Just bought this car it has 18K on a rebuilt engine, and 168K on the body. The air pump is disconnected, is there a way I can just remove it? The slit-air pipe has been cut off at the rubber hose, can I just remove that? Also the heat sheilds on the turbo kind of rattle alittle can I just remove them and use an insulation wrap on the exhaust side? Also this car has a switch for starting the car, I believe is for the fuel pump to turn it off and on. Does that mean it needs new injectors? Or a different fuel pump? One more thing to end all this. In the power stearing line that leaves pump(the return line) it goes all the way up and around into the front of the car, not to a cooler or anything just up in front of the oil cooler and loops right back around. So pieces are rubber and some are steel line. What is that all about? Where can I get a replacement?

 

Yes you can remove all that stuff. I'm assuming you do not have a cat any longer since the airpump and split air pipe are not functioning. The switch is for fuel cut off which means the car probably has flooding problems. This could be do to many things: leaking injectors, low compression, etc. It the car starts and runs then the fuel pump isnt the issue. Not sure about the PS part.

 

So the air pump can just be taken out along with the belt? I believe the engine is in good shape I think its the injectors that have the problem. The rear cat is gone but the front is still there. Thats why I'd like to remove the head shields so I can put a down pipe on. Its ok to remove the heat shields then? And use and insulation wrap? Some people told me not to do that, but I have seen it done.

 

If you do not have a cat, then you can remove these. If you remove your air pump, you're going to want to get a dual belt alternator pully and run two belts to the alternator. Otherwise the water pump pully will slip and reduce cooling. You'll also want to get an ACV valve blockoff plate.



You'll find that it is a major pain in the *** to take the heat shields off...Personally, I would recommend you just RIP them off and then fabricate new ones out of stainless...But if you cannot do that, then at the very least use a GOOD QUALITY wrap. DO NOT run the car without the heat shields. The turbo is a MAJOR heat source, and if you pull the shields off you will bake all the nearby wiring, rubber, etc. and seriously increase heat in the engine bay.

A lot of RX-7s have this anti-flood switch installed. It could mean the car has a problem with flooding (due to low compression or bad injectors, often in that order ), or the owner just installed the switch...Does the car flood?

Totally normal. That long loop is the cooler. Now, if there are rubber pieces in that loop, then someone has been making "repairs". You can buy a new cooler from any Mazda dealer, or fab one up yourself.

 

Thanks alot for the help. Where can I find a dual belt alternator pully? And an ACV block off plate? Also the cat just after the turbo is not off but will be replaced with a Racing Beat down pipe soon.

 

Any of the vendors (Mazdatrix, Racing Beat, etc.) will sell both parts.