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Ready to go, great! Got to give you a lot of credit, but personally when this began, I was certain it would end like all others, an unfinished car for sale. Boy, was I wrong. Gonna miss the reading after the car is finished.
I'll be honest, there were times I thought that was how it would end. Somehow, through some combination of perseverance and sheer luck, I have made it this far. The status of my RX-7 has been the running joke for the past several years among my friends and family.
While I don't expect to just turn the key a week or two from now and have it magically start the first try, the challenges ahead pale in comparison to where the project has been.
Great job and amazing execution. For a scale of time. Your thread was started not long before my daughter was born. She is now 8. Unreal how long these things can take. Now to get mine as good looking as yours.
Nice restoration job! I hope you bring it to Deals Gap rotary rally this year, would be great to see it in person - park it next to mine and they'll look like twins!
Well, tomorrow is the day. I had to take the rest of September and the beginning of October off from the RX-7 to study for the PG exam (hopefully I passed, will know in about four more weeks). Through the rest of October, virtually every fluid on the car was changed, along with the air filter, belts, spark plugs, and spark plug wires. Currently, the car is hooked up to the battery charger, as I may need everything the battery can give tomorrow. I picked up a premix kit and some premix from Mazdatrix as I have decided to premix from here on out.
Hopefully, we have a very happy post tomorrow with another update.
After doing lots of reading, I figured that at worst, it's non-harmful other than to my wallet and provides some peace of mind. At best, it provides actual protection and makes sure the apex seals are always getting something due to the scaled back injection parameters of the S5 OMP.
Today did not go as planned. I chased what may or may not have been a real fuel pump issue. All my connections turned out to be solid and the pump worked when I put 12 volts to it outside the tank. Put it back in and jumpered the connector on the shock tower and I could hear it gulp in the first bit of fuel when I turned the key. Once I got all that back together, I gave it a whirl. Engine cranked over well. After a few seconds it came to life. As soon as I realized it started, I was going to give it some throttle as I knew there was no way it would want to idle. It was a little too late, as it immediately stalled. Further attempts to get it to fire didn't work and it was getting late in the day and time to make some dinner. We pushed it back in the garage for the night. Tomorrow morning, I'll pull the plugs, and dry/clean them before giving it another chance.
I watched the video my wife took and another from a GoPro I had in the car. It was a glorious few seconds of running and it sounded quite great with no cat-back and only a pre-silencer of unknown origin that has been on the car since I bought it.
After doing lots of reading, I figured that at worst, it's non-harmful other than to my wallet and provides some peace of mind. At best, it provides actual protection and makes sure the apex seals are always getting something due to the scaled back injection parameters of the S5 OMP.
Today did not go as planned. I chased what may or may not have been a real fuel pump issue. All my connections turned out to be solid and the pump worked when I put 12 volts to it outside the tank. Put it back in and jumpered the connector on the shock tower and I could hear it gulp in the first bit of fuel when I turned the key. Once I got all that back together, I gave it a whirl. Engine cranked over well. After a few seconds it came to life. As soon as I realized it started, I was going to give it some throttle as I knew there was no way it would want to idle. It was a little too late, as it immediately stalled. Further attempts to get it to fire didn't work and it was getting late in the day and time to make some dinner. We pushed it back in the garage for the night. Tomorrow morning, I'll pull the plugs, and dry/clean them before giving it another chance.
I watched the video my wife took and another from a GoPro I had in the car. It was a glorious few seconds of running and it sounded quite great with no cat-back and only a pre-silencer of unknown origin that has been on the car since I bought it.
Sounds like it may have flooded on the first start attempt. If the plugs are wet with fuel when you pull them, you'll have your answer. I haven't read the whole thread, but did you have the FI's cleaned/serviced before the first start attempt? If not, they may be a bit leaky or have a crappy spray pattern after years of non-use, which makes it easier to flood. If you're running the stock S5 N370 ECU, it has a built in de-flood mode; just crank the car over with the throttle floored. If it fires, release the throttle and hopefully it will settle into an idle. Good luck!
Sounds like it may have flooded on the first start attempt. If the plugs are wet with fuel when you pull them, you'll have your answer. I haven't read the whole thread, but did you have the FI's cleaned/serviced before the first start attempt? If not, they may be a bit leaky or have a crappy spray pattern after years of non-use, which makes it easier to flood. If you're running the stock S5 N370 ECU, it has a built in de-flood mode; just crank the car over with the throttle floored. If it fires, release the throttle and hopefully it will settle into an idle. Good luck!
Fuel injectors have not been sent out for servicing. I knew that could be a potential hurdle, but I charged ahead with arrogance anyway. C'est la vie.
Plugs were wet this morning. Cleaned them all off and re-installed. No luck as of yet.
But it was "idling" at 5000 rpm. I gave it some throttle a couple times hoping it would settle down, but it didn't, so I shut it off after about 15 seconds. I'm going to check out the throttle cable and throttle body and see if something is majorly hung up.
But it was "idling" at 5000 rpm. I gave it some throttle a couple times hoping it would settle down, but it didn't, so I shut it off after about 15 seconds. I'm going to check out the throttle cable and throttle body and see if something is majorly hung up.
Cool! Sounds like the throttle or cruise control cable is on too tight or hung up somewhere. Both should have some slack on them, how much slack is spelled out in the FSM. Another possibility is a totally jacked up throttle body adjustment on the fast idle cam/thermowax, or even the base TB settings that adjust when the secondaries start opening relative to the primary butterfly. Time to crack out the FSM and make sure it's all adjusted to specs per the book.
Yeah, that's my thought process as well. It is starting reliably every time now. The throttle and cruise control cables didn't seem hung up, but now that I think about it, I don't really think there was slack in the throttle cable.
Unfortunately, I may not have much more time today, as I promised my oldest smoked ribs and probably need to get cracking on that.
EDIT: One last thing, I considered it's just a really high fast idle, but putting it into first gear didn't drop it down. Can't remember if I tried starting it yet while already in gear.
I'm a dumbass. It was a horrible throttle cable adjustment. Got it started and had to use the throttle to keep it alive. Let it run anywhere from 1500-2000 rpms until it came up to operating temp on the gauge. I also have my first check engine light! Progress!
Yup, starting the car in gear defeats the AWS (accelerated warm-up system), so try that on next startup, and you'll know if that's contributing to the issue.
The CEL codes may be nothing to worry about - pull them to find out which ones they are and go from there. If you pressurized the fuel system to check for leaks and had a bunch of stuff disconnected when you did it, that will probably be all of your codes.
It was time to smoke some ribs, so I called it for today. I did pull it into the garage, so that makes it the first time it has moved on its own power since July 2009. It was only about 20 feet, but my wife said it counts.
I have NO brakes. I thought it was a touch spongy before the engine ran, now that it has vacuum assist it goes straight to the floor. I kind of thought that would happen, but again, I plodded along anyway. There's no visible leaks, so I'll do a thorough bleeding job this week or next Saturday. Once I've got that settled, it will be time for a spin around the block.
The approximately 20 feet of last weekend's journey has been bested by a wide margin. Today, the car drove 6.9 miles (someone else can make the joke).
The brakes still need some work (pedal feels a bit spongy), but I figured out the underlying issue. Despite what I thought years ago, you can NOT mix master cylinders and brake boosters between turbo/non-turbo. When I eliminated the ABS, I went to a non-turbo master, but kept my turbo booster. This doesn't work, and I really should have noticed it at the time. It doesn't help that back then, I vacuum bled the brakes, so I never noticed the pedal was doing absolutely nothing. Anyhow, a local salvage yard had a non-turbo booster in stock, so I picked that up and swapped out the boosters. Problem mostly solved, but I think I need to bleed one last time.
The engine starts every time it cranks. I do now have the 2nd gen sticky starter mystery mentioned in an ages old thread currently near the top right now. I am still chasing idle issues. The TPS is brand new (purchased several years ago waiting for now). Took the car out to warm it up and came back and adjusted the TPS to within spec. Played with the idle adjust screw a little. Now instead of just immediately stalling, it surges between 500-900 rpm. Still lots of things to check that I haven't had time to yet - vacuum leaks, gunked up BAC valve, etc, etc. I haven't had to troubleshoot one of these cars in ages. It's kind of fun?
I drove it to the gas station and filled up with 10 gallons along with a bottle of fuel injector cleaner (another potential problem given the years of sitting). That's not a product I normally use and I feel is often dubious in its use, but I figure it can't hurt. Sending the injectors out for servicing could very well still need to be done.
Also my boost gauge wasn't working, but now is. It typically helps if the boost sensor is plugged in.
The weather here is way too nice to be stuck in the office all day. So, I took an impromptu annual leave day.
And it was well worth it, because the RX-7 idles! I discovered the ground on the firewall had fallen off. The plastic sheath on the harness side was broken, so the last time I plugged it in, I was really just wedging plastic into the spade on the firewall. Pulled the broken plastic back and made sure there was a connection between the spade and the female terminal on the harness. I started it up in neutral, it went through a fast idle, hunted for a few seconds and then settled in around 900 rpm. It's still a bit bouncy, but it requires no throttle input from me to keep it alive.
Took it for a drive after that. I'm still not happy with the brakes. Now that I don't have to keep the car alive with my foot, I can focus on them more than the last drive. They are new pads and rotors, and haven't been completely bedded yet, but it still feels a bit off. I'll probably take it back out and do the recommended bedding procedure to see if it improves. If not, I'll bleed again before I go hunting for other issues.
I'm getting really close to just being able to drive it and enjoy it. Once I'm happy with the brakes, next stop is an alignment shop. It pulls to the right a decent amount. Given that I don't even remember when the last alignment before I parked it was and I also changed out every major suspension component, this is not entirely surprising.
Are the brake hoses new? I can't remember what all you did to the braking system over the years and I dont feel like going back, lol. The reason I ask, is I've had brake hoses collapse, and it causes a spongy pedal.
The brakes are exhibiting classic symptoms of air in the lines still. There's too much pedal travel. It has all been replaced - lines, rotors, and pads. I've got a pretty busy weekend, but I'll spend some time with the FSM and consider every possibility one by one.
The brakes are exhibiting classic symptoms of air in the lines still. There's too much pedal travel. It has all been replaced - lines, rotors, and pads. I've got a pretty busy weekend, but I'll spend some time with the FSM and consider every possibility one by one.
Well of the things you replaced, the only parts that might contribute to a spongy brake pedal are the lines/hoses. You need good pads & rotors, but they are not part of the brake hydraulic system, and unless seriously worn down, won't contribute to a spongy pedal feel. OTOH, sticking/worn out/leaky calipers, a bad master cylinder or proportioning valve are part of the hydraulic system, and might be a cause for a soft brake pedal. But before replacing anything else, FC brakes just tend to be a PITA to bleed properly - that in itself may be part of your spongy brake problem.
I've found (after trying every other method many times) that the only bleeding method that works consistently and results in a solid, firm pedal with my FC is pressure bleeding with one of those Motive pressure bleeder tools or something equivalent. These are the pump-up tank type contraptions that you put fresh brake fluid in, attach the appropriate cap to fit your master cylinder & pressurize the system. Then, one by one, per FSM bleeding sequence, crack open the bleeder screws to bleed air & drain the dirty fluid out from each caliper. As the dirty fluid & air flows out, fresh fluid from the tank replaces it in the master cylinder. If you still can't get a firm pedal after pressure bleeding, then I'd take a close look at all the calipers and master cylinder.
