This is the endurance story of my rex. i finished my turbo swap in my base and everything seems to be running fine. I made it 75 miles to my friends house in utica from watertown after getting off active duty army. it was the third day
ive had the car running when i decided it was time to do the ultimate test. get to my new apartment in florida with everything i own in the back. I left utica at about 12pm on the 15th of july.

I made it all the way to va where i stopped at a gas station when i first got to VA. and filled up and i checked under my hood and the alternator bolt that holds the alternator to the motor was falling out, and i couldnt find my ratchet cuz i had my car full of all my stuff, and so i was waiting for someone to borrow one from and these little middles school kids start a fight with each other till a cop comes and breaks it up.

A truck that had a trailor for like race stuff drove to the pumps and i asked if he had a ratchet and he said he didnt, but his truck was leaking oil. A cpl mins later, i see smoke coming from the hood of the truck dude the ******* thing caught on fire right next to the pumps. im talking flames like 4 ft high from the motor, the fire dept came and the same cop came by and i told him i hate va. i finally got the ratchet and got it fixed and went on my way my.

my tranny felt funny since i got the car running and when i got to the middle of va, my tranny makes this ungoddly noise, so i pull over to scope it out on this rd (i-195 or somewhere close to that)where everyones flying, its like 11pm. and i have to park on the left side of the rd cuz no one would get out of the way. lucky for me i had a flare so i lit it up to show i was there and i couldnt find anything it smelled like burning metal. no fire or anything so i try switching gears with it off and push in the clutch. it seemed okay so i turn back on the car and it starts grinding only when it was moving so i thought it was my clutch, or my
axle broke.

so i pull off the next exit that i was next too and i call my sister and tell her wus up i was going to stay there over night, but it was way to creepy all dark and **** at a abandoned gas station in va. so i drive back on the on ramp and ignore the sound i made it to richmond i stopped at a rest stop and slept for 2 hours. now its 4am and i just woke up and i kept moving i made it about 10 miles past that where i had to get gas again and when i was leaving the gas station it was making some CRAZY *** noises so i drive up the rd and dont get back on the highway.

I stop at a 711 at a small town and shut off the car the shifter wouldnt move it was frozen and stuck in 3rd gear and i slept at the 711 parking lot till like 7 am cuz it died at like 5am. so i call my insurance and have them get me a tow cuz (thank god i put towing on my car). They brought me to the tranny place like 5 secs away. I talk to the guy and tell him my situation: i dont remember the name of the shithole town i tell the guy my story and he says he'll see what he could do.

So the guy calls around junk yards and asks if anyone has rx7 trannys, and only one place had one, and it was a used one with 130k on it $500, yeah it cost ******* $500 just for the tranny. yeah the old one was ******* canned soup the guy said theres no saving the tranny so i had to get the new one and to put it in was $500 more to throw it in there. i waited around cuz i definatly did not have that money, so i called my sis and her bf sent me $500.


i talked to the owner, and he said he could have one of his guys and him put it in for an hourly wage. off the books. it came up to $300 for labor intead of $500 and so my sister gave me $500 and my friend from binghampton let me borrow $200.
And i used $100. It was about 8pm when it was done and i started to drive again. The guy disconnected a vac line from the uim and so it ran like ****, but the tranny felt a million times better. so i stop at a place about 40 miles away at the border
of va and nc. i check to see whats up and i see that the vac is unhooked, and the vac line was under the uim and i couldnt see it. so i had to take off the uim, but remember i cant find my damn ratchet.

so i stop at wal-mart for a ratchet. i open my passenger door and i found the rachet was jammed between a couple boxes. ugh so dumb. and i took it all apart and its like close to 10 pm at night. I did finally get it all back together 10 mins later and contiued to drive. I stopped at a hotel in nc cuz i was going to stay in va. i made it about 66 miles away from my new apartment when i stop at a gas station. i fill up and check fluids when i notice a huge pool of oil on the ground. crap i blew my motor. oh wait i didnt. i just blew an oil cooler line. rx7s dont like 100 mph for 30 mins straight i guess. hehe.

so i left her there and had my sisters bf pick me up. then i got AAA and had it towed to my apt. and i finally got it fixed. rap rap rap rap, just thought i let u guys know how it went. i hate va and i dont suggest anyone goes there. if you live in va, move. And check your tranny before u go 1300 miles. lol

 

Glad you made it. That thing was so ghetto I seriously had my doubts!

On another note: Why didn't you bother telling people about the nightmare you went through just getting that damn thing running right!?

 

thanx lol. i cleaned it up some before i left. well except the bolts for the fuel. lol. they still arent hooked up. ******* things wont get out , i even tried pulling em with the vice grips. ill have to empty the tank and dry it and grind down the little peices that are sticking out, this way i can drill them out and throw the new ones in. she's driving alot better now. thanx for the help

 

That's probably not the safest thing in the world, especially if you attempt to 'fill the tank until the pump shuts off'. Can't believe all the crazy things on that car!

 

yeah it made it, thats all i care about. ill clean it up while im down here. i filled it up once. the pump kicked off. but not without letting a pool of gas behind. i put it in neutral and pushed it away from the gas so i wouldnt back fire and blow up the place. lol

 

that's an insane crazy story. sure makes me feel lucky because my oil seals went out when i was about 20 miles away from home coming back form a 600 mile trip. But it's good to hear your'e safe and you didn't get smashed by another crazy driver and all seems to be well now.

good luck my friend,
Matt

 

I magically made an 850 mile trip while leaking coolant and oil with a cat named Fred...fun times fun times. LoL

Glad you made it safely!! Transmition problems can be a bitch! You're luck you found one that worked!

 

its stories like these that scare me away from doing a TurboII swap :-(

 

Was it a t2 tranny that blew? i thought they were pretty indestructable..

 

good you made the trip. when i first got mine i got it from rochester NY and drove it back to ft. lauderdale FL.... but i didnt stop. i went straight through by myself... which i dont recomend. the only problem i had was that after about 75miles down the road in NY i saw my drivers side front wheel rolling down the highway next to me at about 70mph next to the car... after getting that back on it was a decent drive back with no other problems.

 

I flew to boca raton, florida to by my rx-7. Then i drove it 1336 miles back to CT, no problems at all, but i never went above 80.

 

I drive 1200 mile trips in my FC almost weekend. It's crazy how many miles I've put on that poor thing!

 

i was keeping it close to 90 the whole time. so maybe thats why. but like i said the tranny was pretty abused when i bought it. and i didnt know. it was a t2. and the engine worked find. so i dong want u to stop ur swap(just make sure the tranny works out good). thanx for the reply's

 

Wow man...sounds like a nightmare. I live in VA...and you are right there are alot of shitty little creepy towns up in Northern VA. Once you get below Richmond its alot better. I live down in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area. I wish you had known where I was...I have a shop full of tools and 4 car lifts! Glad to hear you made it though.

-Joe

 

i hate u. lol. thanx overdriven

 

Lol...well tell you what. Let me know next time you are making the trip and I'll give ya my contact info incase you need help.

-Joe

 

Just FYI.. sounds like the tranny had no fluid in it. Usually when you lock one up it's because of low/no fluid.. the smell of burnt metal and the locking of the shifter in third and the noise are all good signs. Just for reference!

 

Heh sorry to hear about your bad luck.

Earlier this summer I made a trip from Traverse City (northern) Michigan to Miami Florida, about 1700 miles, non stop (except for gas and food and such) by my self. Bone stock rx7-se, average speed was probably 90, pushed it up to 110 on some legs (god I love Michigan highways and radar detectors) not one problem

 

Yeah, that's the only nice thing about lower michigan (the 70mph limits). Other than that, it sucks.

 

Yes other than the roads, michigan sucks. But hey, what else do you need?