Hi Brett, I too shared your concerns but decided they are probably baseless.
For one thing, a few years ago I drilled and tapped my drain plug for an oil temp sending unit, which stuck out about the same distance and had a wire hanging off.
It survived for a few years with no issues.
Also, they now offer a lower profile screw in cap to seal off the valve that looks to add only a few millimeters to the overall length and would be my preferred solution.

I'd say that unless you're off-roading your car, the valve is pretty safe.
I'll update with further info should anything happen/change.

 

Hey, I haven't gotten on here much, good to see that you're still kicking and hopefully the chemo isn't taking too much out of you. It was a bit different each week with my wife, depending on the concoction they came up with.

 

Upon occasion, we see a post asking "What tools should I pack for a road trip?" and although I suspect many such are just
intended to raise post counts to access the classifieds, I thought I'd take it seriously and give it some thought.

First off would be to define "road trip".
In my opinion, anything less than 500 miles is just an extended drive and should require no preplanning or special prep at all.
If your car can't roll 500 miles down an interstate right this minute, you need to work on it immediately and fix the deficiencies.
500 miles is only 6 1/2-7 hours of the easiest steady-state motoring there is and any beater should be able to do it. There is nothing unique about a rotary engine that would exempt it from this statement.

So, let's assume you're going to cover more distance, over a longer period of time...what should you consider/plan for?

I think there are two ways to approach the problem, one more cerebral than the other.
I'll begin with the (almost) purely mental approach.

A couple of years ago, I built my car up from a bare shell and used little more than a 1/4" drive ratchet with 10 and 12mm sockets.
Statistically, those two drivers will cover about 90% of anything you may have to work on should your car break down.
Toss in a 14mm (wrench or socket) and you could conceivably remove the entire intake manifold and most everything else in the engine bay...Mazda loves their 6mm bolts/nuts.

From a purely purist perspective, the correct answer to the question is "Pack three wrenches/sockets and get on with it, ******".

Obviously, not the answer most folks would be comfortable with, so let's look at it differently.

This time, consider what jobs you'd feel able to tackle while stranded on the side of the road.
Think you could/would be replacing the rear subframe?
Then go ahead and pack your entire toolbox, cause you'll need it.
Personally, at that point I'd consider a cell phone and AAA membership...but maybe that's just me.

Perhaps I'd look at a smaller scale project, something with the brakes, perhaps?
I'm trying to imagine my brake system and figure I could remove the entire thing with a 7 and 8mm wrench (the two speedbleeders on the calipers), a 17mm wrench or socket (caliper mount bolts),
12mm socket and ratchet (master cylinder and booster) and a 10mm flare wrench(brake line fittings).
These tools would allow for a pretty comprehensive roadside brake overhaul/service should disaster strike.

Anything more and I'm "Nopin" my way outta there.

Let's see, a few screwdrivers would be useful (JIS spec if you please) and some pliers, too.
Toss in a baggie with some fuses and spare light bulbs and really, what else do you need?
Maybe some spare drive belts?
OK, I'll go for that.

I feel that the basic in-the car-toolbox can be far smaller than most people realize. All it takes is an honest
Assesment of the work you're actually willing to undertake in an emergency and the likelihood of various things going wrong and plan from there.

Having just had all my tools stolen (bastards!), I'm currently assembling a box for my car and it's been kinda fun.
I want it to be as small as possible, quiet (no crashing about over bumps) and as generally useful as I can make it.
I've used Amazon for the absurdly cheap prices and a brand called "Gearwrench" for their quality and range of options.
Maybe I'll post a pic when I'm done.

Now, go ahead and tell me about that heroic time you replaced a clutch on the side of I-80.

 

You know the only time I really needed tools on a road trip with the RX7 (other than what I took for track day events) was when I had to change all four belts in the driveway of my sister in-laws house the day after a track day event at VIR. All the rebuilding as well as the prep work for that event (only to basically over exercise my left arm pointing folks by in the intermediate group, sometimes twice in each session) and I never replaced the belts. After the event I decided that they would not make their way back home in one piece, so off to AutoZone for replacements. I would also recommend adding the obligatory big *** screw drive or small pry bar to the tool list . BTW, I know that VIR is a high horsepower track, but I later discovered that the engine was way down on power due to the carbon locked 6-port actuators.

 

 

Havent seen a post here in a while, hope all is well!

 

How very weird to see this thread pop up.
It's also frighteningly coincidental that over the past two days I've actually had to lay hands on the car for the first time in almost a year as I prepare for an etest.
Changed oil/filter, reset TPS and tweaked the idle a bit.
Easy stuff.

Then I had to crawl under the car and install the "new" cat.
This part was totally new two years ago, I installed it for the test then came home and pulled it right off to save it.
Now it had to go on again (and it's very unlikely I'll remove it after the test this time).
Four bolts to remove the old one and it took me nearly 2 1/2 hours.
Mismatched, rusty hardware- what the hell was I thinking?- lack of leverage and my newly decrepit body made what would have been a mildly unpleasant job into a nightmare.
But I persevered and it's done.
Tomorrow I take her over and see if she'll squeak through emissions one more time.
That will buy me two more years.

I hardly drive at all these days and can go a month on $15-20 worth of gas but still love the RX dearly.
Everything still works although cosmetically she is not so good.
The paint is just completely oxidized and I'll soon be in true beater mode. But no rust.
C'est la vie, she, like me, wears her scars proudly and can be proud of surviving.

 

Oddly enough this is the first time I've just browsed through this forum in months too, and here's your thread up at the top!

I'm glad to hear you're still doing Ok - exhaust bolts are always a pain in the ***, even on my relatively new RX-8 its difficult to do anything exhaust related without breaking or stripping something.

Good luck on the emissions test!

 

Well, she just skated through the etest, it wasn't even close.
I even got full blown handicapped plates this time, betcha don't see many RXs with those.

So all that effort just bought me two more years...

 

Congrats on passing smog, ive never owned a 7 that could actually do that(if it had to).

 

ding ding... its almost been a year without an update. hope everything is going well.

 

Checking in on Mr. Clokker. Hope youre doing well! Miss your updates.

 

He hasnt been on 7club in over 3 months, hopefully hes still ok.

 

Recognized the engine bay

https://www.copart.com/lot/42258221/...est-palm-beach

 

Man, I wish you hadn't posted that.

For the car to be kept so clean for so long, only to end up like that... Sad.

 

bid is low, lotta $$ in parts!

 

Well that's a bummer of a way to start my Sunday morning. Damn.

 

That really sucks, sad to see the car like that with that dumb sticker across the windshield.

I thought about Clokker a while back, after some sleuthing I believe his name is Steven Roen and he/his parents live at 8203 S High Ct in Centennial, CO. With no forum activity in over a year I assume his health got the best of him, thought I've not found an obituary. If you're no longer with us clokker, you will truly be missed old friend.

 

I was going to try and buy it but they want to charge $60 for a membership on that site.

 

The windshield banner is a horrible form of irony given the car's current state.

 

I wonder if there were health issues behind the wheel.

 

I doubt it was him behind the wheel at the time of the accident - I can't see clokker putting a "Rekkless" sticker on the windshield, plus I thought he was in CO while the car is in FL. While I hope it's not the case, he did have some serious and life-threatening diagnoses about 3 years ago. My guess is that whoever bought it after the estate sale or whatever drove it to this unfortunate end.

 

Too bad it wasn't "Wreckless"...