ProjectR13B

iTrader: (1)

nice man. i just bought a red one for $500. blown transmission though, so im doing an engine rebuild and an auto to manual swap. but hey welcome to the rx-7 ownership, and good luck with your project.

Dom_C

hmm I have no clue about the dash pot and all that stuff. I've always done the throttle body mod to all of my rx7's along with removing all of the emisions. Makes problems alot easier to diagnose. Goodluck though, keep us posted. Still think that you might have a small vac leak. . not sure though

Valkyrie

I think I might too, but would it really cause me to only be able to use 1/3rd of the throttle before the engine goes nuts (internal popping/banging noise), at least under load...

Also, I adjusted the TPS (again). I think it might have helped a little... maybe not. It was a bit smoother when I drove it again, but I still can't use more than 1/3rd power, and it's still not exactly what you could call "silky."

I tried to find leaks with WD40 and starting fluid, but it didn't really respond to that at all. I guess I'll just let a pro do it with a smoke machine.

I'm still wondering WTF is making my AFM/intake buzz. Maybe instead of backfiring like last time, it's just the air rushing through making it buzz (like a kazoo...lol)?

Reguardless, it's annoying and makes me worry.

Valkyrie

I took it on the road a bit (highway... 2-3 miles worth)... it doesn't want to go any faster than about 63 MPH, and it won't get there very fast, either. It's still got a bit of that let-off jerkiness, and won't go more than 2,500 RPMs or 1/3rd throttle without making the clicking sound.

Me and my dad think it's not getting enough fuel... so maybe an injector needs cleaning or replacing, or it's just not throwing fuel (for whatever reason).

Of course I suppose a vacuum leak might have the same symptoms.

I also got 30 bucks worth of gas (10 gallons...) since I was running low.

bamabubba

Your pump only works while your cranking the car. It doesnt turn on when you turn the key to the on position.
Jeremy

Valkyrie

Yes...well... that isn't exactly the problem at the moment... lol

bamabubba

Yea, I know. I posted that before I read the whole thread.
Jeremy

Valkyrie

Oh great, now I have more problems...

For some reason all my warning lights stay on when the car is running, although they're dim, unless I have my foot on the brake, in which case they're bright. WTF is with that?

Electrical problems are the last thing I needed.

BTW, I bought a fuel pressure gauge (8 bucks), vacuum gauge (10 bucks), and a timing light (12 bucks) today, and everything looks normal (surprisingly even vacuum, although I think I might have a leak at the pressure sensor now...).

Fuel pressure might have been a little low though (30 PSI instead of 35 at idle?).

Although now I seem to have even more wierd engine sounds...

Also, I really don't get my timing. The leading is dead-on, but the trailing seems to be way off (it's on the right of the yellow mark instead of the left).

Valkyrie

http://s30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...al&media=image

More piccur's! (took while the car was running...lol)

I fixed the warning light problem by tightening down the alternator post bolt... lol

Also, I cleaned all the grounds I could find (including the ECU ground) and that SEEMED to have improved the driveability a little. Perhaps I need to find more, or just rewire them... (PITA)

Plus, the car is insured now so I get to go wherever want...lol

lchaidez

iTrader: (4)

wow, i read through the entire thread.... this is some experience i wish i had with my FC. I have atleast 1 month now... he already rebuilt the engine, and the tranny. Im not no wizard in mechanics either... i have a couple of friends who know people that work on RX's, and things of that nature. I just wish i knew enough for me to do everything on my own... its to bad i work with computers more~ But this is a fun adventure thati just went through. Congrats on everything, and good luck! ^_^

Valkyrie

I installed new battery terminals since mine were crappy, and added a pint of Sea Foam to the gas tank (hope that'll clean out the injectors).

I bought some high-quality 6-gauge wire and terminals and I'm gonna start making some new grounds soon... 4-gauge seemed like overkill to me, plus they didn't have any 4-gauge terminals in stock...lol

Every time I clean up a ground or something electrical it seems to get a little better. Or at least it's getting better the more I drive it... Either way, I hope some badass ubergrounds (sarcasm... I'm not going to go nuts with them) will get rid of the hesistation and buzzing noises all together.

I also noticed that every time I take a corner sharply, the right door speaker buzzes. LOL. It does the same thing if I touch it (it's not covered).

Valkyrie

I installed two ground wires: one to the strut tower, one to the top of the block.

It seemed to get a little better (again)... but I still have low-RPM, high-throttle hesistations (although I suppose this is a minor problem).

At least now it seemed to be able to go with a bit more throttle and RPMs before it starts kicking out, but it still makes a lot of loud clicking noises. Now it'll actually go to right over 4,000 with little problem.

Plus, it has a hard time idling when it's cold (if you cancel the AWS it will want to die unless you give it throttle). After it warms up it idles fairly well at ~750 (although it floats a little bit up and down, so it's not really what I'd call rock solid).

Also, the AFM (or something near it) still buzzes (very high pitched) whenever I go to 3800 RPMs... and now the chassis seems to buzz a little when I go to around 2000. No idea what's causing that, but it's annoying.

I think maybe I fudged up the gasket on the UIM when I took it off to reach the top of the block... or maybe I need to retorque the bolts to spec again (although I'm sure they're close).

I also cleaned the BAC and installed a new gasket (the old one was so caked on I didn't bother to remove it... it was hard as a rock).

At this rate I'd probably need another 50 or so ground wires before it gets perfect...lol

Valkyrie

GAH! One of the bolts stripped when I was putting my throttle body back on, after checking the dashpot (it's junk...need a new one)... so now the car won't idle because of the vacuum leak caused by the broken bolt (assumably).

I just kept turning and turning the torque wrench, and the bolt snapped in half, because it never told me to stop (since for whatever reason, it wouldn't torque to 19 foot-pounds). I think the treads are trashed, so I need to have two of them re-threaded.

Another bolt has the same problem but it isn't broken...yet. I can't torque it since I know it'll break off too.

Valkyrie

Well, I'm gonna go buy a Helicoil to repair the two threads as soon as the store that sells them is open again...

But in the mean time, I changed my transmission fluid (THAT was a big mess... what a pain in the ***), drained and replaced my 100-mile-old oil and replaced the filter (with a 13-dollar K&N filter because I felt like it ), and the oil plug, to see if it would stop leaking (it didn't). The magnetic tranny plug had lots of silver goop on it... the oil pan plug didn't, since it isn't magnetic (and neither is the new one...). Maybe I'll just get a Filtermag to put over the filter...

Tommorow I'm gonna try to dig out the broken bolt from the oil pan and put bolts in the two holes that don't have them (including the broken one)... Although I have a sneaking suspicion that oil is actually leaking from rear oil seal (which I'm not even sure if I replaced or not... Couldn't figure it out), since that little rubber thing in the transmission on the bottom of the bell housing always seems to have oil seeping from it. I guess if I have to take the tranny out to fix that, at least I can replace the release bearing, which has been making a lot of noise.

The problem with this oil leak is that it's really vague... even if I degrease the whole thing I can't tell exactly where it's coming from (not to mention I've been leaving oil everywhere I go...).

There also seems to be a minor dripping of coolant from the radiator... no idea where it's coming from, or how to find/fix it.

And for the record, it seems to be running better and better... but not by all that much.

skylinekin

great thread, I love the color of your car!! It will all pay off once its running perfect, good luck!!

wishIhadanFC

just checked your photo album. I hope you disconnected the driveshaft when you towed it like that or it wasnt a far trip. I know a bunch of tow truck drivers who have ruined transmissions like that.

skylinekin

^^I always hear mixed opinions about this, some people say that this only hapens if you tow a automatic trans. car, but just to be safe always tow from the back wheels.

Valkyrie

No... We didn't disconnect the driveshaft, and it was a 5-hour trip...lol

Today a friend got the broken bolt out of the intake manifold, and although the threads were technically still there, I replaced them with a helicoil since they were still weak (just one though).

I also removed bits of the old, old gasket with a chisel, and made damn sure the gasket was air-tight with silicone on both sides (and did the same thing for the BAC), but I still have the damn vacuum leak, according to the fact that my vac gauge isn't where it's supposed to be, and because it won't idle unless it's warm.

I can't find leaks using starter fluid at all.... it's like they're not there (but they are...).

For some reason my K&N air filter sounds like a vacuum leak, whereas it's usually fairly quiet (until you give it throttle). Probably because of the leak itself.

Also, I think I fixed the coolant leaks by tightening the heater hoses, but now the oil leak seems even worse, with a fairly steady drip. We couldn't get the broken oil pan bolt out with an Easy-out, and I think drilling on it might have made it worse (since it's dripping from a different location now, from either the oil pan or the oil filter/pedestal). There's simply no way in hell I'll be able to reach the other bolt without lifting the engine up off it's mounts.

There seems to be oil on the OMP line attachments, but they're DAMN tight (with new washers at the time I installed it) so I don't see how it could be leaking.


I'm sooo frustrated at all these damn oil leaks, vacuum leaks, and nasty tapping sounds that come from the engine whenever I give it lots of throttle (apex seals?). I just want to drive it FFS :p

Valkyrie

Hurray, for whatever wierd reason, after I reinstalled my front cover and oil pan (hopefully now leak-free, although probably not, since there's still one bolt that wouldn't go in because the pan is in the way just a tiny bit), and reset my CAS, my car drives better than it ever did before!

Still won't idle until it warms up, but now I can basically give it as much throttle as I want (well, except for the fact that I'm trying to keep it under 4K). I set the timing a bit to the advance since it sounded much better there...

Plus, it also seemed to draw a lot more vacuum when it was advanced (put it more into the green part on my gauge).

BUT, I still have the buzzing sound at 3800 RPMs (although I can easily rev right through it), and for some reason I get the coolant buzzer intermittently (although it's full).

Also, my interior fan sometimes only comes on a few minutes after I tell it to (if at all)... which is annoying when you've got no A/C and it's hot out.

I also installed the undertray I bought...

Also, the door speaker that was buzzing doesn't work any more, and the rear left speaker is junked. And although it's been doing this for a while, the screen when the headunit is closed doesn't light up... although that's obviousy not a big problem.

Still a little jerky when I let off in low gear, low rpms while driving... but that's probably because I've got the dashpot not even touching the throttle (it wouldn't do any good even if it did). But there are no more low-RPM high-throttle hesistations, so ROCK ON :p

Valkyrie

Just a bit of an update...

I've put 450+ miles on it so far, cleaned the spark plugs (still showing that it's running rich), ended up cross-threading one of the plug holes (fixed it), replaced the spark plug wires, and the coolant thermosensor (ended up zapping the main fuse when I took off the alternator to reach it), and I'm going to replace the O2 sensor (already bought one) as soon as I can afford to buy the tool (17 bucks from Napa)... since I spent most of my first paycheck on one trip to Advance...lol

I also bought some undercarriage paint that's rubberized and rust-resistant to touch up the parts with thin or no paint.

Of course, there's still a small list of tasks of things I need to fix... such as the driver's side seat bracket, which I can't find a bolt for (since the NAPA guys says they have one but not as short as I need).

I also bought a battery stay so now I'm technically SCCA legal


It was getting 15.6 MPG before I replaced the coolant thermosensor, and I'm hoping it'll have better cold-starts and idling, plus more miles to my tank... although I just installed it 20 minutes ago, plus I have to go to work now, so I have no time to change the o2 sensor...lol

Valkyrie

Huzzah! I fixed the annoying buzzing problem by taking off the K&N filter that was hooked on to the air pump.

I had a suspicion that might have been causing it... Do I REALLY need a filter on it? It's not going into the engine, persay...

Also, I've got 690 miles on her, and I'm on my third or fourth tank of gas...

I hope this one lasts a bit longer (I filled up at 590 miles, so I'm gonna calculate the mileage).

I painted up my underside a bit, after Dremeling a bit of old paint and rust/dirt/grime/etc. There seem to be a few rust spots on the bottom of the car, although I don't think they compromise any structural parts. The only way I can see me fixing them would be to get back under there with a more aggressive tool (ie, a drill, or a grinder... the dremel really didn't cut it)...

On the other hand, my oil pan seems to be nearly dry, and my oil level hasn't gone down at all, from what I've noticed. The undertray seems to get a little oil though... if anything, a little RTV on the offending seam would probably be enough to keep it from dripping, since there are no pressurized leaks.

I also got passed by a Kia... WTF!!!! He was doing at least 80 though, on a 50 MPH country road, and I was doing the limit. I know he was doing at least 80 because I raised my speed to match his...hehe.

I could probably do at LEAST 100 in 5th gear, without going over 4-5K... but I don't want to get pulled over The highest I've done is 80... I did a "gutter drop" on the road I like driving (dropped the right tire off a 2-3 inch curb into the grass, on purpose that time)... it seemed to work. LOL.

I've also just about mastered heel-and-toe shifting...heh.

Still need to the change the o2 sensor, and the rear diff oil (I already bought both).

(also, I did the rear exhaust hangers up, although one of them I did with zip ties, which haven't melted or broken, and I don't think they will, so zip ties FTW!)

fc.fanatic

sup dude, i got a 89 FC GTU in harbor blue too!! we are 2 of 500! and good work on the car. mine currently is currently getting dropped with kyb agx's and eibach springs. ttyl

` Mike.

Valkyrie

I went part hunting at a local junkyard...

I got one FTP lens (the other was missing...I'll get it at another junkyard), the washer resevoir, and the air scoop thingy for the stock airbox (I figure I won't be able to make a CAI through the hole now that I'm gonna put the resevoir back).

Well, actually, I just took them out. I had to go to work, so I left the parts there and I'm gonna go pick them up tommorow (the nice lady said no one would mess with them...).

When I go back, I'm gonna get the antenna (nice and easy since there's no spoiler).

Unfortunately, it was the base of the base four-lug S4 models, so there were no 4-pot brakes, tilt steering, or any other upper-model goodies for me to salvage...

I don't know if the A/C parts will be compatible, or worth taking (except maybe the lines).

But the best news is that I noticed that a Toyota near by had a set of NICE BBS mesh wheels

15X7... PROBABLY the right bolt pattern, but I won't know till I get them together. And all for 13 bucks each

The tires on them probably aren't any good...but it'll be nice to have a cheap set of spare wheels (and wider ones, too).

Too bad they only had one FC... there was a late-model FB nearby, TONS of Mk1 MR2s, and a freaking army of Z31 300ZX's... half of them turbos.

I'm gonna look around for any other alloy rims, too.

Valkyrie

Today I washed it again... it was very dirty :p

I also finally did a half-decent job of repairing my seats with fishing line, which is about the only thing strong enough to hold the gashes on that thing closed.

Also, I FINALLY seemed to have permanently solved the buzzing sound from the air pump relief hose by using a longer length of hose and routing it to the front of the car, with 6 holes drilled near the end of the hose, and closed up with a zip tie (through one set of holes). The same concept sort of worked before, but it works better with fewer holes, and a longer hose, in the front, where the stock silencer is.

I also checked the resistance on the AFM... it seemed OK, but is it normal for the sliding cone's resistance to go from 400-ish up to over a 1000 and then back down to like 150?

A while ago I did some repair on all the damage to my wheels using some metal filler... it looked a little better except the silver paint I had was way off. I bought some wheel paint and tested it, and it matches the color almost dead-on, and I'm gonna paint it again when I find my stupid masking tape...

I also used some metal duct tape (the expensive kind my dad had lying around) to cover up some of the gaps of the radiator (primarily the top) to force more air through it. I plan on making a hot air box soon, as well, and either modifying the S4 air snorkel (that won't fit on an S5 without cutting it up), or routing air from the gap between the fenderwell and the radiator (which is a shame no one has already done in a commercial cold air box).

I don't really see the point in a radiator plate since the rubber gasket on the hood is what should keep air from bypassing the radiator anyway (not to mention forcing it into the snorkel).