well, i finally got together enough money to buy the full rb exhaust for my 79. I'm so excited, i don't think i'll be able to sit through school the day that it's supposed to come! Anyway, I was just wondering if there were any good tips for a clean install before I got it.

Thanks!

 

can of PB Blaster

 

^ what he said + gloves (to protect your knuckles)

also, torque the bolts really tight and use hi-temp silicone with the gaskets.

enjoy.

 

yeah i orderd mine friday, whats the expected date for it to show up?

 

On my streetport exhaust, where the header connects to the dual presilencer pipes, there were 6 bolts that I had to go back under to re-tighten after I checked for leaks. I dunno what system you bought, but if it has the 6-bolt setup there, I'd be sure to crank 'em tight the first time. The top middle bolt sucked to get at.

 

you will be very happy with this setup, well worth the bleeding knuckles you will get

 

I have the racing beat setup, I really enjoy it, its quite so your car stays low key but at the same time you gain some good power. The other recommendations are great a good set of gloves are very helpful. The best advice I can give is to start with mounting the header, then from there mount the presilencer on to it. Its more then a pain to mount them together and then line it all up to the studs on the side of the engine.

To be honest even though I love working on my car and you probally do too exhaust is probally the hardest work on a rotary or any vehicle, thats where all the heat is and considering some of the bolts down there havent been touched in 20 years you will have a hell of a time getting some of them off. I almost recommend getting it installed at a muffler shop because they usually can do it fast with the proper impact tools and make sure to get all the mounts right. The hardest thing I found with installing my system was getting all the old rusted mounts hooked back up, well to be honest I didn't I need to take it into my local shop to get done, good luck you will love this system...

 

don't mean to hijack this thread but has anyone tried the SDJ header?

 

14mm swivel-head socket for the rear reactor top nut will save your sanity
And soak all the hardware in PB Blaster for a couple of days prior to the install...
Also a great time to renew all the exhaust suspension components, front to back, as the originals will be pretty tired, especially in a 79!! go to mazdaformance.com/rx7 and download the factory parts manual files, that way you can see what all the suspension bits look like AND have the proper part numbers to order from the maxda parts guy who has probably never even SEEN a 79 RX7!!
enjoy!!
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska, w RB exhaust, etc.

 

Stu's right on. Without a nice, thin-walled swivel socket, the top rear nut holding the thermal reactor on is impossible to remove. I spent probably a good two hours fighting with that thing before I gave up and took it to a shop.

As far as the exhaust goes, congrats. The power increase is quite substantial and the construction is top notch. I don't believe I've heard of anyone losing a RB setup to rust, they're just too freaking thick.

 

Expect to Wring off a lot of Nuts.

 

Besides the Power & Sound, You will also get better Gas Milage ..

 

^ ditto. recently i got 27.8 mpg with mostly highway travel.

 

I'm getting there powerpulse muffler, it better be good, or I will be pissed. As it is not cheap. Also folks pointed out having gloves on, but should also have safety glasses on, nothing worse then a bunch of rust and crap fall in your eyes and having to go the doctor to have iron pulled out of the good 'ol shiners and having perminent rust rings in your eyes!

 

If you don't already have the swivel head socket, you will almost deffinately need one. I got a Craftsman one at Sears. I'd say I spent at least an hour trying to get the reactor off before finally breaking down and buying the new socket. Then the whole thing came off in like 3 minutes. Don't kid yourself thinking you can use a swivel head adapter, you need the swivel socket.

 

those rust rings eventually go away

 

i placed the order may 11, got a email saying they shipped it on may 19, and it's supposed to come may 26. So 2 weeks and a day to get it. Still haven't got the shipping cost? Does anyone know what it'll be?

thanks for the input!

 

If you ordered direct from RB, I'd give it some extra leeway. They're swamped and even at the best of times don't always make their shipping dates. Rest assured that the product will be worth it.

 

Everybody keeps saying to torque those things up tight, but I'd take it easy during the installation. The studs on the presilencer have been know to twist off if you really monkey-wrench on them and then you're going to be really pissed while you wait another 2+ weeks to get a new presilencer (not to mention that they won't cover you overtorqueing the nuts...).

Just get them tight enough to preserve gas seal and remember that you want to get all the hangers and stuff in place before you tighten them up for good. If you give the suspension of the exhaust a little 'lift' on tightening, it will help to keep it tucked up under the body and keep it from scraping over speedbumps.

I think you'll like the RB system - I'm really happy with the sound and performance of mine.

 

If it's the SP system, and you have a 79, the only place it mounts to is the motor itself, and the back, where the bumper is...the center section floats free.


you're also gonna need to take off almost all of the heat shields underneath.... they don't clear with the twin presilencers.

 

Definitely soak the manifold bolts in some P.B. Catalyst every day for a couple of days prior to the install. Also, perhaps more importantly, clean off all of the exposed threads with a wire brush before you try to remove them. Otherwise you might be spending some quality time with an easy out (has anybody ever actually gotten one of those to work?).

I did mine at my buddy's place so I had the use of a full car lift and air tools. The install took about four hours, mostly due to stubborn bolts and such.

Install everything loosely, don't tighten anything up until the entire system is installed. Then make sure everything is straight and go back and tighten everything up. Make sure you lift everything as you tighten things up as LongDuck suggested. It really makes a difference.

Also, be sure to use a good sealant on your blockoff plates. Good luck with it, I'm sure you will be happy with it. Also, as the system gets broken in, the sound will improve and get a bit louder (sounds much better after a few hundred miles)....

 

Hmm. This is untrue for the '80. Both have the same thermal reactor exhaust, AFAIK.

I counted 2 rubber hangers on the rear of the muffler, one near the front of the muffler, one in front of the rear axle, and the fixed strap included by RB that goes on the front end of the presilencer section.

Edit: VB lists 5 exhaust hangers for '79-'80, so I've evidently forgotten one. It's possible the SP system didn't have provisions for a 5th hanger. You can use at least 4. You might want to peek under there, and see how many are broken so you can preorder them from VB.

 

whats this swivel head socket everyone keeps talking about, and where can I get one?

 

although i did mine myself, at home. i couldn't agree with this more. i hate doing exhaust work! however, this time it took me less than 30 minutes to get the whole system off the car. it's finally bending to my will. FINALLY!!!!! (insert crazed, sinister laugh here)

 

still does ...