broken93

I just picked up an all-stock 93 base and after extensive discussion and fretting about whether to ship it or drive it, I packed about 50 pounds of tools and parts and went and picked it up and drove it home (about 1000 miles). The car made it without incident. It has about 65k miles, and to the best of my (hopes) the engine is in great shape. No evidence of overheats, etc, and no smoke at all on a cold start except for a nice puff of clean water vapor indicating to me that compression is good and combustion is complete - I have yet to do a compression test (ignorance is bliss, right?). The oil pressure sender got a bit flaky on the way home (I checked levels to make sure it was indeed the sender), but the car stayed cool and ran fine, and boosted normally and had normal vacuum.

I've got a long list of things that I need to do prior to putting the car on the road again - it's on jack stands now, but if you have answers to these questions or can refer me to a thread or resource that has the answers, I would appreciate it.

1) The suspension seems extremely rough - the car seems to suffer from a pretty severe bump steer, which I assume is due to front bushing wear?? The shocks and springs are stock, and the car doesn't seem to resonate a lot, so I believe the shocks to be in pretty good shape.

2) The transmission moves underneath the car quite a bit when going over rough roads, and I have heard about rear bushing failure (which, due to track, could contribute to [1]). If this is bushing failure, does anyone make a poly bushing set or other decent aftermarket bushing set for the car? Did Mazda upgrade the bushings later to a type that are less prone to failure, and are they available somewhere?

3) Deceleration from higher speeds (70+) results in what I can only describe as a loud buffeting from the rear brakes - could this be the ABS kicking on due to sensor failure? Regardless, has anyone been successful in removing ABS, and what's involved?

4) What is the recommended choice of downpipe/midpipe? Has anyone used the cheap stainless parts found on eBay? I hesitate to spend ~250 per pipe from racing beat/mazdatrix. I can get the HKS stuff a bit cheaper... but it's still pricey. Also, are there any reviews of cat-backs for fitment, sound quality, longevity, etc? Does anyone make a full out-of-the-box turbo-back? (I live in a 'emissions-is-not-an-issue' state).

5) As expected, my interior is crap. The seats are in great shape, but all the plastic coatings are worn off and the gauge cluster cover and center console are pretty much just loose. I heard that there were some 'extended-extended' warranties on interior from Mazda for the 93 cars... anyone think there is a chance this may still be in effect, and/or how to find out?

6) 2nd gear synchro is pretty much gone (floating in fluid somewhere...) and shifting into 4th is getting difficult... should I rebuild or replace?

7) Has anyone successfully made auto meter gauges fit in the factory cluster (tach, oil p, temp, etc)?

Thanks to everyone that reads this extremely long post.

Best regards,

j. stuart

alberto_mg

The suspension is rough to begin with. This car is rough over bumps. I would guess alignment here. Front bushings do wear, but the rear bushing wear much more than the fronts and make lots of noise when worn. I have 120k on my car and my front bushings are fine.

2) The transmission moves underneath the car quite a bit when going over rough roads, and I have heard about rear bushing failure (which, due to track, could contribute to [1]). If this is bushing failure, does anyone make a poly bushing set or other decent aftermarket bushing set for the car? Did Mazda upgrade the bushings later to a type that are less prone to failure, and are they available somewhere?[/QUOTE]

How do you know its the tranny? Or are you referring to the shifter moving around a lot on rough roads? If so, then your primary culprit is worn motor mounts followed closely by rear differential bushings or a cracked/broken PPF (power plant frame). Before someone goes and recommends a engine torque brace, go to the Archives and read what happens when you install a ETB with broken engine mounts. It will punch a hole in your fender.

3) Deceleration from higher speeds (70+) results in what I can only describe as a loud buffeting from the rear brakes - could this be the ABS kicking on due to sensor failure? Regardless, has anyone been successful in removing ABS, and what's involved?[/QUOTE]

I doubt it is the ABS. I don't really understand what you mean by loud buffeting. Does your rear shimmy when you let off? My guess would be that your toe is out of alignment and the noise could be from tires being out of alignment. I experienced that before on another car. There is no point to removing ABS unless its broken.

4) What is the recommended choice of downpipe/midpipe? Has anyone used the cheap stainless parts found on eBay? I hesitate to spend ~250 per pipe from racing beat/mazdatrix. I can get the HKS stuff a bit cheaper... but it's still pricey. Also, are there any reviews of cat-backs for fitment, sound quality, longevity, etc? Does anyone make a full out-of-the-box turbo-back? (I live in a 'emissions-is-not-an-issue' state).[/QUOTE]

Search for the ebay dp/mp crap. Most people have tons of fitment problems. Go with a brand that has been proven to fit well unless you have days to **** around trying to make the crap fit. You can buy good fitting stuff from the major players used here on the forum if you want to save a couple of bucks.

Also, you don't want to run a mid-pipe w/o having an ECU or a boost controller. Boost will spike and blow the motor w/o any cats.

Search for cat backs. There are a few hundred thread of opinions on them. Also check the Archives. I have the Racing Beat and it is great.

6) 2nd gear synchro is pretty much gone (floating in fluid somewhere...) and shifting into 4th is getting difficult... should I rebuild or replace?[/QUOTE]

There was a thread recently on this. Someone said that there were no more new trannys. Call Ray at Malloy and double check if interested. While you are there, replace the clutch fork (it breaks w/o warning) and pilot bearing.

7) Has anyone successfully made auto meter gauges fit in the factory cluster (tach, oil p, temp, etc)?[/QUOTE]
Search.

Read the newbie stickers. It doesn't sound like you spent much if anyt time researching this.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Don't think you are going to be in luck there. Most people end up repainting their panels:

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...hreadid=168938

Yes, it has and can be done. It's quite a bit of work but there are some good posts on this. Here is one so you can see some of the work and finished projects:

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...hreadid=269386

broken93

Thanks much for your comments.

Howard Coleman

iTrader: (6)

1. adjust tire pressure to 30 front 27 rear cold. do an alignment... front and rear toe a touch less than 1/8th toe in, front and rear camber 1.2 degrees negative. i have a shock dyno and digital spring tester and it is my opinion that the shocks and springs on your car should be virtually like new.. there are a few bushings that do need to be replaced every 50,000 miles but it isn't a big deal and they are in the rear. (search)
2. motor mount., just one. i think it is the left but others may chime in. less probable but next on the list of culprits is the power plant frame.
3. see alberto's comments, probly rear toe
4. buy a high quality stainless steel downpipe as they are somewhat difficult to install and the last thing you want is a sloppy fit. buy only stainless as it conveys 1/3 more heat out of your motor. downpipe is essential for long engine life
6. it is a jump ball as to fix/replace... about the same money maybe 600
7. 'can't help you

good luck and welcome,

howard coleman

broken93

Following up, I haven't yet determined if the PPF is damaged, but I have noticed that my rear toe link bushings are loose enough to rotate them by hand with the car in the air. The main symptom was the movement of the shifter quite a bit over bumpy surfaces, and severe bump steer when the rear of the car passed over any major deformation in the road... I concluded that this was the rear track getting thrown and forcing me to make a correction to keep the car going straight.

All the bushings look pretty much dry-rotted. OE bushings are insanely expensive, so I am considering having new ones machined out of polyurethane or nylon, or.... Opinions?

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j. stuart