Rats nest removal on an 84 rx7
 

Can someone please help me this is my first rotary build and I just want to remove all the junk under the hood. Can someone send me a link tho a rats nest removal?

Tell us more about the car and why the rats nest is junk?

Post #1 for OP; be gentle...

It's a great suggestion to add your car's model, engine, mods, mileage and other pertinent information to your signature line to help others address things quickly and with as little back-and-forth as possible.

The reason why it's important to know the year and model is because some cars get ZERO benefit from removing the factory vacuum controls, while other models will get the benefits of simplification, and still other models will barely idle after removal.

Welcome aboard!

Search this site and google it. I did my 85 and don’t have any negative problems with the removal of it.

I just want it to be much easier to work on. And I want it for a show car for next years car show. It’s a good car I just need to do a bit of work on it.

Does your state / county require emissions testing? That's a consideration, unless you want to go for historic vehicle plates.

Would help to know what model your RX7 is, also. SE 13b's don't do well with vacuum system modifications...

Is your car a 12a with stock Mikuni carb?

Would this qualify as show condition? Not trying to be harsh. You wouldn't believe how many newer RX-7 owners try removing the rats nest only to have major issues. If your near the KC area I'm willing to help with anything. Heck, I'll even powder coat stuff if you want.

This is my 1985 with rats nest.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...da69006085.jpg

Removing the rats nest is so 1995. If you want to make it easy to work on, keep it factory original, that way you can always read the workshop manual to diagnose issues rather than guessing what's wrong or asking a bunch of questions expecting internet experts to know what you did to your car. Rebuild the carb, replace the vacuum hoses, run through the emissions test procedures. There is no shortcut to a good running motor. If it doesn't run right now, ditching the emissions equipment isn't going to magically fix everything.

I thought they were all Nikki's?

^^^^^ That's very well said. I tried an emissions delete once and the results were less than favorable. The engine became more difficult to start when cold and the fuel mileage went from 17mpg to about 14mpg. Once I put everything back to its original condition the engine ran much better and mileage went back up. There is no power gained from removing the emissions equipment. It only makes removing the one retaining button the carb easier to get to. Other than that, the engine isn't any easier to work on with the rats nest removed. I keep all of my cars as original as possible and they all run and drive well and I'm proud to open the hood at any car show.

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OdenRaven,
First, the tutorial you are looking for is here-
http://www.imagine.net.au/rx7/ratsnest.pdf

That being said, listen to the previous posters. I completely understand wanting the engine bay as clean and simple as possible, especially on a classic carbed sportscar. It looks stripped-down and simple, and there's less to go wrong.

BUT, these cars ran great when new, and that rats nest is like a modern car's computer in terms of managing the intake and ignition. As someone else said, depending on your year and model, it will make either zero difference in performance or else hurt your performance. And when clean the rats nest is an attention getting conversation piece, what with it's rainbow colors and cute little vacuum lines.

I would suggest leaving it in place as long as you have the stock carb. It's easy to replace all the little vacuum lines, and fix or rule out problems there. If there are still any driveability issues you can move on to carb, fuel system, etc..

There is a wealth of knowledge on this site. Post year and model (trim) and the guys can help you figure out almost anything. Welcome to the community.

When I first got my first '85 GSL I lived next to an Aussie exchange student. I was looking under the hood, checking out my new ride, and he came over offering advice. Said he raced an 87 for years and could teach me all about the car.

I asked him what the rats nest was, and he says "What's this your first fuel injected car? Those are the injectors. You Americans dont know much about cars, do ya?"

I knew the car had a carb because, well, I have eyes. And I changed the filters and fluids as soon as I bought it. "That's not a carby, it's a throttle body. I think this car's too much for ya man, you should get a Honda."

I didnt know what that silly looking line of rainbow colored blocks was, but that car ran awesome with it. My second favorite vehicle I've owned, over motorcycles, a WRX, Audis, and some well built American muscle.

If the motor is stockish I say clean it and keep it. Its neato.

No we don’t have any emissions regulations like that. And it’s an 84. It has the 12a and yes the carb is stock.

Actually I am going to get a side ported carb and a header. So what do you suggest with that?

What does everyone mean by the rainbow blocks?

The rats nest vacuum manifold has several vacuum solenoids, each with a different color electrical connector.

Zoomed-in on KCRepu's picture -
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...62ae8e90e9.jpg

Like this Weber 45 DCOE setup?
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...e144aff75f.jpg
Well then you won't have any emissions components for the rats nest to control. I think the only things the nest will be operating at that point is vacuum timing on the distributor and the purge valve for PC purposes. Both are usually easy to re-route when deleting the nest, although I'm not familiar with the Weber vac ports.

That is actually the exact carb and header I was going to buy.

Just to be clear, pictured above is a carb and intake manifold. A "Header" is a tubular exhaust manifold.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...328040bff7.jpg

Yeah my bad I did t look to closely but yeah I’m getting the side intake carb and a header

See those 2 rusty water ports with rubber O-rings staring at you in the picture above? Those are used with the stock manifold to route hot coolant through the intake to help with fuel / air atomization. Unfortunately, they're also a common source of leaks when the O-rings give out, which requires removal of the Upper & Lower Intake Manifolds to get to them to replace the O-rings.

While you have it apart, you could find Freeze Plugs of that dimension to seal those ports which will have the combined effect of preventing you from having to mess with the O-rings in the future, and also removing some heat from the intake manifold you plan to use with your Weber or Dellorto side-draft. Depending on which intake manifold you end up using, they may or may not block off those ports by design. If you install freeze plugs instead, you'll never have to think about them again.

If I didn't have RE-EGI on my SE, I'd definitely be running a 51IDA as a side-draft on one of those beautiful Racing Beat "C" manifolds, as they make good power and sound and look great doing it,

those O-rings look really good. but i agree, freeze plugs would be a good idea. i think they're something like 20mm. that's what i'll be doing if and when i ever remove the intake on mine.

I have a 1983 GSL, and the rats nest delete had already been started by the previous owner. Would I be better trying to replace things, or just go ahead and finish it off. The car has 144,XXX miles on it

Ya mean all this stuff?
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b0803034e7.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...504db5bdd3.jpg