yL808

i just bought a 88 rx7 but i have to fix a few things but i don't know much about cars and less about rx7's.
-when i start the car theres a gas smell coming from somewhere. could it be a gas leak or exhaust leak?
-after i drive around for a while, hot air starts to come out of where the shifter is. does it have something to do with the tranny?
-what type of radiator fluid, oil, and other fluids would be good for car. i'm thinking about doing a whole engine flush.
-and finally, what are somethings that i should check for. the car has 90,XXX miles on it and still runs strong. just wondering if there are certain things i have to change, fix, or just check up on.

if you have answers to any of these questions plz lmk. thanks.

-andy

Kory_yahi

If it is a gas leak I'd think there would be drops dripping. If it is an exhaust leak an easy way to check is look under the car when it is cold, and also have someone rev the engine with the hood open while you look in it. You shouldn't see smoke coming from anywhere like the exhaust manifold, or at any of the connecting parts of the catylitic converters, or Y-pipe.

I am not sure about the heat from the shifter, I know my fork gets hot after driving for a bit. How hot does it get? is it just the bar or can you feel it radiating up?

For radiator fluids buy a thing of Napa generic radiator fluid, one bottle of redline water wetter. And then the rest just clean water.

I'd recommend 20-50 Castrol oil, thats what the majority of people use on this forum. I use it year round.

Also do a complete tune up of your car, Spark Plugs, Spark plug wires, Also get a Napa Gold oil filter for your car. Also you will probably want to replace your fuel filter. Before thinking about replacing your stock air box filter, think about going to a K&N cone filter.

Tessai

The hot air on your shifter is most likely a torn/missing rubber boot. Under the cosmetic leather shift boot, there should be 2 rubber boots. If either of these are torn or missing, replace them. Should be ~$10 on ebay.

yL808

thanks for the heads up on everything. anyone else got any other suggestions or comments?

deadRX7Conv

Do a search here for "pulsation dampener".
Don't drive the car until you fix/find the fuel leak. You are risking a fire and vehicle destruction. Start with the above mentioned PD, the fuel injectors, fuel hoses, and fuel filter. CARRY A FIRE EXTINGUISHER!

Regular antifreeze and distilled water is best. I prefer prestone in the yellow bottle. And, only use OEM thermostats since they work best.

The tranny does get hot. I too get the hot air around the shifter. I replaced the shifter boots. This helped with the hot air some.
http://mazdatrix.com/faq/shiftbsh.htm

Oil choice is yours to make. Since this is a revving motor, I don't use the thick stuff that everyone thinks the motor needs. I run 5w40 in the summer and 0w30 in the winter. Frequent oil changes and regular top offs are more important. The vehicle is oil injected.

I use Redline MT-90 for my manual trans. Since I have a front/rear tranny seal leak, I've topped off with Royal Purple MaxGear which is also a 75w90 like Redline.
I use Mobil-1 GL5 75w90 in the rearend and Mobil1 ATF for power steering.

The factory service manual is available on line. Google for it, download it, and read it from cover to cover.

Start by replacing all fluids and filters, plugs, wires, hoses, belts......

kungfuroy

iTrader: (6)

Go buy the Haynes manual for it and read up, it has loads of information

bigdv519

iTrader: (3)

Hmmmm, a gas smell. I have to DISAGREE with KORY_yahi about the drips. If you smell gas, even behind the car, gas is most likely leaking from somewhere. You can smell it in the back of the car since the cooling fan blows the fumes to the back. If you can smell it with the hood up...well theres not too much to say about that. You most likely do have a fuel leak somewhere.

In the pic below, Ive had fuel leaks at these locations so far.

Kory_yahi

Yeah I agree with your disagree, I thought about it after I posted. I was mostly talking about the possible exhaust leak he could be having. Good call on my bad though.

yL808

thanks guys, i'm gonna check everything you guys posted. if you guys have any personal advise on how to keep the car maintained well, plz lmk. i live in hawaii and theres not much rotary people here.

yL808

thanks guys, i'm gonna check everything you guys posted. if you guys have any personal advise on how to keep the car maintained well, plz lmk. i live in hawaii and theres not much rotary people here.

yL808

does it make a difference if i can only smell the gas/oil smell when im running the car? i dont even have to be driving it, just when i start up the car. because when the car is just sitting there, i cant smell a thing.

91RX-7 boy

when i start it "i see like fog coming out the pipes thats normal because it runs rather rich during start up to heat the cadi converter and engine.once the car is heated you shouldnt smell it too much

yL808

the smell is pretty bad even after the car is heated. i dont get to drive my 7 often yet because of parking issues so i didnt get a chance to see if there is alot of oil/gas marks underneath the car. but i start her up everyday for 15 min and play with the throttle. and the smell is pretty bad.

Charlie

Listen to what DeadRX7Conv posted. Do the search. In short the pulsation damper (pd) is prone to breaking with age. If it breaks, fuel is sprayed into your engine compartment and can ignite. There is an ongoing debate questioning if the PD is even needed in the fuel system. You can replace the PD with a "Banjo Bolt" which costs about $8.00. You will need to temporarily remove the Upper Intake Manifold in order to get to it. The whole job takes about 1 to 2 hours. This is a very common problem on these cars and this forum has helped identify just how common it actually is.

DemonicPupil

Maybe I should do a double check on all my lines... I've put 3,000+ on mine since IO got it and have always had a nice gassy smell. I thought that was just one of the perks of a 7