Ok, well I'm about getting ready for my 2nd project. When I bought the FD, it had a ticking noise and its somewhere near the exhaust area, like right under the air intake-ish area. Yeah soemwhere down there, I'm almost sure its an exhaust leak. What should I be looking for/expecting to see/get when I'm working on this project. In other words, will I have to jack the car up and ****? will I have to remove the whole system such as the precat and all that ****? I have a s.s dp I want to install (my car is completly stock) but its a little rusted at the ends, like where you bolt it together (look at pics ***HERE*** )
Also, what do you normally do when you have an exhaust leak? Thanks for the help in advanced and Merry RX-MAS, hope you got those parts you wanted

~MANNY

 

Well to start with Yes you will have to jack the car up Next if it is an exhaust leak you will need to replace the gaskets. That entails pulling the Turbo system off completly and some of the intake assembly.
I find the LIM( Lower intake manifold) gasket to be bad if it is still the paper one. That causes the chitty chitty bang bang sound you are hearing..kinda like a bubble maker

To do the LIM gasket you will need to take off the turbos. So even if it IS a TURBO gasket that is leaking... you are 20 minutes away from doing the LIM gasket and saving yourself the headache of teariong everything back out after you start it and still have the noise.

call Ray @ Malloy Mazda 1-888-533-3400 and ask him for the manifold gasket kit. Also you will ask for the 2 turbo gaskets NOT included in that kit.( The ones from the turbo>exhaust manifold) all should v=cost around 170 bucks. The kit includes UIM,LIM, DP, OMP,oil pedestal o-rings etc.. a great kit

If you do not have a factory service manual i highly recommend getting one either from Ray or Online www.iluvmyrx7.com

If this is the first real service you have done on the car and don't know when the last time it was done was. This would be a GREAT time to replace ALL the coolant hoses(14 of em) plug wires plugs, do a vaccum hose job. Take care of the reliability mods to be safe

Hope that helps a little. As i know you will be getting the SEARCH!! responses pretty soon if not already.
Happy holidays

Also to be safe, you may want to order ne wstuds and nuts for the turbo and DP . They are usually pretty siezed on from heat and rust AND they usually break. So soak them good in PB blaster or TRI FLO etc..

 

Sounds like a pain in the *** to do, I did a vac-hose leak job 2 days ago and it took me a day to do, it wasnt so bad, will this be much easier to do?

 

I had a high idle issue, it was a vac hose leak im pretty sure (1500rpm idle, now its at 850-1000ish)

 

The entire job will take about 6 hours straight thru if no "real" issues arise.

Also depends on what your mechanical ability is. If it is your first time in there i would give yourself the weekend or more if a machinest is needed to remove broken studs Also have ALL the parts on hand before you start the job. Makes things easier.

Again, a factory service manual is a MUST if you do not do this for a living. And even then it is a must!!

 

I'm having this rattling issue as well on idle and light smoke coming up from under the hood. Besides the turbo leaking oil a little I know that I definitely I have a clogged stock DP which is probably causing the leak. I can smell the exhaust in the car at certain times. I was initially planning on just getting an after market DP but now I'm thinking about the gaskets you have mentioned. Is that really all that nesessary to change? Seems like a lot of work.

 

Just to change the DP is not that big of a deal. Unless the studs break.

But to get the turbo off there are quite a few things that need to be removed before you even get to them. and you need to drain the coolant etc.. it's all in the factory service manual i recomended a couple times now

Welcome to the world of Rx7's where nothing is a straight forward repair without removing the rest of the world first!! A bit exagerated but close to the truth.

 

how much do the manuals go for, cuz i dont got one

 

http://www.wrex-racing.com/html/fd/info.htm

 

I've been consistently getting leaks between the downpipe and cat flange. New gaskets have not helped.

I've been thinking about having all the flanges on the pipes re-ground flat, or is just wire brushing it good enough?

Dave

 

Are you using just one gasket or two back to back in that area?

 

Now im getting another sound coming from the pully i believe. its like a rough ticking sound. i dont know what the heck it could be. anyone know?

 

I've been using one, but I have plenty of spares. I guess you're suggesting two at each junction?

Dave

 

Belt rubbing, bad pulley bearing, bad a/c or power steering pump clutch, perhaps. Air pump?

 

my pulleys are in bad shape though, theyre pretty rusted. it was wierd tohught because before i went for like a 10 minute drive it wasnt making the sound... i went on boost about 2 times and it wsnt anything crazy... i pulled up in my drive way and then i heard the noise.

 

sounds like a loose belt..

Dgeesaman- If you have to use more than 1 gasket there is a reason..and you hit it before. warpage. Maybe not much and maybe/probably not worth haveing milled because if there was enoough heat to warp it i suspect that the manifold has some cracking issues as well. In which case a nice single system would cure your ales

 

Yep. Way back when, before I had a garage let alone tools, I had a shop install my exhaust system. They used 2 gaskets at each end of the hi-flo cat I installed. After the many times I took apart the exhaust, I kept using 2 and never had a problem.

 

sorry degeesaman, I mis read your post and thought you ment DP to turbo. As Mahjik has said. 2 gaskets works. I have this on our FC and have needed to do it before with stock mazda gaskets. The Mazdatrix Big gaskets that come with the RB exhausts seem to work really well for me at the cat >DP area. On both the FC with the RB system and the FD with my own system.

sorry for my confusion.

 

Well I'll price quote on having it milled. I have it all apart, and I'm sick and tired of sounding like a rusted-out 84 civic. I already wire-brushed the gunk off the faces, but I think that a clean machined face would really make a difference.

I think the turbo-dp junction still needs help too - would two metal gaskets be of use? As far as my cracked turbo manifold goes (yes, I've confirmed minor cracks around the exhaust inlet, pre-control door, and wastegate, but the dp flange looks good) - will that warp the face that connects to the DP?

Dave

 

I'll be sure to tell the shop to put in two gaskets on each end of the DP

 

actually one of my bets are pretty loose... i can move it about a half inch maybe more. im not sure.... and i believe my exhaust leak is where the exhaust meets the turbo. cuz when i look at it from above... i see some shiny metal like if it was coming apart.. and its exactly where the noise is coming from. is there any type of spray that acts like a carb cleaner with a vac hose leak... that i can use it to find out if theres an exhaust leak??? thanks in advanced

~MANNY

 

If ANYTHING can move around on the bolts or downpipe, it's probably your exhaust leak.

Don't try spraying soap water on the downpipe or turbos - you could crack them, and drip scalding hot water on your face. (It doesn't bubble - it just boils off)

I had a little success using a smoking punk (for repelling insects) or cigarette to allow smoke to rise over the joints - a leak will be visible in the rising smoke trail.

Dave

 

Dave G.,

I flatten the mating surfaces on my primary exhaust pipes (Formula Continental racecar) just with a belt sander. The only gasket I use there is high-temp RTV silicone, so they have to be VERY flat to seal.

I would think this technique would work on your gasket surfaces if a lack of flatness is the only sealing issue.

If the problem is caused by the mating surfaces being seriously misaligned, then machining also won't work unless the surfaces are machined at an angle that results in better mating. If you can see significant gaps at the mating surfaces when they are loosely assembled, then misalignment is the real problem.

 

alright guys thanks for all the help, once the day isnt shitty downhere (florida) its been all rainy and ****... my guarage is too dar and im limited to space in there so id like to work outside but i cant thanks again!