Hello everyone, I'm a new FC owner and I'd like to thank you guys for all the info I picked up here while researching the car. The FC FAQ and Arron Cake's guide to buying a FC really helped out. It's a Gold / Red 1987 RX-7 STD N/A with 130k mi in good mechanical condition, but a good amount of wear on the interior and exterior. Interestingly the previous 3 owners were female.

Autotrader pic

I picked up the car friday night, got it smogged saturday, and got around to doing some work on it sunday... changing the oil, flushing the coolant, replacing the spark plugs and wires... etc. When I opened up the airbox, I came across something rather interesting.

( ! Warning: Dead animal inside the airbox ! )
Engine Shot
Airbox Shot

How about that? A dead mouse in my airbox. It looks like they made quite a nest in there too.

Anyhow, I've got a couple of questions about the FC.

I read a few things about the Pulsation Damper going bad on the S4 cars. I'm pretty sure mine's ok, but is it a decent idea to replace it before it goes bad?

I replaced the radiator cap with a 13 psi cap, as it seemed to be boiling the coolant when I shut off the engine. Also the alternate fill cap was a 13 psi cap which we removed and replaced with a 16 psi cap as there is no overflow for this cap. Think that'll work?

Also I'm looking to replace the thermostat with a 180' Failsafe Thermostat (click), is that the correct thermostat?

Thanks again for all the great info on the site.
-Twofer

 

Yes it is.

It'll work fine, but it only needs to have a plain cap there (i.e. not a pressure relief one). That's what it originally came with.

Only use a thermostat bought from a Mazda dealer. Aftermarket thermostats are well-known for causing cooling problems. Some might work, but it's not worth the risk just to save a few bucks.

 

Twofer nice avatar.

 

NZConvertible: Ah thanks a lot. I'll drop by the dealer and pick up the proper 'stat and see if I can get that pulsation dampener too.

projectredsuns: I got the shirt to go with it too. =) Ebay It's about $30 after shipping.... but I had to have it! The seller is up in Riverside CA, so the whole GBP business is just for the UK guys. Paypal handles all the currency conversions.

-Twofer

 

While you are in the area of replacing the Pulsation Dampner, you could also replace the FI hoses that you will be disconnecting. More likely than not, those things will be rock solid and will get damaged when you try to disconnect them.

 

Thanks for the advice about the FI lines. I talked to the dealer about the Pulsation Dampener and found out they want $190 for it... so I think I'll put that one off for a bit since I'm not having any problems with it yet.

I also installed picked up the OEM Thermostat and installed it today. ($25 w/ gasket from the dealer). It seems to be working fine. I noticed something was odd when I cracked open the tstat housing.... it was empty. Apparently the mechanic who worked on it couldn't get a replacement part and just left it out.

Thanks again, the car runs great now.
-Twofer

 

If you wanna be super cheap, you can always replace the pulsation dampener with a banjo bolt.

 

Please don't post stuff like this unless you are also willing to point out to any readers that there are both advantages and disadvantages to this. Anyone considering this "mod" should check out the archives for a discussion on the pulsation damper vs. the banjo bolt.