a friend of mine is worried that their 7 will not make a long trip. the trip is 500 miles one way, with 90 percent of the trip highway driving. i have talked this over with my friend and my frienbd is still concerned about the potential dangers to the 7 on the trip. the car is an 85 GS with 133K on the 12A. it has no cooling problems and only a tiny oil leak from the o rings on the beehive. other than that, the drivetrain is in a good mechanical state. the only other know problem is a worn left front wheel bearing that does not grind but has a small amount of play. everything else on the car is fine and in good operable condition. my friend is looking for some other opinions as to if the car would be ok to drive on this trip. what are some opinions out there? thank you for looking.

 

Do it what the hell from what u wrote doesnt seem like the car wont make it juss watch the temp during the trip to wherever he is going. Juss make sure he give the car a nice oil change when the trip is done i heard thats the best thing to all car change the oil after a long trip.

 

Do it what the hell from what u wrote doesnt seem like the car wont make it juss watch the temp during the trip to wherever he is going. Juss make sure he give the car a nice oil change when the trip is done i heard thats the best thing to all car change the oil after a long trip.

 

Hell, my cars got 180K, and Ive taken it on a few decent length trips, with no problems. Highway miles arent really that hard on a car, if they have overdrive.

 

my car has a leak the size of pandoras box but I still take trips.

 

I took Pam on a trip - that's how she ended up totalled.

 

Pam? you're kidding right? Pam?? Maybe something alittle more exotic would have been better.

 

hey now, don't be dissing Pam...good car, bless her heart.

 

My vote: Yes! Take it!

You should have your friend come over and pull the wheel with the loose bearing, pull the centercap off, and tighten that thing up just a bit more - this will prevent potentially dangerous effects from the bearing overheating.

Simple maintenance like this should be tackled as it presents itself. Leaving it just causes more problems. HTH,

 

My vote: Yes! Take it!

You should have your friend come over and pull the wheel with the loose bearing, pull the centercap off, and tighten that thing up just a bit more - this will prevent potentially dangerous effects from the bearing overheating.

Simple maintenance like this should be tackled as it presents itself. Leaving it just causes more problems. HTH,

 

yes take it!!!

 

take the trip!!!

 

Take It!!!

 

I took my 83 GSL in similar condition, with the addition of 150K on the tach, and a bum radiator on a 666.2 mile each way trip, and it did just fine. Well... except for the 6 pm Friday traffic on the 210 in Pasadena, and the next day waiting in line to park for D1, that almost killed it.

 

Id say fix the oil leak and take it, its a 3 dollar fix

 

I've taken my blowthrough 12a on pretty long trips(300miles each way) and some dicking around when I got there, ofcourse its well built by me and well tuned too. Downfall, poor mpg on the highway too-15-16mpg.

 

I've been across the US twice in mine. It's one of my best memories.

 

my car has about 120k on it. So far I've covered every states on the eastern sea border from RI down to FL.

 

Dude, you really need to read the history of this car!

Start at Manntis' website www.rotorhead.ca (if he still has it posted, which I hope he does).

then go to this thread:
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ght=RIP+Pamela

This car was one of the most beautiful stock cars I have ever seen, and I didn't even get a chance to see it in person.

I think the name suited her just fine, and anybody who was around when Manntis was still driving her will still know that name when it's mentioned here.

Rest In Peace Pam, and thanks for saving our Manntis from the rocks that day .

Jon

 

The car should be fine! Put your spare belts, a quart of oil, some rags, a Metric-All, a flashlight, a screwdriver, and some pliers in the storage bin and enjoy the trip!

My wife and I are going to be taking the -SE (133k on it) down to Georgia and back in June, and we're looking forward to the road trip. In fact, we planned the road trip for the express purpose of taking the RX-7. Not enough room in the gas-hog Ranger, the Saturn is just kinda boring, and our backs and butts would turn to jelly if we took the bike.

I would, however, replace that wheel bearing before he went. It's a cheap part, and it really doesn't take that long, nor is it very involved. I'd also make sure the cooling system flush-and-fill has been done in the last year or so, give her an oil change, change her differential fluid (if it hasn't been done recently), change her tranny fluid (same), check the plugs, check the resistance on the plug wires, put in a new air filter element, change the fuel filter (if it's more than a year or so old), check the timing, and inspect the distributor cap et. al. Three reasons for all that work: Makes your car last longer anyway; He'll get better gas miliage if anything is out of whack right now; None of the "simple stuff" will go wrong on the trip.

(But, then, I'm kind of **** about stuff like that and would perform simliar maintence before leaving for a trip in a brand-new car, so...)

 

500 miles each way is not that bad... I did it at least 4 times between August and December last year. I have an 84 SE with 164k miles on it. I've been thinking about driving it to CA and back this summer (~4000 miles for the whole thing). If your friend's car is well taken care of, he should have no problems.

 

My buddy drove his 81 from Ohio to NC several times. And it was a Cosmo 13b in it. But he did have to replace the clutch in an autozone parking lot in lower ohio one time.

If he trusts the car then drive it. If he has douts then don't.

Also a AAA card in your pocket can make you feel better about a trip.

 

thank you for all of the opinions. i talked to my friend last night and we agreed on this thread as being an exremely strong source of inspiration or the factor to stay put. i have tons of spare parts and engines and trans and just all kinds of stuff i can use if something should happen. i told her i would fix the oil leak once she got here as it isnt that bad and i have a bag of new o-rings for the oil cooler. i told her that i thought it would be fine and that if something should happen, i would come down to her with my car trailer and pick her and the 7 up and fix whatever broke. the opinions have been great, thank you all, i do appreciate it. she is decently mechanically inclined and owns tools, so i will have her check the bearing play again and maybe put an 1/8 of a turn on it and replace the cotter pin. i'll make sure she changes the oil and ensure the coolant is fresh and good as well as the other maitnence mentioned above. i had not mentioned it to her yet but thatnk you for all of the input thus far! -dave

 

MY HAS 175K (135K ON MOTOR), I DRIVE HER ONCE A WEEK AND WHEN I DO I DRIVE ABOUT 90MI. ROUND TRIP TO WORK AND BACK(YES, HELLAVA LONG DRIVE) AND ON THE INTERSTATE NO LESS. SHE CRUISES AT 80MPH LIKE IT WAS MEANT TO........... NO OVERHEATING, ETC.

 

thanks guys for the input. i am the "friend" mentioned above. i am going to tighten the wheel bearing and then hit the road! whoooooot!!
--lauren