rope in engine...
 

88 rx-7 non-turbo.

After I got off the high way this morning, the throttle was unstable. It was periodically trying to rev up every second and at idle, it revs up to redline. I opened up the hood and there was some rope entangled to the fan, together with a few tiny pieces of plastic under the hood(maybe the rest was lost during my drive home)?

My question is did something break loose/ fall off in the engine compartment or was it something on the road and how do I remedy it? The car now idles at 7000rpm and would erratically apply throttle while driving.

ohh sounds like you have the old rope stuck my throttle problem.

you need some pic's

The fabric wire I took out are here:

http://i934.photobucket.com/albums/a...sh86/photo.jpg

There were three small black plastic chips that I couldn't find.

Most was in front of the fan as you can see some remains:

http://i934.photobucket.com/albums/a...86/photo-1.jpg

Thats the remains of a belt, so you should probably replace any you havent replaced in the last year.

and its the air pump belt from the looks of that photo, unless you removed that

you're missing the belt to the air pump, that helps with the water pump pulley (more surface contact). and by the looks of the last picture your p/s and a/c belts are upside down the pattern should face inwards to the pulleys.

check the throttle cable and your gas pedal to see if anything is keeping it from going back to its idle position. but someone else might help further.

Pretty sure belt type just has pattern on back. Ive seen a few brands that do and it would be damn near impossible to install v belt backwards.

Thank you for the answers.

So does the air pump belt breaking result directly in the throttle abnormally? Or Alex_n/a, are you saying the full rev is a different issue with throttle and gas pedal?

What's the OEM belt brand? Is it Dayco?

That is a Gatorback belt. It's supposed to have those ridges on the back, supposedly makes the belt more flexible thus less internal friction/heat/wear.

The stuck throttle sounds like it might have been caused by the rope-a piece of road trash or the remains of a failed belt. It may also have another cause, so look around at the linkage and cables for anything abnormal. Have some one move the gas pedal (engine off) so you can watch for smooth operation of all the linkages and cables.

If that fan has chips or broken spots, it will run out of balance and ruin your waterpump bearings. If it's damaged, buy a replacement on the 'For Sale 'section of this board.

FC's are pretty hard on belts. What everyone is telling you is that the belts should be replaced once per year. If don't take off the old belts and replace them, they will take themselves off by failing...

The air pump belt is also partly responsible for spinning the water pump. Without that belt, your car may have overheating problems.

Welcome to the forum, read the FAQ.

Would this belt fit?

Shipping costs more at most places so I'm trying to see if the Dayco Top Cog V-Belt would fit which I can just pick up from a local store.

what i meant is something may be physically holding the throttle cable to keep the rev high. this will probably not be the case but just be sure i always do a quick check that everything is physically correct and move on to more technical stuff.

While it may be impossible to install backwards, it may wear on one side then flip. When I had my FD alt on my NA motor, the belt would always wear on one side + not the other. FD alternators don't line up 100% exactly. So eventually the belt would squeak like a mother, then flip because the chording on that one side would just about fail. It was really weird. It happened to 3 different belts also.

But OP just has an odd brand of belt.


I wouldn't go with OEM. Just get what you can. I don't think there's really a bad brand of v belt.

im not so sure thats a gatorback, i have them on my car and they look nothing like that, the grooves your thinking about for better flexibility are on the inside of the belt where it contacts the pulley.

My spare alternator belt in the trunk has the ribbing on the outer side like that. Yes, it was supposed to come that way.

I tried to find the problem with the stuck throttle. First of all, not having the air pump belt shouldn't make the throttle high right? I looked at the throttle linkage and the throttle body, at the back and the front of the intake, and also, this thin metal link that goes down seems to move freely with hand. where else should I check? I don't think the problem comes from the inside (I'll take a look.), I think I agree with the others, some remains of the belt caught up in the throttle system. Does anyone know where else to look? Where else does it have like valve/hinge structures that could possibly get stuck? Pictures would also help. Thanks!