Here's an audio bite of the sound my RX7 is making. Under light throttle it's not present but with spirited driving or full throttle up into 4th gear. Haven't driven it over 65MPH so not sure if it will do it at high RPM in 5th under load. In the audio clip you can hear it even just faintly at the top of 3rd. I could have made it squeal a lot more, this was about 3/4 throttle and stopped at about 4,900 RPM.

Squeal!

Thoughts? Release bearing? Slipping clutch. Doesn't feel like it's slipping. Sounds like it comes from the front of the car the most.

5-speed/12A/carb'd/'85 stock GS (A/C removed)

 

sounds like alt belt.

 

Yep I would agree with this.

Super easy one to check - tighten your belt a fraction and see if it happens less/stops entirely. Only tighten a little though, you don't want to over tighten that belt and put pressure on the bearings. Unfortunately it's a bit of a crap shoot on the first gens with the old pry bar method....

Recommend getting one of these if you haven't already:

Banzai Racing Alternator Bracket Kit (79-91 RX-7)

Tom

 

Haven't forgotten, just haven't had time. Getting new belts soon.

 

Had a squeal when I bought the car, only at startup, until the car was warm, linear with RPM increases. Called local Mazda for some parts, said they don't make the belts anymore, went on Amazon and they were here 2 days later. Fixed the issue, no further noises.

 

Thanks! Looking forward to good results. Got a belt for the air pump this evening, the alternator belt was out of stock. Those are my only two. Looked closer at the air pump belt, almost completely failed in spots, yikes!

 

That's funny, is it a 5x1355 for your car? Guessing you have a 13b in that case.

 

Yep. 13b, A/C compressor shot, so disconnected. No power steering. Well that's not true, my mountain biking arms got all the power, LOL.

 

Sorry, I meant to say no, it's a 12a.

 

The air pump belt is shot and slipping. I don't see where to losen/tighten anything to get the belt off. Im also assuming the fan has to come off first?

My first time working on an RX-7.

 

12mm pivot bolt on topside of air pump. 12mm adjustment bolt 180 degrees from top bolt. feel with your hand down on front bottom of air pump for bolt. Use mirror if can't see bolt.

Loosen pivot bolt about a turn,loosen adjustment bolt til you can slide air pump over in its bracket,slip belt off. Belts can be removed and replaced without removing fan.

One belt at a time remove from pulleys and feed over/into/around fan blades while turning fan by hand to free belt. Reverse process to install.

Correct belt tension is about a thumbwidth or 13mm or 1/2" deflection on longest run of belt,both alternator and air pump. No need for belts to be tighter than that. After couple hundred miles of run in,belts will stretch some and need to be retensioned to same spec at which point they'll hold their adjustment.

Good idea to spin alternator,water pump and air pump pulleys while belts are off and feel for any roughness/notchiness in them.

Bolts for air pump and alternator will be very tight if not been loosened in some time. Particularly on air pump bolts,use 6 point socket,extension,ratchet when breaking loose 1st time.

 

If you are having problems finding RX-7 parts Amazon is a good place to check, especially with all the third-party vendors that utilize the site. Last summer I picked-up a Wells Throttle Position Sensor for my GSL-SE that typically runs about around $286.00 for $27.54 from some wholesaler that was probably just trying to clear out old stock.

 

OMG, I'm so silly. I didn't see the adjustment bolt at the bottom of the air pump. Until I got my 1000 lumen light, LOL.

The Autozones around me have RX7 guys, turns out they kept a few belts in stock

Too bad my fan is like Bakelite plastic doody! I touch and it breaks apart. Guess I should get a new fan clutch before the fan disintegrates. Clutch is probably all viscous-ed out.

 

OMG, I'm so silly. I didn't see the adjustment bolt at the bottom of the air pump. Until I got my 1000 lumen light, LOL.

The Autozones around me have RX7 guys, turns out they kept a few belts in stock

Too bad my fan is like Bakelite plastic doody! I touch and it breaks apart. Guess I should get a new fan and fan clutch before the fan disintegrates. Clutch is probably all viscous-ed out.

 

Not that common for them to become brittle,definitely replace the fan,like before you continue to drive it. Fan clutch may be ok,they're not cheap...replace fan and test it to be sure clutch engages/disengages properly.

 

Thanks for the tips!

 

No more squeal. Replaced the fan and fan clutch. Also replaced air pump belt. Could be either, LOL.