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Ok so I just bought a 1983 rx7 gsl all stock from a guy who has been working on it. He was 6'6" so he sold it to me for 1500. Any way, he had the engine rebuilt, got a new clutch, starter, tranny and front coilovers. The driver side window doesnt want to roll down past 2" without help, the rear windshield wiper doesnt work at all, the choke doesn't stay pulled out, and it is running really rich. I can smell the gas when im sitting at a stop light. Because of the rich mixture, (i assume) it stalls when i try and go from a stop and doesnt like to idle... it mostly dies when it gets below 3,000 rpm. But other than that it works awesome! I love it, it is my kinda car! I cant find any vacuum leaks in any hoses but when i put propane in front of the intake it speeds up in rpm and when i take it away it dies immediately. It is leaking oil right under the carb from somewhere and I found a screw sitting on the engine under the idle screw. HELP!!! I'm afraid that if i try and take apart the carb i wont be able to put it back together properly
It has 177k miles
If you lived near me of any of the OGTA folk we could fix all of those issues on a Friday night.
Step 1: Rebuild the carb. Plenty of info here on the forums and pictures to help you out
Step 2: Electrical issues with the rear wiper are common, since they hardly ever get used. I've only ever had 1 that worked, and I replaced it with a non wiper hatch anyways. You don't really need it, so dont put you focus on this.
Step 3: Most times cleaning and lubricating the track and gear on the window motor fixes the issues with them being slow or stuck.
Where are the pictures of your car?? We have to be motivated to help you! Most of us can be bought off with pictures.
Most of the time the problem wit the rear wiper is not working is the electrical connections on the strut not making contact.
The choke uses an electromagnet. It is located under the dash behind the ****. Either it isn't getting power or it is broken. I believe I have a good one, PM me if you are interested.
Pictures, right! I was too tired and couldnt get good enough lighting. Ill try to use wd40 silicone spray and thanks for the fast replies guys! On the other side of the carb on the choke rod, I think theres supposed to be something there but i dont know what, has a slight oil leak under the carb and the carb doesnt work properly... so ya rebuilding time! And I guess its a 1982 but the vin says its an '83, idk.
I found a screw laying on the enigine beneath the idle screw here... I then lost the screw
This was sitting under the carb on the catch tray thing on the right side... dont know what it is but it looks like it was sheared off.
I think something is supposed to connect those two things...
Small oil leak like this all around
Connector going to the windshield fluid, I think its for the rear spray jet but there are no male connectors on the fluid container
It looks like the missing screw is from the AP on the carb. I bet that the fluid you are seeing is
gas, not oil or oil and gassed mixed if the OMP lines are leaking at the carb.
The black plastic piece is broken from one of the rats nest vacuum relays I think. Maybe the 3rd
one from the front. Can't tell in the pic.
Looks like someone failed while modding your carb. But not to worry! There are volumes written on the subject of Nikki carb mods and upgrades.
wankel=awesome, t_g_farrell and I have modded our own carbs and written about it. I've probably modded the most, and written the most. Well, when it comes to Nikkis anyway.
Looks like a nice project car you got! It's not going to happen over night, but tackle one thing at a time and it will get done and you will learn all about your FB.
The carb seems to be the most immediate issue, it's a mess.
It looks like it might be leaking gas around the viewing window, but that would be unusual, unless someone did a rebuild and didn't set the window seal correctly. Or gas leaking around the accelerator pump (AP), which as Tim pointed out, is missing a mounting screw (you can see where it goes in the pic below), almost a certain leak and evidence that someone who had no business messing with carbs messed with it.
But it could also be oil from the omp lines, like Tim said. Or it could be coolant, that's another common cause of fluid leads around the base of the carb. The intake manifold communicates with the cooling system through two ports that are sealed by O rings to the block and they are a common cause of leaking. Look for small puddles of liquid down under the carb on the driver's side (you'll need a flashlight and a good eye), if it's pooling there it's most likely the coolant O rings to the intake manifold leaking. Look closely in the area down on top of the engine in the area shown in this pic:
Try to determine if the fluid is gas (smell), oil (slimy) or coolant (mixes with water), that will tell you a lot.
But given the overall mess the carb is in, I would consider sourcing another nikki, they are relatively easy to find and not too expensive, $100 should get you one on the forum that is certified as working well. Swap a good one in and see if it helps. Just removing the carb and taking a closer look at what's underneath could answer some of your questions. Alternatively, if you want to jump right in, buy a rebuild kit and learn how to rebuild a Nikki.
Also go through the rats nest and replace any broken or missing parts, like that little black port filter in your photo that belongs on one of the vacuum solenoids that lie on top of the rats nest. Take a look, I can see most of the filters are still in place in the photo above (there is one that's easy to see down in the lower right hand corner). One of them must be missing, which is the one you found.
And be sure to find and fix any vacuum leaks! This is your homework assignment, search "how to find a vacuum leak".
Post lots of pics, ask lots of questions, you'll be an expert in no time.
for the choke, check some fuses, mine didn't work after going through the fuse box I accidently didnt put a fuse back properly and the choke would not stay out, i put the fuse in properly and it worked fine. also pull the choke out before you turn the key.
for stripping and rebuilding the carb give it a go yourself, theres a step by step in the FSM heres a link where you can find them... Foxed.ca - Mazda RX-7 Manuals
Wow. I am kinda in shock that all you guys responded so fast!
I am pretty stoked to fix up the car. I love it already! And thanks for the knowledge drop! Ill do a quick cleanup in the engine bay and see if i can find any new puddles under the carb.
Ill use the propane trick again to try and find the vacuum leak, and the windshield fluid looks a little off, but it is de-icer mix stuff im pretty sure but ill empty and refill it anyway just to be sure.
I might end up trying to find a new carb even if rebuilding it sounds like fun, im not sure yet. But ill post more pictures as i go for sure. Plus i have a lot of little things to do.
Thanks everyone for the knowledge drop!
Leave the OEM needles and seats alone. Also do not adjust the floats at all.
If you get a rebuild kit, be warned that all aftermarket seats are machined improperly for these carbs and do not work at all. They flood every time. You think I'm exaggerating? lol
Also the baseplate gaskets are not usable. The one that fits between the carb's main body and cast iron baseplate is too thin and leaks every time. It can lead to vacuum leaks and fuel leaks. I use this thin gasket as a template on the thick blue gasket paper commonly available at auto parts stores.
The other baseplate gaskets that look like they fit under the carb CAN NOT be used at all. The original gaskets on the phenolic spacer are permanently bonded and should not ever be removed.
You'll find there is other useless stuff in the rebuild kits. Good luck.
A very common and often major vacuum leak on 1st gens showing the wear and tear your engine bay does is a leaking air hose that runs from the intake manifold to a tube on the catalytic converter.
It's a L shaped hose, about 10 inches long overall and 3/4" in diameter, with the short part of the L attached to the rear lower part of the intake manifold and the long part of the L reaching down to the cat. It often cracks where it connects to the intake manifold, creating a massive vacuum leak.
It sits on top of the exhaust manifold and pipe and gets a lot of heat, plus it's hard to see so it's frequently overlooked. Also, at $35 or so, it's ridiculously expensive, so it's often skipped during routine maintenance. I think it's called the split air hose.
You'll find it if you use a flashlight and take a good look down below the carb on the passenger side in the cavity between the intake manifold and fire wall, reaching down to the cat. This picture shows the general area, to the lower left of the air filter:
Looks like someone failed while modding your carb. But not to worry! There are volumes written on the subject of Nikki carb mods and upgrades.
wankel=awesome, t_g_farrell and I have modded our own carbs and written about it. I've probably modded the most, and written the most. Well, when it comes to Nikkis anyway.
is here a way to tell if your nikkis been modded without taking it off/apart ?
Take off the air cleaner and show us pics. We can probably determine if its been messed with
at some point.
no worries ill try get one up after work. its the first rotary iv had and not to sure if it goes good coz of the exhaust on it or the carbs been modded or both!
Leave the OEM needles and seats alone. Also do not adjust the floats at all.
If you get a rebuild kit, be warned that all aftermarket seats are machined improperly for these carbs and do not work at all. They flood every time. You think I'm exaggerating? lol
Also the baseplate gaskets are not usable. The one that fits between the carb's main body and cast iron baseplate is too thin and leaks every time. It can lead to vacuum leaks and fuel leaks. I use this thin gasket as a template on the thick blue gasket paper commonly available at auto parts stores.
The other baseplate gaskets that look like they fit under the carb CAN NOT be used at all. The original gaskets on the phenolic spacer are permanently bonded and should not ever be removed.
You'll find there is other useless stuff in the rebuild kits. Good luck.
this happened to me 100% should i pull my carb and removed the gaskets? I have flooding, cooland leak and vac leak
what jeff said. Fix your coolant leaks, then do a basic strip of the carb. You dont need to get into any airflow mods at this point until youre confident in playing with the carb.
Take it apart slowly, and take pictures before and after of everything.
Your biggest challenge the first time rebuilding will be getting all of the linkage pieces in the right order again, so find a method that works for you to keep them organized.
Alright guys, it only took me a few months but I got it to run almost stock! The major problem was bad gaskets in the carb. I bought a rebuild kit and the gaskets were way to thin making a big vacuum leak. I cut out some new ones from cork Matt stuff and it basically fixed it. The shutter valve have a big leak because the previous owner did a bad job with hat and made it rev really high. He also messed up the rats nest connecting wrong hoses and some were even missing. I wasn't able to get pictures but that was basically it. My gas tank is super rusted and I've had to change the filter about 5 times now to keep the bowls clean because the filter was getting clogged and filled with rust. Anyway that's about it. Any questions?
02-03-16, 01:38 AM
Multiple issues
On the other side of the carb on the choke rod, I think theres supposed to be something there but i dont know what, has a slight oil leak under the carb and the carb doesnt work properly... so ya rebuilding time! And I guess its a 1982 but the vin says its an '83, idk.
Well, when it comes to Nikkis anyway.
