How much will this help cooling my car???its pretty much a stock 88 gxl daily driver.the water temp usually reads right smack in the middle of the stock gauge.i was bored this weekend and just figured to make 1 instead of buying it.im planning maybe converting to a taurus efan in the future...


also 1 other issue,my car seens to be getting really shitty gas mileage...i usually run the low grade 87 octane....and i have yet to do a tune up since i first got the car about only 3000 miles ago....

any info or suggestions would be helpful.Thanks.

 

Definitely do a tune up. Seems like these cars burn though spark plugs faster than others. Check to see if your 5th/6th ports are opening as well.

From what I understand, that cooling panel doesnt really make a difference unless your stock plastic panels are gone (the one surrounding your relays and such up front between the bumper and rad support)

 

i am missing the one on the passenger side....

 

how can i check my 5th & 6 ports???i was told i can eliminate the sleeves for more power....

 

Yeah I was told the same thing once upon a time....

The best way to get power is to make them work. Apparently if they are in great working order, you should be able to rev the motor from the engine bay and see the port actuators opening and closing. They are located right above your exhaust manifold. If they arent, then use some wheel bearing grease or something and put them on the rods, take it for a drive. If the grease doesnt look like it all moved up on the rod, they arent opening.

The best way to get them to work is to take your intake off, then pull them out and clean them. Problem with that is that it's time consuming and you will probably have to replace your intake gaskets which will add up in price. If you go that route you could get your injectors out and send them off to get cleaned and balanced (will help your mileage issue).

Another route to go is to remove the actuators, spray the hole where the levers are with PB Blaster (somehow gets in there magically). May or may not work depending on how gunked up they are. Worked for me.

 

Have you flushed your coolant? Maybe you should try that for your temp issues, then move on to the thermostat.

Using a cooling panel will not remedy your issue, it may lessen the temps, but it's probably not gonna cure your issue with your temps. Go through the steps first. These cars add up in price fast, you'll learn that soon. Take care of it though, dont do what I did with my first one. If you love the cars then do things right.

 

By "eliminating" the aux. ports you are just creating a vaccum leak. However can "wire them open" which is probably what you meant I think, which will leave the ports open all the time. With the ports held open you are going to see the benefits of 6 ports up top, but in low rpms you will be completely robbed of power, and you will be getting crappy gas mileage. Wiring them closed will better your gas mileage but you won't see the added power at higher rpms.

The best way to go is to get the actuators working correctly. There's an excellent write-up on testing to see if they work, as well as other valuable information here:
http://www.aaroncake.net/RX-7/tech1.htm

Also, what modifications have been done to the exhasut components on your car? In your series 4 1988 GKL, the aux. ports are activated by exhaust backpressure. However in series 5 rx7s the ports are activated by the airpump. On your s4, a tube runs from the catalytic converter to the aux. port activators and allows them to open. If your cats have been removed, or you have added a header of some kind, etc... The tube may not be there / not hooked up.

Hope that helps.

If this is the case, there are excellent write-ups in the archives on exactly how to get them working the shadetree mechanic way.

 

Seems to me that NORMAL on a Series 4 water temp gauge is around 1/4 to 1/3, not 1/2.
This would mean that you're actually running hot.
Check the water pump and your fan clutch.

 

Are you serious that it causes a vacuum leak? When I got my intake swapped to s5, I had them removed. They arent just wired open.
Super

 

And now you've got two holes on the side of your intake manifold.

 

Well, no. I didnt remove the rods, I removed the clyinder things. Rods are all still intact.

 

well,i will try to see if my auxillary ports are working or not...my exhaust has been modified...im still running the stock mani,but the cat has been replaced and relocated further back and the pipe that connects to the intake has been eliminated and the smog valve on the l.i.m also been deleted...

as for my water temp,there is no overheating issues.the water pump as i can see has been replaced before.i was thinking on trying a lower temp t-stat like 160%...

 

If there are no overheating issues, why would you go with the wrong thermostat?
Before you make any rash moves it might be good to install a real water temp gauge so you know what your temp really is.