Alright, im a little hysterical cuz i cant believe i own a great machine. it was on non op for 3 years but started up and maintained. came with loads of goodies. rebuilt tranny cuz 2nd gear grinds, hks turbo, new tail lights, black seats + interior trim to swap out. clutch, installed S-AFC etc.. anyway.

it needs a little tlc to get it up to code, clutch slave leaks, driver door handle out side wont open, auto window switch needs repair on passenger bushings would be a good idea to replace and lastly the passenger front axle boot control arm i believe, it makes a slight pop sound going over bumps.


any who. besides the general, 60k maintenance and reading aaroncake's, fluids and belts and what not change in the be "before and after you buy" FAQ are there any tidbits i should address or be aware of? example, i searched a bit and found that i should get an aftermarket boost gauge cuz the stock one is sooo inaccurate. does it have to be digital? or analog ok? i would rather give the money to a fellow rotary owner so i have been shopping the forum for one and found Autometer 30 PSI boost gauge, 52mm, carbon fiber style or is that 30psi over kill?

its running stock turbo just intake and 3in downpipe to 2.75 in pipes with gutted cat and the old school rb mufflers. prev owner said he puts in only 91 octane despite 87 being ok on a stock setup, again aaroncake FAQ stated 89 is good for stock to light modded. i dont plan on doing anything crazy with car. only major upgrade would probably FMIC to keep the temps as low as possible, cuz lets face it. overheat is the death. so i would assume 89 octane is safe otherwise im ok with 91.

any insight would be much appreciated. oh it even has.........A/C!!!! sorta.. just need to get the belt on and refill the damn thing.

 

Congrats man looks awesome! I run 91 in mine, it's lightly modded as well. If I were you I would definitely get a fuel cut defender if it doesn't have one. With that more open exhaust you can get boost creep and it will cut fuel to the real rotor and then it's rebuild time. I don't know if the S4's get it as bad, but do some research on it for sure.

 

That's going on my list too! Shes s5 but im gonna make sure shes more taken care of than a mistress!

 

Been seeing that one on craigslist for a WHILE!

Someone finally grabbed it!

Good luck man! You might wanna grab an RTEK if you plan on going with a fuel cut defencer. They're less noticeable, super easy to install, and are roughly the same price as a good fuel cut defencer, but with a couple added functions like bigger injector support, as well as AWS delete(which I would absolutely love)

 

FMIC might make your car run hotter Stick to the TMIC until you can upgrade the radiator at the same time.

Still taking care of my old car?

 

Yea just spend the cash and get a koyo and keep up with oil changes and plugs and wires with a t2 you can get all leading plugs I think they run a few degrees cooler....

 

thanks for the input... i dont have major HP gain plans for it. i would rather have to running at max effeciency, other than fmic, new alum rad, and SS oil cooler lines just incase.


yup radiator is on the xmas list. i was just worried about the dreaded heat soak with the tmic. but if upgrading the rad is before that then ill go with that. ive been monitoring the water temp gauge and its been just under half way mark which i hear is good. considering the heat i think its holding up pretty well.

i know i should get a more accurate water gauge and boost gauge just been shoping for a decent one. i would rather give the money to a fellow 7 owner than say autozone or somthing. but we shall see.

sadly, i parted the old 7.. :-/ i did transfer over some parts, tiens adjust coilovers, camber kit, strut bars and back seats. i think im gonna keep the old keg and just rebuild it and drop into another fc as a beater/track car. who knows.. but right now shes helping me fund the new one..


noted. thanks

 

a 30psi boost gauges is a little overkill. 15psi will give you better resolution and you probably will never need more than that unless you upgrade to a standalone and bigger turbo. over 20psi is alternate fuel territory as far as boost and rotaries go, straight pump gas won't cut it. with a stock car you shouldn't even be going over 8psi(7.5 for series 4 and 8.6 for series 5), half what the recommended gauge will read but will give room for most modifications later on.

 

Karak! thanks man. i thought 30 psi would be to much. i wasnt sure what increments they came in. my last turbo charged car was my evo ix mr. and it came with one already....sooo its been a while. lol

last question about the gauge before i make my purchase. any benefits of digital over analog? and if analog should i get one that displays vac? cuz im seeing alot on the web that dont show vac.

 

What happened to the shell?

 

there's not really much benefit to either. i have more issues with digital gauges than i do with mechanical ones. the only issue with some boost gauges is they have no line filter and will sometimes read very bouncy intake signals which causes the gauge to flutter. this can be fixed by moving the source line to a port up by the throttle body or using an orifice in the vacuum line, if it isn't a buffered gauge.

my C2 autometer digital water temp gauge for example tends to start at the improper starting reading until i cycle the key while moving to reset it. it's super annoying.

 

good info, i have my choice on a boost gauge, but on to more pressing matters.

i would rather just post my mechanical issue here then start a new thread. so this is what im working with.

going over small bumps and turning the steering in either direction creates popping noise from the middle and the passenger side between the middle of the car and passenger front tire.. i would assume bushings need replacement. when hunting down the sound from the steering. my findings are here.


ignore my annoying voice in the vid

i think since the plastic boot cover is damaged, dirt and crap got in this thing (shown in picture) known as the "steering gear box"? that's where i feel popping coming from. mind you have no play in steering before the tires react and on flat surface or hwy/fwy runs no issues. alignment is off to the right a bit if steering wheel is centered thought.

so i guess my questions would be :

is the part i found more or less the right one to replace?

anyone done this before?

scale of difficulty maybe? lol

thanks.

 

Rack isn't too hard to service, do you have the FSM?

 

Ib do. It mention draining ps fluid l, removing tires and all that jazz

 

looks good

 

Thanks man

 

very nice man!!! any current pics to share???