Entering the Rat's Nest + advice on polishing
 

Hi guys,
I have been reading around and it seems like the perfect time to redo the vacuum hoses because schools ending in 3 days. I read that you have to take off the upper intake manifold and and maybe the alternator for more room. I was going to do my spark plugs and spark plug wires the same time too. I kind of get the concept of polishing, but would the alternator be really hard? How would I polish the alternator? I also need advice on what hoses to get. I was going to buy this kit which came with all the hoses i need and the cutter:http://www.rx7store.net/product_p/hosetechred.htm
is it worth it? I think I saw on some sites that you would only need 4mm and 6mm hoses. Would it be better to just by the individual hoses and tie wraps? Is that kit priced at a decent price?
Thanks soo much!

*There is a color diagram available in the stickys that is essential for making sure the hoses are routed correctly. If you haven't already, print it out for reference and keep it next to the FSM.
*Take pictures of things if this is your first time for later reference..
*IMO polishing is a tedious PITA. With a few exceptions you can usually tell an amateur job, including mine. I prefer to have it professionally done.
*HoseTechniques is quality stuff. The slicone is good quality and the wall thickness of the hose prevents it from kinking easy. I bought my kit directly from HoseTechnique's site, but that's a fair price. IIRC the kit will contain all the needed lengths and sizes for a completely STOCK car plus a little for errors. If you have removed emissions for example you'll have some left over. But it's nice to have some extra on hand.
*Consider replacing all your soft fuel lines and a coil harness while your in there. Neither are very expensive and there won't be a better time to change them.
*If your Fuel Pulsation Dampner is old consider replacement or deletion ala the instuctions on BANZAI RACING'S site.

Sgtblue is spot on. Also check your main harness if it is cracking or has a lot of broken clips i'd recommended pulling it and either sending it off to be rebuilt or replacing it.

Print out the hose diagram plotter size ;)
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...r/IMG_0038.jpg

Oh okay sgtblue i'll go print it out right now. Force13b LOl that plotter size looks amazing. I think i'm going to have one in the garage and one in my room as a poster.
Sgtblue my fd is completely stock so that kit would be fine right? I heard harley davidsons will polish but i'm not sure. Do you know how much polishing will cost? So right now the stuff i should do while the nest is open is spark plugs, spark plug wires, coil harness, soft fuel lines, replacement or deletion of Fuel Pulsation Dampner and check the main harness? Is there anything else you guys recommend me doing? Are the soft fuel lines included in the hose technique kit? Where would i be able to buy coil harness. Man this is going to be a busy summer LOL but im 17 and no job so i guess itll be fun.

Here's the file if you'd like to print it out on your own. http://www.filedropper.com/fullpagephoto Hose techniques kit is what is being used in my friends sliver FD pictured above.

As far as polishing you can do it yourself. I've done a few things it is VERY time consuming. With a quick google search on polishing aluminum you can easily find how too and what you'll need.

Thanks soo much for the picture. I really appreciate it. Do you remember the dimensions or size of your paper? If i polish the alternator while i'm at it would it be bad? Would the metal or aluminum dust and polishing compound get inside the magnets or those brown coils inside the alternator? Did your friend have more than enough to do his silver fd or was it like spot on just enough. On a 1-10 scale would you say this is 8+ for difficulty?

Yes, should be plenty for everything and still have a little left over. Just won't have as much extra as others w/o emissions or non-sequential so be alittle careful.
No. You need high pressure fuel line. The hose kit has nothing to do with that.
Call Ray at Malloy Mazda. Search for the number in this section. You can also probably get the OEM soft fuel lines or take your old ones to your local parts store and get a few feet of replacement. Mine didn't have it in metric size though.

One of the more difficult parts of stock vacuum hose replacement is getting the old hoses off the plastic solenoid nipples w/o breaking them. There are a few different methods that have been discussed. Search for those and go very slowly when you get that far.

I used 42" wide paper and printed it sideways. It's 40" tall by 28" wide.

Polishing the alt is quite difficult you need to take it apart so that no dust/polish get into your brushes. FD alt's are 180-220$ new.

That silver FD has been a pain in my ass. It was just the rats nest at first then it was the wiring harness, then new gauges, then stereo rewire. Not to mention i don't think anyone had ever cleaned under the hood. There was nasty build up on everything. I told him he could use my garage to work on his car and i'll help him but i'm not working on it with out him there. Nothing has been difficult it just seems like we run into new issues at every turn.

Oh alright i'll try to find the number. When i reach Malloy Mazda do I just ask for Ray and say i'm coming from rx7club? I heard those break easily so i'll be as careful as i can.

42'' wide paper and printed sides ways, got ya. Are the alternators really hard to take apart? I think i saw a video on youtube, but i'd have to find it again. You're awesome though for letting your friend use your garage.

The solenoids break VERY easily. I use a razor to slit the end of the hose and gently twist it till it pops loose. Also, if you order the hose kit from rx7store, sometimes it takes the a week or so to get it. If you order straight from hose techniques it ships right away. Just be gentle on the hard brittle vacuum lines as everything under the intake is usually that brittle. Good luck!

As far as polishing goes, you might want to consider getting your parts blasted smooth and ceramic coated. The advantage is that they don't require re-polishing, but don't quite have that "mirror finish", as well as helping to cut down on heat in the engine bay. I still think it looks great and will do so with little maintenance. Price is on par with polish prices and maybe a little cheaper.

I had to get the car running so wasn't able to finish the alt, tb and IC...but it's getting there. Once I get those done it will look as good as polished imo and with better benefits.

The DP is also cerma coated in black high temp coating, and it works really well. The high flow cat might burn your fingers, but you can comfortably touch the dp. The car is running cooler than it ever has and I couldn't be happier.

Thanks IRP!

If your system is working properly I would not recommend touching the rats nest. Once you get in there and start messing with it, it's very easy to screw things up. Once it is messed up, it can be very difficult to track down your mistakes.

(888)533-3400 ask for Ray. Also hit up daleclark for new check valves i think they are 15$ but worth it to replace the 18yr old ones on the car.

Yes! Dale's check valves are smaller and work better than the stock valves.

Reference links:

My hose job

D. Geesaman's hose job

How much would you say it cost to get all the pieces blasted smooth and ceramic coated? My car run very hot right now and this would help like you said you can touch the DP i was like >_> thats cool lol....

I did UIM, LIM, dp, manifold, front cover, filler neck, and all the turbo area heat shields for like $600-$700 I think. The black heat shields came out particularly nice and won't rust out now. Once I get some BNR's I'll get the turbos done too. Unfortunately polishing I think is the only option for the TB, it can't be coated.

Had to replace my high flow cat with the oem one to pass sound inspection, and the cat was obviously hot with gloves on when I touched it. I touched the dp and couldn't feel any heat, so took off the gloves and it was just a little warm to bare skin.

GoodfellaFD3S is the guy to talk to if you're interested in getting some done, he "has a guy" lol.

Oh Goalguy i think im fine with waiting if it will be cheaper on shipping for me. Man kind of scared now since it's so brittle.
@twinsinside thanks for the option and it looks and sounds great, but i don't think i can use 600-700 so that's why i wanted to polish it myself to save money. I'll keep that option in mind for later though.
@adam c do you really recommend me not touching it? I think it's working properly but i don't really get boost in 4th and 5th so i was thinking vacuum hoses.
@force13b Thanks for Rays number and i'll check out the valves at 15 dollars it is worth replacing.
@wstromh thanks for the links i'll check it out now.

If you don't get boost in 4th and 5th, it isn't working properly. Doing the hose job isn't easy. Doing it right the first time is very difficult. Good luck!!!

Take your time. Double-check your work and then check it again against that diagram and pictures. DaleClark's check valves are an excellent replacement for stock check-valves, especially given how little they cost.
With a stock car and a tight budget another good 'bang-for-the-buck' is a "cheap-bastard" intake. PM adam c for details.

Here's another thread you might want to read through in preparation....
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ight=solenoids

Oh yeah i think you are right adam c. I looked at my vacuum hoses and like they are super loose. I barely use force and it slides off.

Sgtblue thanks for the advice. I'll pm right now. Thanks for the thread i'm looking at it now. I'm going to buy the hoses today as well. But before can you guys check if these two kits are the same?

http://www.rx7store.net/product_p/hosetechred.htm
and
http://www.hosetechniques.com/index....oducts_id=1925

They seem the same, but i'm not sure. It's cheaper on rx7store so that's why i wanted to make sure. What do the check valves do anyway?

it's a little more work, but it's easier not to make mistakes if you remove the entire rats nest rack from the engine bay and take it back to a work bench.

You just need to make sure to use some way of marking the hoses you disconnect in order to remove it. Usually I use some masking tape and mark each end with a number so that it's easy to know where to reconnect everything.

if you want a real challenge, the metal parts of the rat's nest come apart like a Chinese puzzle box :)

The check valves are like diodes for air, they only let air through in one direction, unless they're broken of course :)

Yes. Both have a total of 75 ft of hose in the needed lengths.

Twinsinside as long as i label everything it'll be easier to install right? Oh okay i'll go get those check valves too.

Sgtblue thanks for checking. I just ordered the rx7store one and hopefully i will get it next week.

Oh i think i'm going to do the transmission fluid and differential fluid at the same time too. My friend told me i could use 75w-90 for both. Can I use it for both the transmission and differential?

Hey guys i went on mazdatrix to order my spark plug wires so i could do it while the upper intake manifold is off, but mazdatrix doesn't tell the shipping price until its packed and weighed. Did you guys run into this problem as well when you shopped at mazdatrix? Is it legit? Like i don't want to buy 50 dollar spark plug wires and have to pay like 100 dollar shipping.

mazdatrix has always been fair for me on shipping charges.