Shairun

Hey guys, this is my first thread here and i really need your help. My name is Leander, 24 years old and from germany. 3 months ago i sold my subaru wrx sti 2008 to get a mazda rx-7 FC NA 1987 wirh only 30k miles Now to my problem. The car is in really good condition, except for the brakes and exhaust. Because one caliper is damaged and can't be repaired, i have to get a new one. Unfortunately, it's really hatd to get spare parts for this car in germany, do you guys now which calipers from other cars would easily fit on this car?

WondrousBread

Welcome to the forum Is this a front or rear caliper?

Assuming you have the larger brake option (not sure if the options on the car in Europe work out the same as they did here) then the front calipers interchange with 93-95 3rd Gen Rx7 calipers. You can tell by checking if your calipers are aluminum.

The rears for the larger brake option are in short supply here in North America too. The easiest option for me lately has been to collect as many as possible and save the good parts to rebuild into one good set. This doesn't help you unfortunately, but I am also interested in hearing if there's an interchangeable part.

Shairun

It's the front/right caliper. I dont know if its aluminium but it has 4 pistons. Unfortunately the rx-7 III is as rare as any other old JDM car 😂

Or do you have experience how difficult it would be to use a caliper from another car? i heard, some people build their own brackets to use mazda rx-8 calipers.

WondrousBread

I've never tried the Rx8 caliper unfortunately.

Is your current caliper rebuildable? I rebuilt mine and it's very simple. Also inexpensive unless you need new pistons.

Shairun

I'm not sure, but a friend who is a mechanic said, that theres not enough material to cut a new thread in it. On the other hand, i think HE was the one who destroyed the thread 😂

WondrousBread

I would take a look at that again, the only places there are threads are for the bolts that hold the caliper together in one piece. Maybe your friend damaged those, in which case a helicoil might work? Not sure if I'd trust a thread repair on my brakes though...

It's worth checking with another mechanic, just in case there's something they can do.

Shairun

This is what i meant. He suggested a helicoil too, but he thinks theres not enough material left to do it. But as you said i will ask another mechanic.

Another question is, when i finished the car would it make sense to keep it? I mean, i already have problems to find simple parts like brakes. How will that be, if the engine breaks down :/

WondrousBread

Oh, that's the fitting for the hardline. I forgot about those threads.

That's going to be a tough one. On the one hand the flare is supposed to be the seal so the threads don't need to be perfect. But on the other hand if you can't get enough pressure to seal the flare then it might not seal at all.

As for keeping the car, that depends. These cars are unique but in terms of $ spent against performance achieved there are better options. If you just want to go fast for less money, there are plenty of better choices (350/370Z/G35/G37, Rx8 possibly, Golf GTI, etc). This depends on what's near you and what it costs of course, but in general these cars are old enough that they aren't really fast anymore without a lot of modification. The suspension design is older too. Add to that the difficulty of finding parts and it's a tall order for someone who isn't specifically attached to Rx7s.

As a person who is specifically attached to Rx7s, I'm basically prepared to keep this car indefinitely and just work on it as needed. If practical in my area I'd buy a second one to daily drive in addition to my current one, but parts are hard to find so I have a different car for daily driving.

So that doesn't really answer your question but those are my thoughts on the matter. I suggest driving the car and living with it for awhile after you repair it, then making a decision from there.

DR_Knight

iTrader: (23)

Front brake caliper looks stock and is the 4 piston design used on all fc model years that came with 4 piston brakes. They are common, I actually think they’re more common than the 1 piston calipers.

Shairun

Unfortunately not common in germany :/

DR_Knight

iTrader: (23)

Then might want to look into Mitsubishi evo Brembo brakes or fd3s calipers as an upgrade.

Im not sure if I’d trust fixing that bleeder screw thread, but you can always try it if it could be considered garbage anyways.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Check ebay in UK-I know they have the 4 pot calipers and ship to Germany, I'd check ebay/Germany but translation??.

Shairun

That's a good idea, i will try it! Thank you

Spider2k

yahoo auctions might ship there also.

https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/...search_suggest

Shairun

Thank you for the Link! I searched for a site where i can easily order oarts from asia. But will they fit on european models? Germany has so many regulations, i can imagine that they had to adapt some parts to the european/german Standards

Spider2k

While not 100% certain, I don't think there's going to be a difference. This was 30+ years ago.

Be care ful, that site is a rabbit hole. I spend hours scrolling through it!

Shairun

haha thank you, but with so much offers, i am sure i will find everyrhing i need