kf4oij

Hey Guys,

I just bought an Rx-7 today, '87 156,000 miles, (I guess that makes it a 2nd Gen) I payed $300 bucks for it, and it isn't in that bad of shape. The catch is.... It doesn't run, I appologize because I could probably spend 4 hours searching through the threads to find the answers, but, I am kind of in a pinch, My parants aren't going to be too happy that I bought a car, instead of saving my money. And the sooner I can have it running and prove to them I didn't just spend $300 on some magic beans..... The better. The good news is, I am pretty sure all it needs is a new set of plugs and wires.

I went to advanced auto parts and bought 2 plugs and a set of the cheapest wires they had (trying to minimize my loss if this turns out to be a bum deal.) Advanced only had one kind of plug for both leading and trailing, I only bought two because I figured just having the leading would be good enough. So here are my questions.

If I only put in two new plugs, I should put new ones in the leading instead of the trailing right?

I need to know how to hook up the coil wires. In my inexperience working with a rotary, I foolishly unhooked all four wires at once without markng them. So I could check the compression, (Unfortunatly, if you didn't notice, the length of the wires is no way to tell which wire goes where like it is on a normal engine.)

Anything else I should look for while I try to get this thing going? btw... I am 99% sure it is non turbo, I was thinking so hard about whether I should take the $300 risk or not, that I didn't look everything over all that closely, but nothing caught my eye, and I am pretty sure I would have noticed if it had a turbo.

Thanks a ton guys,

Joey

rico05

If it is a turbo, there is a big silver intercooler on top of the intake that says "Turbo" on it Yes, just swap out the leading plugs. The plugs are labeled "T" and "L" and the ones on the front rotor are number 1, and the rear are 2. The coils have "T1", "T2" and "L1" "L2" so hook up the leading off of the first rotor (L1) to the coil marked L1 and so on.

gz91rx7

Way to help out RICO.
Good luck with the 7 man keep us posted!

kf4oij

Thanks guys,

Wow, thanks for the quick responses. No intercooler so no turbo, but that is ok, I can't wait to drive this thing, I had an '87 MR2 for about a year, and then last september, it got wrecked (not my fault) and I have been driving a '91 Mazda B2600i for about 10 months now, and I can't wait to be back in a sports car

If this thing doesn't work out, like has some major problem that the owners "forgot" to mention, anyone up for a $350 parts car?? Complete.

banzaitoyota

Joey give me a call 646-1840 local. I'll see if I can help you out. I'm in Aiken. John

rico05

Not many buyers for parts cars. I tried to sell my blown 91 w/ $2k in mods for like $800-$1000(cheaper than the exhaust on the car cost me) and no one bought it. Since the car was so cheap, get a rebuild. Talk to hypntyz7 (Kevin) here on the forum. Cheap and AWESOME results. When I decide to rebuild my beast (after I buy a TII) he is gonna do the work for me.

banzaitoyota

My plasma cutter awaits!!!!!

banzaitoyota

I'm leaving work in 10 minutes. Call me and I will stop by to give you a hand. John

rico05

Way to go John!!! Helpin out the newbie!!!! Go you man!!!

banzaitoyota

See I'm not the perfect as#$^le I sometimes seem to be!!!

kf4oij

Hey guys,

Update, She Lives! New plug wires and she started right up. Of course with 156k miles on it, it burns some oil. Not too too much, but it burns some. The problem now is, it post-combusts everytime you let off the throttle it goes Ka-Blam. And it doesn't idle well. I think I will pick up some good silicone vacuum line tommorow and change all the lines. This car has a idle limiting device of some kind I take it? Idle is set to about 1.7k right now (I think) and when it is idling, everytime it gets to 1.5k it immediatly drops to 800 or so, and then works it's way back up, and at 1.5k it drops again.

Anyways, I would have started tinkering, but I have an unlimited source of knowledge here (the forums) and decided to ask for some help. I have a realy small budget, saving for school and a mission. So yes, believe it or not, I am setting a $700 cap on this project (for now). So car was $300, Plug wires were $30 so that leaves me with $370 to get it running reliably. As soon as the engine is idling well, I am going to get it up on 4 jack stands, and check out the brakes and suspension.

Could someone give me an overview of how this relay cool looking Normal / Sport suspension works?

So the priorities now are:

1) Get the engine running RIGHT.
a. Vacuum lines
b. check air filter
c. set idel
d. All the other little things I forgot but I hope John or someone will be kind enough to fill m in.

2) Brakes
a. Just check the pads make sure all is well, I am pretty sure I have a frozen caliper on the front right, atleast it isn't floating like it should.

b. On the way home while towing (we towed it 15 miles with a tow strap) It didn't feal like the rotors were worped. But we will see.

3) Tires, looks like all 4 tires are in need of replacement.

4) Some major interior things
a. drivers seat is shot (may just swap it for the passanger seat for now. Tight budget.
b. Need either a new gas shock for the trunk, or straighten the one that is bent.
c. Need a new shift bushing, The bushing / bearing that the shift rod passes through on the top of the transmission. It is shot

So that is where we stand for now, no this isn't going to be a show car, or even a realy relay nice car, I have a lot of other things going on in life right now, and as much as I would LOVE to, I can't drop $1750 in the car. I have set my max cap on this project at $700 The car cost me $300, and $30 for the plug wires, so that leaves me with $370 to get it running reliably, and a set of tires will eat up most of that, if not all of it. Hmmm.... I may up the cap to $1k.

So tommorow.... The vacuum lines and whatever else John says I should do to the engine for now. Overall I am realy impressed with this car so far, I am very very much looking forward to learning more about it, and getting it out on the road.....

Thanks for the help guys,

Joey

SaabGuy

Fluctuating idle could be related to both intake leaks and the TPS.

Change your vaccum lines and tighten all the intake hose clamps. If there are any leaks whatsoever between the engine and the mass air meter then the car will either stall or idle very rough. Mass air is located under the airbox fyi.

Bouncing idle is most likely a TPS adjustment. The Trottle Possition Sensor is pretty easy to adjust. Do a search on it and you'll find tons. Its very easy to do.

Other problems could be sensors and filters. Change your air and fuel filter. Change your O2 sensor once you get the car to run right. O2 sensors are only like 20 bux. Get the universal one and save like 40 bux and they are all the same.

These cars tend to flood if they are not warmed up properly. I wouldnt try to keep restarting the car. Fix the leaks first.

SaabGuy

You can unsieze the brake calipers with a little bit of Molly grease. Works great!!

Check your front wheel bearings. They can be tightened fairly easily and are prone to being loose/shot.

Evil Aviator

Cheap fix - 1 bottle of Motor Honey from your local auto parts store.

If it only does this when in gear, then it's normal for a 2Gen with an inoperable anti-afterburn system, which is usually the result of the air pump being removed or otherwise disabled. If it does this when in neutral, then you have other issues which should be fixed.

Short answer: You press either the Normal or Sport button.

Long answer from Mazda propaganda: "The RX-7 offers controlled shock damping that meets all driving conditions with the innovative Auto Adjusting Suspension (AAS) design. AAS electronic sensors precisely monitor speed, acceleration, braking and steering wheel angle. Even the lateral-G acceleration is calculated. A microprocessor instantly maps the exact level of damper attenuation force that is necessary and then electronically directs the shock absorber actuators. The actuators, with a micro-second switching speed, activate the correct level of damping to control roll, nose dive, and rear squat. Shock absorber damping is varied, Normal, Firm, or Very Firm, according to the mode setting and driving conditions. The driver has a choice of the Normal or Sport modes. In the Normal setting, both the front and rear damping is in the Normal range. As speed exceeds 50 mph, the front absorbers assume a Firm damping for stability. In the Sport mode, all four shocks provide Firm damping. However, in either mode the Very Firm damping is actuated only in response to strong, destabilizing forces. Under demanding conditions, such as holding flat during sharp cornering, the AAS system responds with split-second accuracy to fine tune and balance the ride."

There goes your $370.

You do not need either of these. However, you may want to try to fish the broken bushing parts out of the shift assembly - see Mazdatrix how-to's.

kf4oij

Update on progress,

I made a list of things to check, and so far, 2 of them are checked off, working on the rest. The car hasn't been run in a long time, so I just drained the fuel tank and put about three gallons of fresh gas, with just a hair of acetone. That didn't change anything, so it isn't bad gas. I checked out the TPS and it seems to be working ok, however, it seems that you can open the throttle far enough that the TPS won't read the last 35% or so of throttle... Is this right? or is it stuck, also, this is the TPS right? The thing on the front of the throttle body, it has a little dowl like thing that comes out and it gets moved in and out by the throttle right?

Second question, the AFM, I know they have that adjustable tension spring inside, could the spring have lost some of it's spring over the past 15 years and now it doesn't read right? Could someone post the diagnotic procedure for the AFM.

One more thing, The timing, I would like to get this set, I am pretty sure it is way way off, when I got the car the bolt that keeps the crank angle sensor tight, was loose, like 1/4" from the bottom of the crank sensor loose. But... The car doesn't idle yet, it runs smooth at about 3k, so.... I know the book doesn't have a procedure for this, but could one of you tech guys tell me about what the timing should be at 3k. And I will atleast try to get it a little closer.

Also, on top of the throttle body, right smack dab in the middle, is this screw, it is more of a slotted rod then a screw, well the previous owner realy monkeyed with this car, so what does this rod / screw do, and how do I adjust it properly. Thanks guys,

Joey

banzaitoyota

Ok Joey, now it is time to get HARDCORE.
Go to FC3S.org The Factory Service Manuals are ther online with all the testing procedures.

Spraintz

iTrader: (1)

Sorry dude, that car sounds EXACTLY like th 87 I used to have. What color is it?

My bouncing idle was a bad TPS. Good luck with the rest man.

kf4oij

Ok, Enough people have said TPS, that I belive it warrents the extra mile. I just went out and pulled the TPS off, Cleaned it up, I am about to take the connector apart (take the male spades out of the plastic and clean the oxidation off of them) and I even dug my good 'ol Analog Multi Meter out of the closet (my DMM doesn't update quick enough) I am going to rule out the TPS first thing in the morning. While the Analog Meter is out, I will give the AFM a good one over too.

kf4oij

John,

Factory Service Manuals! Yes! Now I can realy get working. Thanks for the link, And to think I was gonna go pay good money for one at the Mazda dealer. I have all the sections up to front_and_rear_axles downloaded, the rest are all qued-up, should have the entire manual by about midnight or so.

Amur_

About the AAS - consider pulling the computer and having it checked. It's in beside the tire well on the right side of the car. Mine had been penetrated by water and wasn't working properly. $10Cdn to get the circuit board repaired.

Also, you may not have OEM shocks in the car, so you may not have shocks that will respond to the AAS. It's unlikely that the original shocks are still on the car, and if they are they will be beyond toasted after 15 years.

Another simple thing you can do to help bring the car up to par is yank all the circuit boards and have them checked. The 7 is notorious (well, notorious on the Forum, anyway) for the poor assembly of her electronics packages. Do the CPU (black plastic box on left side of driver's footwell) and ECU (under steel plate under the carpet in passenger's footwell) for sure. You'll be concerned with finding and repairing broken solder points, as well as fried components.

Less urgently, there's the p/s computer, the AAS (as mentioned b4,) the alarm, the clock/xmas tree (warning lights) and the cruise control computer. The FSM will show you where to find them all.

The tranny - throw in some Redline MT-90 (not MTL!) synthetic transmission fluid. It's magical stuff.

Also give serious thought to doing a coolant flush. The best procedure to follow for a 7 can be found here: http://fc3s-pro.com/TECH/MODS/COOL/cooling.htm

Some more reading for you...

http://mrmazda.members.atlantic.net/....html#FAQLINKS

http://rx7.freeservers.com/handb.htm

http://home.rmci.net/panther/tech.htm

And this will help decipher Forum lingo:
http://fc3s-pro.com/abb.html

Keep us posted!

HeavyFoot86

dangit, it runs, I was gonna have me a parts car...

Evil Aviator

You should still review the procedure in the Factory Service Manual, as it will also tell you important things like turning on the heater, how to properly bleed the system (very important!), and the correct coolant mix for your temperature range. The regular factory procedure has worked fine in my case for the last 14 years, although I would imagine that a cooling system which was abused by a prior owner may call for more drastic measures. Also note that the thermostat seems to last about 80K miles, so it would be good to replace it with a MAZDA brand thermostat along with the coolant if you think it may be needed.

kf4oij

Yes, that is it,

I got it idling better, however, when I went to set the timing, (I didn't have it down to 750 yet, it still idles at 1750, I noticed the leading and trailing were going off at the same time. (My guess is, that when it is in fast idle mode it does this right?), and so, I came up to my computer to do some research and see what I could find, and the thermostat! That is it, so simple... Once I get it out of fast idle, I can set the timing, idle speed, etc... Also it seems that the T2 isn't going off... And L2 is itermitent (although it doesn't run rough) so I am going to pull the plugs, and while they are out I will run that compression check to see just where the engine is at. I checked the oil, and it was 1.5 qt low, so I added about that much, and the burning oil has dropped, a LOT. I think the old oil had thinned a lot. Oil change as soon as I get it running right. Things are looking good, with any luck, I can get a tag on it next week and start road testing it.

Later,

Joey

btw... Sorry, no parts car

Oh, the Throttle Position sensor, I made the check connector, adn it works for accelerate, but I can't get the light to come on that is supposed to when the throttle is closed, Can the car not be in fast idle mode for this to happen?

Amur_

Can't help with the idle stuff (no personal experience - search for idle and you'll get the equivalent of the phone book, but it's worth a try.)

But...

Use 20W50 for oil. Throw in some Marvel Mystery Oil when you do it. Don't use synthetic oil and stick with Mazda oil filters.

Some quick oil 411:
https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...&highlight=mmo

MMO:
https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...threadid=82282

Did the coolant flush today as recommend in that link. Didn't hurt a thing. Put some Prestone flush in, took her for a spin, then brought her back to the shop and disconnected the rad fan until the resevoir boiled over. Temp needle was 1/4 inch shy of H. When I drained her I didn't get the white discharge like RETed described, but I'm hopeful that it did the job just the same.