im having problem after problem with my rx7. just now a heater hose started leakking coolant. im planning on doing a TII swap, so most of the engine stuff will get replaced.....but are there a lot of other things that can go wrong? are fb's electrical nightmares sometimes? are there things i should replace if i want this TII swap to be a pretty care free car?

 

Well you have to remember that you have a 23 year old car. Never really seen alot
of problems with wiring except the typical cracking of the exterior coating of wires.
As far as hoses go, they should be replace every 60-80k. If you want to make sure
they last longer use a silicone silicate/phospate free anti freeze. Keep the coolant changed every 3 years/50k whichever comes first, remember to always change the t-stat when changing coolant just as pm. Tips when doing your swap, have your radiator cleaned out and your oil cooler flushed. Put a new waterpump and
change all the external gaskets. Make sure the belts are in good shape. Pressure wash that engine bay before the engine goes in and clean all of the electrical
connectors afterwards and blow them out with compressed air, look for any wiring
in poor condition and repair by using butt connectors, not soldering. Remember its
a mattter of pm. Do regular inspections on you vehicle from front to back. That means take a look at your brakes at least every 15k, inspect the chassis parts
for wear, especially the idler arm bushings, look ofr torn boots on your ball joints and tierod ends. If you keep a eye on everything on a regular basis, you are going
to drop your chances of breaking down. Remember when you do swaps there are going to be little things that are going to be trial and error, so count on the vehicle
being down for awhile and be patient. Good luck, rxdoctor

 

Everyone knows a good soldered joint is much better than a butt connector, although more tricky to do. Throw a little shrink wrap over your joint and its like brand new plus it's water tight now. Why would you specify that?

 

Thats old school, went out over 10 years ago, soldering caused too much resistance in the wiring. so anything that draws amperage/current was found to be having problems with the old school method. rx7doctor

 

I've never had a problem with soldering. It's MUCH stronger and much more reliable than using just a butt connector. Less chance of it failing in the future due to a wire coming out of the crimped end. Less room for error, too.

 

* dome light lense cracks cause rear view mirror hangs down

- clutch slave cylinder leaks

* front mounted oil cooler leaks/cracks at fittings

- oil filter pedestal o-rings start leaking

- headlight retractor bushings wear out

- window regulators need rebuilding

- gas tank needs flush/cleaning due to internal rust

- a/c vents crack

Most of these are just due to age and wear, but the * items could be considered design defects. All things considered, the cars design and quality is pretty good in my book--and I've been daily driving my FB's for over 15 years.

 

^^^ your car looks beautiful ^^^

anyway you can get butt conectors that are made with heat shrink around them. They are more expensive but you get the benefits off a strong butt joint and the weather (element) proofing of heatshink.

IMO soldiering and heat shrink is better if you want to take your harness out anyway. Just with that you have to plan very well what you are going to do---less room for error.

 

my car has 170,000 miles on it.....is it smart to do the TII swap? i think my slave cylinder is leaking.....im not sure though. my oil cooler(s) are always giving me ****......i'll spend the rest of the winter trying to get it in top shape

 

rotor versus piston is right, you shrink wrap your connections afterwards and use the weathertite connections. The point is that 10 years ago approximately the practice of soldering connections that involved harrnesses which went to contol items such as injectors or temp senders for the ecu or anything the computer was
looking for a resistance value was found to have excessive resistance that would cause problems with the ecu. I worked for an elite german repair facility the was a bosch authorized service center.All the techs were completely certified from bosch
thru 5 rigourous traning sessions from electrical diagnosis to fi diagnosis and everything in between. If you contact any reliable dealership or repair facility you will find that the experienced techs do not solder connections. This training has also been upgraded by the dealerships. rx7doctor PS. when it comes to soldering i would agree that stereo amp systems would be an exception to the rule.