I think my air pump is failing, here are my symptoms:

*semi-rough idle, rpm remains constant at 800 rpm but the whole car shakes back and forth

*three times in the last two days when coming to a stop (idle), the alternator light has come on and so have the low oil and low coolant lights but the alternator is fine, also idle got worse when this happened

*during the above symptom, I could hear a solenoid or relay clicking, I opened hood and it sounded like the clicking was coming from the air pump

*I can now hear a "whine" that is rpm dependent. It is not belt squeal, but a whine that increases in pitch as the rpms increase.

The car drives fine once in motion, which leads me to also believe it's the air pump, since it does not operate above 3000(?) rpm.

If anyone has experienced the above, please post.

Thanks.

 

yup the air pump squeal. Happened to me. It will lock up completely soon. (this is bad! the pump pulley stopped but the belt kept going. Get it taken care of soon!) Just to double check, unplug the air pump and see if the symptons go away. You can drive with it unplugged but if you do for too long your cat will become clogged. You should be able to find a fairly young used air pump on here or the parts trader for about 30 bucks. It is a fortune for a new one. The install is fairly straightforward and i recommend swapping the belts while you are at it. If you have any questions feel free to pm me.

 

i still have mine sitting in my garage from when i took it off of my car at 74000 miles, in good working order. i will include a relatively new belt (~9000 miles) and all hardware if you need it for $125 shipped. let me know. i am paypal premiere verified for your protection.

rx7speed811@hotmail.com

 

Another alternative would be to remove the air pump altogether. You will need to buy a pulley set like the one that is offered by greddy. Like duckyjp said, try unplugging the air pump first to test if this is actually the problem. The plug for the air pump is the gray plastic piece right above it. If the air pump is your problem and you don't want to buy an aftermarket pulley kit, I recommend you buy a used one to replace it from someone such as rx7speed811.

 

Thanks for the replies guys, I was taking it in to Rick's Rotary this week anyway.

BTW, thanks for the very reasonable prices on your used pumps. I have a warranty so I can get a new one for free (well, $100 deductible...). I'm sure there are lots of less fortunate individuals who can use yours though.

Also, does 60k miles seem a little low for an air pump failure?

Again, thanks for your responses.

 

Rynburg - Could you give us a follow up on your air pump findings from Rick's Rotary. My car started making the same sounds you discribed after I replaced my Vac hoses.
I checked the pump and it still sucks air in and the magnetic clutch stops over 3000 rpm's. Disconnecting the electric connector showed no change in the strange sound. But, when I backed off the belt tension ...ran it alittle...the sound stopped.
The strange part. The sound was nothing like a belt squeal. More of a clicking - whining sound as you discribed. So, please let us know what you find out.
Thanks!

Oliver

 

I only have 26k on my FD and the air pump already started squealing....

 

thanks for the replies everyone, I have to wait until Tuesday to talk to Rick (he works Tues-Sat) and hopefully can get my car in Wednesday. I started it up today just to check a few things and it was acting up badly.

I'll let you guys know the outcome.

Thanks again.

 

let me know if any of you guys need an air pump!

rx7speed811@hotmail.com

 

Why do you need a pulley set from greddy to discard the airpump. Don't you need just a shorter belt to do it? If so whats the part number for it.

 

Just wanted to give an update for those who wanted one.

Turns out my air pump is actually fine. The problem was my alternator was dying. After driving around for a while, the battery simply couldn't supply enough juice to disengage the clutch on the air pump. So anyways, I got a new alternator and she's running good.

Moral: find the cause and not the symptom.