1)

That leak is from the rotten O-rings on the beehive oil cooler. Check the archive, there are a couple threads on it if you want to fix the leak. Your best option is to however replace that oil cooler with either a 79-82 oil cooler, a GSL-SE cooler, or one from an FC. There are threads about all three, just do a search on them.

But, since that oil cooler is leaking, you want to check that hose someone mentioned earlier. If its spongy, replace it. It will give at the most inconvenient time, and cause you more hassles later and potentially overheat you're engine.

84RX7'nSTi

Thank you, I will do a search. I was just about to post another thread about my options on the oil cooler. I checked the hose, it is good, I did not look for the O-rings.

Mike

darkfrost

iTrader: (1)

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-archive-71/cooling-oil-o-ring-replace-85-12a-beehive-cooler-%96-how-many-bolts-424593/

Thats to repair the beehive

stilettoman

iTrader: (1)

Unless you plan to race the car, or drive it under conditions of extreme hot weather, I would stay with the stock oil/water heat exchanger. If you carefully remove the oil cooler, and replace the O-rings, that is much less likely to give you trouble than the hoses and banjo fittings associated with the air/oil heat exchangers. There is no way to back up the torque on the banjo fittings, and if you crack one of the fittings in that oil cooler, you are screwed, seen it happen more than once. Also, the hoses are very pricey.

When you remove your existing oil cooler, the bolts are very awkward to access from underneath, and be careful - bend one of those flanges and it may not seal when you reassemble it. If you really want to be thorough, there are actually two pairs of O-rings, one pair where the adapter bolts to the engine, and one pair for the oil cooler. While you are doing it, best replace both sets (4 total O-rings). And, as someone suggested, that little coolant hose elbow should be replaced, as they tend to rot out. You should also examine you heater hoses and make sure they still feel firm. If they are "mushy", they are getting weak.

If you ever do go to an air/oil heat exchanger, the one from a REPU is higher capacity than any of the others. They are heavy and may be hard to find, but bulletproof.

84RX7'nSTi

^^^^

I honestly don't like the factory water/oil cooler design. However, I am slightly discouraged that there is no aftermarket "bolt on" air/oil cooler on the market. I don't like having to 1). buy used parts(new factory stuff is really expensive) and 2). having to search all over the place to try to piece something together. I have done my searches, asked a couple more questions and it looks to be like a real PITA to install the air/oil cooler, but I would still like too? I just don't know if I'm up for it?

I have checked the hoses, they seem to be in good shape. The oil that is leaking is only a drop, most likely, nothing to really be concerned with? It does not even appear to be coming from the water/oil cooler, looks more like a leaky drain plug?

Mike

ray green

iTrader: (14)

Hi Mike, on the bonez set up, it's a real sweet note, more rumbly than with the cats, but the combination of presilencer and stock muffler keeps the decibals in the range your neighborhood will like. Using the stock exhaust manifold avoids that tinny sound you get with headers and it may help emissions somewhat. What I like about it, besides the sound and nice power and mileage boost, is that it's so easy to put in and costs much less, plus you keep the car as stock as possible.