CincySpeedFreak

Hey everyone! My name is Steve and I'm from Ohio. I just bought my first RX-7 yesterday. It's an '86 GXL. I love it, but there are just a few things wrong with it that I need help with. First, I'm not getting any heat from my heater. I replaced the thermostat, but it didn't help. Then I thought it was the heater core, but my friend told me that when a heater core goes bad, you will either smell anti-freeze when the defrost is on or it will leave a film on or fog up the windshield. It doesn't do either of those. Now I'm stumped on what to do about it.

Next, sometimes it will grind when I try to put it into reverse. Someone told me that replacing the shifter bushings (which need to be done anyways) would fix that, but I wanted your opinions first.

Last, sometimes when I downshift, it throws out a dark cloud of smoke from the tailpipe. What is that a sign of and how can I fix it?

Thanx in advance for any help with these questions and for future reference, please don't get annoyed if I ask some questions that might seem stupid or simple. I will try to find the answer myself first on a previous post before I ask it in a new thread. Thanx again!!!

tweaked

iTrader: (4)

with the tranny try replacing the fluid with synthetic. Redline or Mobile 1 are the easiest to get and very good. In fact I would replace all of my fluids with Mobile 1 except the power steering fluid as they don't make any that I know of. for the PS fluid use redline
The no heat might be the Logicon in a worst case. Ffirst make sure that the heater hoses are connected and in good order. If the art disconnected it was probably done because the heater core does leak. If it is the logicon, the best thing to do is replace it. jusnk yards are good resouces, but you won't know if it works until you get it in. taking it out is a pain in the ***. there are tech papers available on the net that can help you try to fix it but these don't always work.
The smoke is strange. what color is it? white blue or black?

Since you just bought it here are some tips.
change everything you can! Fluids, belts, check all fuses, spark pluggs, plug wires, that kind of stuff.
check the timing. there are resources on the net to help you with that too.
find out about the automatic transmission fluid trick to clean your apex seals. It is very easy.
Don't feel stupid about asking questions. No one on this forum knew much about these cars until they got their first one. everyone here will be more than happy to help you out.
I fell in love with my 88 n/a before I even left the dealer lot with it. I bought it the next day
Have fun

rico05

The smoke could be an oil o-ring leak. Did you do a compression test? If not, do one NOW!!!! Good Luck!

TriangleMan

i can't help your other ones, but the grinding in reverse is because the car is moving. come to a stop, and shift into 2nd first, then into reverse. don't lift up the clutch though, obviously. there are cluster gears in the tranny that 2nd gear stops moving. also, if you're going to downshift into 1st, shift to 2nd first, then first, still not letting out the clutch until 1st. basically, it's less wear on your tranny

BlackSport0187

The no heat problem might be your "Air Mix Motor". If it hasn't been replaced on the car, it probably has gone bad by now. Mazda used an inadequate lubricant in the motors that causes them to break down. Try unhooking the cable behind the cold/hot slider, then operate the valve that the cable controls manually. I had the same problem on my '87 base, and I got used to operating the valve manually, although I would suggest replacing the air mix motor as soon as you can.

Nice choice of a car man, you will be glad you chose an RX7!
Ike

ZachSpazz

Hey! You're from Cincinnati and you just bought yourself a RX-7...awesome. Check out the Cincinnati RX-7 club website at ubb.cincyrx7.com. Where do you live in Cincy? If you want I can come and take a look at the car and show you some of the tricks of the trade such as the ATF trick and see if we can get your heater working. Private message me here as I don't have a steady ISP this week...

CincySpeedFreak

Hey Zach...Where do you live? Maybe you could give me your phone number and we could meet up sometime. My email is jesusfreek@fuse.net and my AOL IM name is CincySpeedFreak
What's yours?

CincySpeedFreak

I just wanna say thanx for all the help! I look forward to building an awesome street machine with the help of all of you!

CincySpeedFreak

Also...I am getting some bad vibrations when i get up past 45 or so. I read somewhere that it is probably the u-joints going bad, but with the factory driveshaft, you can't replace the u-joints, only the whole driveshaft. Is this true? Should I invest in an aftermarket driveshaft from mazdatrix? Also, is there any significant difference in the shifter bushing kit from mazdatrix and the one from the dealer? Will the kit from the dealer come with the upper AND lower bushings? Thanx!

Suparslinc

The vibration is not necessarily the driveshaft; it could be but look at less expensive possibilities first, like alignment, tires, and wheel balance.
The reason your not getting any heat could be that you have air in the system. I would recommend burping all the hoses to see if you can get it out. A coolant flush is not a bad idea either while your at it. Theres a small bolt down between the bottom two spark plugs; take it out and put a hose in the radiator and flush the system for about 5 minutes, then put the plug back in and get a gallon of some good antifreeze and top it off with water.

I agree with the putting it into second gear thing. That always seems to help when I back out the driveway.

See you on the board. I'm Joe by the way. Don't ride in Zachs car he drives like a maniac

DanRX7

hey i also live in cinci and i'm looking at an RX-7 third gen email me if you've heard of any for sale in ohio