pfsantos

iTrader: (1)

But he paid for the coil(s), no?

pfsantos

iTrader: (1)

Maybe because of the EGR system. I know some Nissans (Sentra SER's back in the day) and others using the same engine had an issue of cat guts being sucked into the engine and causing major wear. Still surprised that bits went backward through the EGR passage. I guess there was enough vacuum pulling against exhaust flow?

ACR_RX-7

iTrader: (1)

I'm in the industry, so I know the answer to the issue.

Nissan and Ford had similar issues. Nissan had it on the QR25DE engines and Ford had it on their Duratec engines. In the case of Nissan, the valve overlap, PCM programming, and the proximity of the catalyst to the valve ports was the issue. On valve overlap, the engine self EGRs without a valve and reduces emissions. The catalyst being too close and of poor construction caused the issue.

The Ford issue was very similar, but they all used EGR valves. The turbulence and the location of the inlet to the EGR valve caused the micro particles of the catalyst to get ingested. Every engine has a bit of scavenging and overlap that does cause some exhaust to go back into the cylinder. Properly designed manifolds prevent the exhaust that has already touched the catalyst from going back down the valves.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

New Prioect Binky (in color)!

Not to impugn any of the the other build threads I follow, but Binky is my gold standard and this episode showcases why.
The imagination, engineering and incredible execution applied to every detail raises the mundane to the sublime and the production values are very high as well.
Seriously, this is worth your time.

(If you're new to the series, you really need to start at the beginning to grasp the scope of the project and there are no bad episodes)

BrettLinton7

iTrader: (33)

I think you turned me on to that series a while ago and now I'm hooked. They make all that fab work look so easy... Such a good show.

toplessFC3Sman

iTrader: (1)

I've been really missing clokker and all the detailed, well-conceived but low-cost updates to both the Z and his FC!

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Clokker is touched.

My eyes have degraded to the point that I haven't driven in about nine months and even tried to sell the 7.
It may surprise you to learn that larking about the junkyard provides a very meager health plan and America's for profit insurers don't see a 70 year old lifetime smoker going blind as their target demographic.


Craigslisting my car was an interesting, yet depressing and ultimately, inexplicable experience*.
I linked to this thread because I thought it would give me an idea of who was serious enough to slog through, even without the pictures. Sure enough, the first respomdant was quite knowledgeable and brought a Mazda mechanic along who knew even more.
T^hey7 went all over the car and did a compression test with some high zoot tester. Adjusted for altitude and cranking speed and the best, 135psi., the worst face was 124psi.
After consideration, he came vack with an offer a thousand less than asking...which I declined.
Many emails later, the seventh person to actually come view the car agreed to the asking price and we had a sale.
Until two days later when I get an email saying the deal could not be finalized and I never heard from him again.
It was quite odd, he'd been so enthusiastic and sincere and then poof!

Oh well, silver linings and all that.
I recently finally met somebody skilled in navigating the Byzantine corridors of government/private insurance and there is reasonable hope that a happy ending may result.
Fingers are crossed.

Meanwhile, the RX sits, forlorn but still mine, waiting to be driven again.

*As his son and their "mechanically inclined" friend looked over the 7, the father asked me why his son should buy the rotary
instead of the Honda Accord they'd just seen earlier.
Told him I had no idea, the Accord was certainly faster, safer and cheaper to run than my car.
In hindsight, probably not the sales pitch he was expecting.

toplessFC3Sman

iTrader: (1)

I'm very sorry to hear that! Is there anything that you need or could help your vision that you don't have? It sounds like this is more than just a new pair of glasses?

Have you tried posting your RX-7 for sale on these forums?

Molotovman

iTrader: (49)

That's a bummer man, have you tried any dietary adjustments to improve eye health or is it something like cataracts?

TonyD89

iTrader: (10)

I figure since he's on the medical mary jane it's Glaucoma, though, smoking (tobacco) is very hard on your eyes and it shows up when you age. But then again, there's always something hiding in those genes that doesn't show its ugly head until one gets on in the years. It's Inevitable we will all have some sort of issue that's been hidden through our youth (and relative youth).

Best of luck to you clokker, I didn't know you were 70. That makes you three years younger than my Dad, another lifelong smoker suffering from being one.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

I entered the ER on the morning of the 14th with what later described by my ICU nurse as "the vital signs of a fresh corpse" and spent the next 10 days getting wprked over in various bizarre ways.
If you've never experienced a MRI (I had 3) there is no way to descdribe how hilariously weird it is. I also got 3 CAT scans (2 with contrast screening), 2 full body ultrasounds, one fat biopsy and had six litres of fluid drained from around my lungs and heart. I lost 25lbs (down to 145) and am weak as hell.
I still have a kidney biopsy scheduled and am on oxygen but am at home at least, where the food is much better and no one wakes me up at 2AM to ask how I'm sleeping.

toplessFC3Sman

iTrader: (1)

Oh man, that sounds rough! At least you're still kickin' though! Here's hoping you make a fast recovery!

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Thank you, but I shan't be "recovering" in the normal sense at all.
Turns out that all my woes were/are a consequence of a relatively rare white blood cell cancer called amyloidosis and there ain't no cure for it.
The symptoms can be somewhat mitigated but it's gonna get me sooner rather than later.

A few weeks after leaving the hospital, I awoke with half my face numb and unresponsive...immediately suspected a stroke but was later diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, another oddball disease that strikes out of the blue but generally resolves in time. Nothing to really do about it but wait it out.
Well, wait it out and take more antibiotics and steroids, to add to the growing pile of drugs I now take daily.
All the steroids I take have cranked my appetite up to ferocious levels but the diuretics I take keep me from gaining much weight- it's a tricky way to stay thin for sure.
One of the symptoms of the cancer is extreme fluid retention, while in the hospital I had my chest drained but fluid is already building up again, so they're trying to see if I can pee it away. I am so dehydrated that even my earlobes are wrinkled and I look about 100 years old. I **** constantly and am limited to 1 1/2 litres of fluid intake per day, which is not how you're supposed to do it normally.

All news is not so dire however...my eyes are getting fixed.
For all intents and purposes I was legally blind- had no vision at all in the left eye and very blurry sight in the right.
Turns out it was cataracts and they are easily fixed these days. I had the left eye done last week and now have 20/15 vision. The right eye gets done this coming Wednesday.
Humorously, as my body goes to hell, my ability to drive has been restored and I plan on doing so as long as possible.
Because I'm now on oxygen, I qualify for handicap tags and you can bet I'll be ****** getting those ASAP.

My trusty FC has sat- forlorn and ignored- for many months but fired right up a few days ago.
How that ten year old Optima battery continues to work, I can't explain but it does.
I certainly got my money's worth out of it.

That's all for now, tomorrow I get a bone marrow biopsy,which will determine exactly the proportion of drugs to "treat" the cancer.
A needle into the pelvis...sounds like fun, eh?

driftxsequence

iTrader: (8)

clokker i've followed your thread for years. I hope you have a quick recovery and many more years. Your well written and quick witted updates are so entertaining even without pictures. I feel like I'm there with you bullshitting around the car.

Keep on keepin' on and show those bitches youre in charge.

toplessFC3Sman

iTrader: (1)

Very glad to hear an update, and that you can see again! Bet all those craigslist travails with Sprocket look like a blessing in disguise now!

Cancer can certainly be a bitch - my wife and mother were diagnosed with breast cancer within 2 weeks of each other about 4 months ago; my mother is healing up from a mastectomy now since it was early enough that operation alone would get it, but my wife's diagnosis was stage 3 and affecting a number of lymph nodes, so she's currently in the middle of a round of chemo, with surgery in a few weeks. We're hoping that it hasn't progressed to stage 4 (and moving from curable to just treatable), since it has not really responded to the chemo very well, but... well, we'll see.

Anyhow, keep your spirits up and do things that you love, that's really what has kept us going. I look forward to reading more about how Sprocket has handled the months off, and of course about the Z.

SpikeDerailed

iTrader: (7)

I wish you god speed man, for however long you have left to enjoy on this earth.

The fact that at your age after a simple cataract surgery was able to restore the vision in your left eye to what is for all intents and purposes is perfect is absolutely amazing.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Thank you both and good luck to your wife and mother, topless.



I believe I'd now qualify for fighter pilot training in the Air Force, can't wait for the second surgery this Wed.
Just call me Maverick.
What's really amazing is that the whole thing takes about 15 minutes, is absolutely painless and you can see immediately. It does take a few days for the pupil to contract to normal and you go through an eyedrop schedule and wear an eyeguard at night (for a few days), but sheesh...small potatoes considering the benefits.

People with less advanced cataracts even get to choose their final outcome...you can pick optimising your sight for distance, close up or one of each (in which case you won't need reading glasses). I didn't have the "binocular" option, so my eyes are both for distance, which is the preferred set up for driving and I'll be getting a prescription for readers.

I doubt I'll be wandering the junkyard any more, but things could be worse.

lduley

iTrader: (1)

Sorry to hear about all the health issues, hope it all works out for you

clokker

iTrader: (2)

It's been a while since I posted, so here's an update.
I've been undergoing chemotherapy and it's a constant juggling act to balance the results with the side effects.
Current dosages wipe me out for about three/four days, then a slight recovery and restart again. It's kinda a pain.

During my initial hospital stay my car was broken into and all my junkyard tools were stolen.
Although I'm really not physically capable of doing much, the lack of tools was unsettling and abnormal, so I've slowly started replacing them.
Nothing fancy, just some basics, although I did spring for real JIS screwdrivers and a "nicer" 1/4 drive ratchet. Mostly it'll be Harbor Freight stuff though.

I have new wipers (Bosch Icons), oil/filter (Wix filter, Castrol10w30 oil), coolant and spark plugs (NGK stockers) to install and, after way too long, I finally got one of the oil drain plugs that Evil Aviator ( Shop online EZ Oil Drain Valve | OilDrainValve.net) was always raving about. Better late than never, I suppose. I hope to do the work myself, but Sigfrid will help if I can't. It's odd to contemplate that what used to take maybe 1/2 hour of simple labor may be beyond my abilities completely now, but there you have it. Sometimes just getting up the 14 steps in my house is too much.
I am pathetic.

Anyway, here's something interesting...
Did you know that NGK (and every other manufacturer) now recommends AGAINST using anti-seize on spark plugs?
They say it leads to over-torquing and they are putting on coatings for you.
It'll take some self control to resist...I've been using anti-seize my entire life.
Times change, don't they?

DeaconBlue

iTrader: (31)

Sorry to hear about the theft - hopefully they didn't damage the car too badly. I am glad to hear you are progressing though treatment - it is never easy but it sure bets the alternative! As far as the spark plugs are concerned I fully understand - the new nickel plating is supposed to do the trick, but still...

https://www.motor.com/magazine-summa...oter-mar-2013/

meerkat8701

[QUOTE=clokker;12315297]It's been a while since I posted, so here's an update.
I've been undergoing chemotherapy and it's a constant juggling act to balance the results with the side effects.
Current dosages wipe me out for about three/four days, then a slight recovery and restart again. It's kinda a pain.

During my initial hospital stay my car was broken into and all my junkyard tools were stolen.
Although I'm really not physically capable of doing much, the lack of tools was unsettling and abnormal, so I've slowly started replacing them.
Nothing fancy, just some basics, although I did spring for real JIS screwdrivers and a "nicer" 1/4 drive ratchet. Mostly it'll be Harbor Freight stuff though.

clokker! I havent logged into the club for what seems like an age on the grounds of life problems which now pale in comparison after reading this. Really sad to hear that your health Is giving you a hard time bossman. I sincerely hope that you get well soon! I have a feeling that you and the 7 aren't done with each other yet!

TLC

Keep up the good work!!

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Meerdude, nice to see you again.
Thanks for the thought but let's get real, I won't be getting better soon...or ever.
This is not depressing or a cry for sympathy, it's just the way it is...I gambled with my health for over fifty years and won.
Right up until I didn't.

We modern folk have such a weird relationship with aging and death, once you're no longer young, you almost become invisible and ignored.
Then you die, everyone is momentarily sad and then goes back to pretending it won't happen to them.
Until, inevitably, it does.

But...what is all this philosophizing about, especially on a car forum.
One advantage I have is the realization that the RX will be my last vehicle and I can enjoy it to the best of my remaining capabilities without worrying about what happens to it later.
I can still drive just fine- especially after the cataract surgeries- and enjoy the irony of parking in handicapped spaces.
She still runs well and I expect that to continue.
Plus- operating under the adage that "you can't take it with you"- I've started thinking about what I might do when my health really starts to fail.
Like, I could just give her away to an unsuspecting but deserving person.
Not sure how that might work but it's an interesting idea.

Anyway...what about you?
You cryptically mention life difficulties...do you still have the RX?

clokker

iTrader: (2)

A Bit Of A Review...based on initial install and minimal runtime.

For years Evil Aviator has been extolling the virtues of the oil drain valve made by these guys (oildrainvalve.net) and for some reason, I finally decided to listen.
And boy, I'm glad I did.

Basically, once installed, this valve allows you to simply flip a lever and drain the oil, no tools required.
The part costs @$30 with the few options I'll also recommend. (The FC takes part # EZ-106)

The two cons I discovered...
-There is no complete hex on the valve. They recommend- and I see no alternative- that you use a small adjustable wrench to install the valve.
This worked, and bear in mind, you only need do this once, but was a bit awkward.

-The valve is sold bare, the discharge side is threaded but you get no cap or cover. It seemed like this exposed the ball valve to road grit and grime and in general, offend my sense of
order. They do offer a hose barb that will screw in and this can be fitted with a cap, so that's what I ended up doing. Not the most elegant solution, but should work.
(They now offer a plastic cap that screws directly into the valve body and seals it more nicely than my workaround. I'd do that, given the option)

Other than these two minor caveats, install went easily.
Now for the good part...
My (mostly) stock suspension sits the car up high enough that my oil drain pan will slide underneath without jacking.
Now, I can also reach the drain valve lever from above (YMMV, depending on engine config) and drain the oil -with no tools or jacking required.
No crawling under the car, no mess, no bother.
This might seem like, and indeed, may well be, a luxury item but what the hell, I deserve it.
And so do you.

BrettLinton7

iTrader: (33)

Glad to hear from you Clokker. I enjoy your updates and am glad you are still sharing with us. You caught my interest in that drain valve and I pulled up that website. My worry was that the valve plus the barb fitting might extend lower than bottom of the oil pan, and it could get caught by road debris or something and break, dumping your oil everywhere. Any concerns about that? I'll admit I haven't been under either of my rotaries for many months, so my recollection of the drain plug location and angle might be off...