Hello all, I'm new to the forums here.
Just picked up an '88 GXL (I think) manual/NA for $2500. New paint from the body shop/dealer selling it. (To cover up various accident-related problems I think.)

My Haynes manual is on order from Amazon.com, but i'm impatient enough to ask for help ID'ing a couple of things:

Pic 1. What used to be where this aftermarket air intake/filter is on the front passenger side?

Pic 2. What did the missing belt do? (It was closest to the huge fan for the radiator)

Pic 3. Radiator fluid is all over everywhere inside. Does this mean replacing the radiator?

Pic 4. What type of intake job is this?

Thanks for any help,
I drove an '87 rx7 bare bones model all through 7 years of college and loved it to death, so 10 years later i want one to drive to work 1 or 2 days a week.
steve

 

1. The factory air box used to be there, of course you have to get rid of it to put on a cone filter.
2.That empty belt slot: If your power steering pump is there, that slot was the A/C.
3. When antifreeze is everywhere thats a hose issue. Looks like the gaskets on the pipe and the hoses need to be replaced.

What do you mean intake job?

 

4. That intake job is an incorrect one. The AFM (big metal box with black top that air filter attaches to) needs to have the top (black) facing level.

 

Absolutely right. S4's have a flapper-style door that is affected by gravity if mounted incorrectly.

To test the coolant system you should buy a pressure tester or at the very least, hose down the leaky areas, let it dry overnight or longer, and then watch for leaks as it warms up.

 

that missing belt is for the air pump and looking at picture one it may have been removed

 

3. My bet is that the radiator hose isn't leaking, but should be replaced along with all your cooling hoses. A flush and new thermostat wouldn't be a bad idea either. The radiator cap seems to be the culprit.

 

Thank you everyone!
My previous worries were:
1. What to do to replace seats that are shredded.
2. Quiet down/improve exhaust.

Now they are:
1. Mount the AFM properly
2. Wash down and check for leaks from the radiator, flush, etc.

I'll be back with more-

Funny, I found the site because the car has an rx7club decal on the rear window.

 

also with the missisng belt you can flick on a small belt to act as a water pump saver, if your alt belt snapps then you will have a little belt running the water pump still to save a coocked motor

 

The advice given was certainly important for me to follow!
Pic 1: I pulled off the aftermarket air filter/cone, and found it's metal meshwork was cutting grooves into a metal pipe below
Pic 2: Closeup of grooves (some type of vac line i assume, manual still on order)
Pic 3: Then I cobbled a mounting bracket together from two simpson strong tie right angle pieces and the thing sits correctly (Please speak up if it isn't right)
Pic 4: Supposedly this has had a rebuild. Does the blue colored metal (and bolts) of major block pieces mean anything to anyone?
Pic 5: The radiator cap seems like it's aftermarket. Does this look OK?

Thanks to everyone who chimed in and saved me from letting the filter cut right through the pipe!

Next up, investigate the far too new looking wires leading down into the shocks while taking off the wheels to check brake pads.

Cheers,
steve

 

Welcome to the club. Your posts are amazingly organized, and you are a better owner already than the previous! Your AFM setup looks a lot better, the motor probably is rebuilt if the motor is painted, but it is possible to paint it inside the engine bay.

 

That looks like a good job on the AFM. I was outside today considering doing the same thing for mine...

 

lookn good.. you said you just picked the car up from a lot. you should do a 100,000 mile tune up theres probly a few other things that could use some service.

 

Thank you all for the words of encouragement. I didn't suspect just how much fun reliving my college days of driving fast would be. Since everyone has been so helpful, I'll continue mining for more info!

Got the Haynes manual today, the pipe being sawn through by the cone filter was an airconditioning pipe heading to the a/c receiver/drier.

I checked the radiator fluid levels - everything is great and there isn't any leakage over the past several days, so I think I'm just seeing the results of a past blowout that's been fixed. Thanks to all who suggested not immediately replacing the radiator.

Pic 1: Which springs are these? (Front passenger side) I read in the current grip/suspension thread going on here that GXL models may have had the TII springs. My car has AAS buttons to adjust the ride.
Followup question:
Can I easily change the shocks despite the AAS actuator stuff?

Question 2: What would be the cheapest way to fix the nearly leather-less seats?
Options I've thought of so far: New racing seats, Recover with cloth, non-padded seat covers. Any suggestions?

So I'm off to research the effects of the air pump deletion, and if the A/C and/or Power Steering can be neatly removed. I hate the PS.

Thanks for any response, and have a lovely day.

steve

 

In answer to replacing the AAS suspension, the answer is yes. I just did this last year, picked up a set of AGX GR2 struts and Gas-Adjust shocks. Just disconnect the actuators on each shock/strut and remove the actuator in the spare tire compartment.

Good luck and welcome aboard.

Neal

 

nice lookin car there steve, If you check through the 2nd gen archives, you will find a thread on depowering the p/s rack, doesn't look to hard, and it appears from your quick AFM fix you have some mech skills, the A/C shouldn't be to hard, there are plenty of threads on that as well, as far as the air pump, not sure but again there are threads all over on that too, if you go around to like kragen.com or autozone.com I think, they do sell the AAS struts if you want to keep those, kinda pricey if I remember, and the springs are not cheap either. just some general car lingo for you while you search, your 88 model is an S4 version
86 to 88 are serise 4 (s4)
89 to 91 are s5 and 92 up is s6
the model is FC for 86 to 92 and the model for 93 up is FD, 85 and below is FB.
just a few things that will help you in your searching.. the FAQ stickey at the top of the 2nd gen section will tell you about the options that came with the car to tell what model it is, there is also a place in there to decode your VIN to find out even more..

welcome aboard and good luck

 

Bowman-
Do you mean that you "disabled" the AAS and the computer doesn't report a problem?

 

1 and 2: That's the A/C line to the condenser, I can see that it's through the wall in one picture. You'll need a new one and a recharge of R12 if you want A/C again.
3: too late unfortunately
4: Someone probably painted the parts while the motor was apart.
5: Cap looks good

I would test your low coolant buzzer since you had coolant in the engine bay. Disconnect the electrical connector on the top tank of the radiator, start the car and wait. The buzzer in the dash should activate within 1 minute or so. Be careful disconnecting the plug. Don't pull on the plug without holding the wire on the sensor or you could pull it off the sensor.

 

This is what fixing is all about!! THUMBS-UP*

 

Thanks alexdimen for responding, i'd gotten the haynes manual in and figured out the ac line, it's low on the list however. first up is the tranny mount, a double pully to address the deleted air pump/belt and resultant water pump issue. then the leaking block of plastic/oring at the coolant filling cap. also my mechanic wants to "rebuild the oil pump" which i believe means "clean up the oil metering pump".
fun times 'cause it's all small stuff.
steve