Bigbird

Well, for those following my saga of rx-7 woes I have an update.

So this rx-7 started up just fine and idles just fine, yet there was something wrong with the tranny and it didnt drive.

Well, simple junk yard tranny swap did not suffice. The transmission had to be replaced, the clutch had to be replaced and the flywheel was resurfaced.

Great! I thought I could drive my baby RX-7 now. Wrong! 5 minutes after it started driving (very nicely I must say, this is my first rx7) a horrible HORRIBLE grinding noise appeared coming from the rear end, reverbarating through the drivetrain.

Well, turns out the rear is shot, it is grinding and the car cannot be driven.

So now, I am not sure wether I want to continue putting money into this car and waste time with it. It cost alot to get to this point, but now I am wondering wether I should sell it in the condition or give it to a charity.

How much and how hard is it to replace the rear? I inspected it and noticed that a fluid leaked out of it, so most likely its damaged in a bad way.

What to do, what to do...

ZenPirate

Have you taken the diff. apart yet? Might just have blown the pinion bearing, in which case it shouldn't be too difficult to repair. I haven't done an rx7 rear yet, but I have rebuilt more 3rd member rears than I can count. My secret to a quality job, read the repair manual.

cpt_gloval

iTrader: (1)

you could get a rearend off a GSL from a junkyard if you don't already have one.

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

yeah ... you could just get a whole rear from a GSL and as long as you don't break the brake line ... you should have them swapped in less than 3 hours!

Bigbird

How hard is this "swap job" compared to the transmission swap?

Is this something somewhat easy to do, or rather complicated and needs special tools.

Also, how much am I looking once again at spending here, and when I look for the part, what is the exact name of the part(s) I am looking for?

Thanks guys...

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

name of the part: the limited slip differential (easiest way to identify it externally is that it has disc brakes) - but it also has thicker axles inside.

the only things i can think of in terms of potential problems is if the person or place where you get it from is unsure about the year. i know that 84-85 driveshaft don't fit some rear end (different bolt pattern, if i remember correctly) ... but it's just a matter of getting that rear section and putting it on your driveshaft or just swap the entire driveshaft ... hopefully someone else will read this and be able to provide a better list of which years bolt up and which years don't ...

other than that "potential" issue ... the swap is a piece of cake. if you've changed a tranny before, you will have no problems doing this! in my opinion ... it's a lot less of a pain in the ***!

if you have drum brakes now, i'd be remiss if i didn't advise you to change the proportioning valve at some point in the future, because there is a difference in bias between drum and disc rears ... but you don't have to do it immediately!

in terms of price ... i have no clue what they go for these days ... sorry.

Kill No Cone

iTrader: (6)

I just picked up a complete GSL axle for $150 and I got an extra LSD thrid member alone for $69 at my pick-a-part yard.

This swap is a breeze....