Just got my 93 FD guys and I have 2 main issues before the car is streetable. Everything is stock except the exhaust. Tomorrow morning I am having a good mechanic take a look at it. He has done fixes to other of my family's cars and has done a great job, but not a FD expert.

Problem #1: When I start the car, about 3-5min from starting it up, it starts releasing tons of smoke through the muffler and even after I turn off the engine it continues to release smoke. From what the previous owner told me:

"The coolant seal is weak, so when it sits with a full reservoir the coolant leaks past the seal and it burns off when the car starts up."

So not sure what to tell the mechanic if this is the precise issue or something else could be causing this.

Problem #2: The Brakes don't work According to the previous owner he said:
"The ABS is a common issue because it sits above the pre-cat and it wears away after time. All the abs needs is a gasket but you can't just go to mazda and buy a gasket, they want you to buy a whole new unit."

I already have parts and pieces from a previous FD I used to have so I will let the mechanic know of this but just in case, does this sound accurate or could it be something else that don't let the brakes work at all?

Thanks in advanced.

 

No idea bout the gasket thing. Mazda wanted 2200 for the abs tho. I just deleted mine. But it was leaking quite a bit from the housing. Blown coolant seal means you need a rebuild. There are some temp fixes but its hit or miss

 

crap... exactly what I was afraid of about the seal.

 

try the champange test

 

Unless your losing coolant, its probably not your coolant seals. When we start up our cars they will always smoke due to condensation in the exhaust pipe.

As for your brakes, what do you mean by them not working?

thewird

 

They don't work lol. You press them and nothing happens, had to use the hand brake and down shifting to move the car around when it arrived from the transport people. Honestly no idea why they wouldn't work at all and putting everything into faith from what the previous owner told me (I know stupid).

He says that the ABS control unit is messed up so its affecting the brakes as well.

 

hahahha....brakes should work a little... YOu have brake fluid in reservoir? If you do.. Sounds like you either need to bleed your brakes or your master cylinder is out. Or...i suppose it could be your brake booster line isn't connected..or pill isn't there. When you say it doesn't work, When you push the pedal. does it just go all the way down and make a pshhhh air noise, or you step on it...and its rock hard..doesn't go down but no brakes

 

Yep tested it this morning, I push them all the way and nothing. Not even going slow on reverse they dont work. The ABS and check engine light are on. Mechanic didn't show this morning, gonna try again over the weekend.

 

Sounds like you may need a rotary specific mechanic soon so try the stickies in the regional section:
https://www.rx7club.com/se-rx-7-forum-35/
A good rotary mechanic can save you money since they know where to get parts cheap and can get the work done in less time.

Beside the ABS, you may have a problem with the master cylinder and power/vacuum booster or the check valves leading to them. There was a recall on the check valves which are molded into the rubber hose going into the booster and from the intake manifold to the pipe that leads to the rubber hose that goes into the booster.

If it is the ABS pump, you can source a used one here on the forum in the Classifieds section.

Check the FAQ thread stickied in this forum for archived knowledge and procedures for testing different things - like the coolant system. Lots of good info there.

Good luck.

 

ok here is the update.

Had my mechanic update the car. Most of the issues were because the car was low on all fluids. So he updated everything fluid wise and the car doesn't smoke up when it starts, the engine sounds beautiful, we left it for 1 hour on, it doesn't over heat (everything stock) so thats good.

Now the breaking issue is still there. I replaced the ABS unit with another one (both old dough) and filled with break fluid, now I need to press the breaks 4-5 times in order to break.

Located on the ABS Unit, there's a golden bar rod, when I press the breaks, you can see the drops of break fluid dropping each time the breaks are pressed. The mechanic took the other ABS unit and he is going to see if it can be fixed. If not, you guys have any reference here were I can buy a good working unit? I saw there are 5 on ebay, but i have high doubts that those work.

 

Mechanic informs me that the drops in brake fluid level are due to a leak at the ABS, and wants about $3K for parts and labor to replace it.

1 - Is there any problem with tolerating a slow leak at the ABS and just topping off the brake fluid once a month? Any likelihood of a total brake failure?

2 - What is a reasonable price for a replacement ABS ?

3 - How hard it it to replace one? (access/ special tools/bleeding) and how much labor time should it take a novice or an experienced mechanic?

cheers

 

$3k is just silly. If your sure its the ABS unit that is leaking, try to find a used one on the forum. Not sure about the labour time, but when my ABS was taken out, it look less then an hour to remove.

Not recommended for a street only car but you might want to consider removing the ABS since that will barely cost anything. I know a lot of people are against it but its your decision.

thewird

 

1 - Keep in mind the problem WILL get worse and remember we are talking about your brakes here. If that part completely fails, that will leave you stranded on the side of the road or worse, you may lose your brakes altogether.

2- I got mine for $50 on ebay used, but the average price they go for used is $250-$350. Maby you might find a really good deal on the forum. Post a thread in the 3rd gen parts section.

3- Dont stress out, just replace it yourself, its really no big deal. When I bought my FD my ABS pump was leaking too, so I bought a used one and installed it myself and it hasnt leaked in about 3 years. Try finding one with low mileage for piece of mind.

You dont need to pay $3,000 wtf??? installing another ABS pump is a piece of cake, even for a first timer as I was. Just look it up in the FSM you can remove it with regular tools, but you will need a 10mm pipe wrench to remove the ABS hard pipes leading to it. I used a regular wrench and almost stripped the nuts, so I ended up using pliers, but having the right tools make the job so much easier

 

Brake fluid eats paint. On that basis alone I would never tolerate a leak. It will also corrode around the leak path and make the leak larger.

Brake fluid also stops a moving car. On that basis you'd be crazy to keep driving it that way. A used ABS unit is less than $100 and should be easy to fix the problem. Take care that the used unit was kept clean at all of the connections, and it will need a lot of bleeding after it's installed.

 

I have a good working leak free ABS unit sitting on a shelf in my garage. PM me if you want it cheap.

 

+1 to the advice given so far. I also had the leaky ABS problem years ago and I just replaced it with a used one. Cost me $500 which is on the higher side, but it did come with the mechanic's guarantee that it was leak free, and 6 years later its still working perfectly. One thing to keep in mind when dealing with mechanics, is they normally don't purposely rip you off, but a lot of times going "by the book" (that is, new parts at list price and sometimes some unnecessary labor) is outrageously expensive (even though it usually results in the best repair). A good mechanic knows what shortcuts are acceptable, but there is risk involved in that too.

I'd start saving for an engine rebuild though (check your coolant levels). If the previous owner said the coolant seals are weak, they probably won't last much longer and you'll need to replace them.