Flybye

Oops

Well....
There is a large variety of Silicone hoses available. The cheap stuff tends to kink with some of the tight corners the hoses need to be put through when doing the hose job. Some people tend to stay away from silicone because of that. Another reason is because it can spilt easily.

Personally, I've had silicone hoses in my FD for over 40k miles and 4+ years. I've removed my upper intake manifold for several reasons and I routinely check my hoses. I haven't had any problems with kinking (Although I DO have THICK walled slilicone hoses) and my hoses have never ripped or split.

turbojeff

iTrader: (30)

Baker Precision hoses. Thick walled, good stuff.

Jeff

ArchangelX

Ahh....and so the knowledge is shared...

I'm not worthy. Thanks guys...I'm taking pics tomorrow with my digital cam, I've decided to pick it up.

I'll be sure to post them up. I can't wait to jump into that engine bay and start tinkering(espescially since I still have two other cars to drive, my WRX and Celica).

Coulthard Fan

Congratulations. The FD sounds like the PERFECT car for you because:

1) You are willing to learn about it,
2) You are able to throw some cash at some serious upgrades,
3) and you have another ride to cruise around in while you are tinkering with it.

I bought a Silver FD a few years back in the same shape as yours (except I had to get it painted), did the above things, and now it is a sick fast and beautiful car.

Some things to consider for your mental health. Do the upgrades as things break and wear out, not just for the heck of it. Some exceptions to this rule may be the reliability mods, which should be done relatively soon, and maybe some nice wheels for asthetics. But I'd fix the existing problems first:

OK, first, low compression could mean worn - not broken - apex seals, or that the person doing the test did it wrong (pretty common). I wouldn't replace the motor just yet, and I've have these numbers double checked. I also woudn't replace a motor or the turbos just because they are high miles units, I'd wait until they are shot. That oil pan leak should be fixable with not much trouble if it bothers you.

Second, your suspension is clunking, so first get some new bushings all around, and maybe some shocks & springs (perhaps coilovers) while you are at it. Of course, if you do that you need matching swaybars... Check the bumpstops while you are in there.

Third, Brakes. I assume you mean the pads are worn? This is a tough call. You can either replace the pads (cheap and easy) or upgrade now to bigger calipers and rotors all around. Of course, that means you probably will need bigger wheels... are you starting to see a pattern of illness here?

Fourth, the worn tires. Go the tires/wheels/brakes part of the forum and do not come back until your head is spinning from the possibilities. I replaced just my tires to start (it had SEARS tires on it when I bought it!!!) then upgraded later to a second set of 17" wheels with DOT race rubber. To each his own.

Then start thinking about the bolt on mods.

p.s. I was in Tacoma last week visiting a client - nice place to have an FD - at least when its not snowing I bet. (By the way, I'd say an extra oil cooler is only a reliability mod if you are doing a ton of road race events.)

LAracer

Since it sounds like you are going to build this car up properly you should check into viton hoses. They are supposed to be more resistant to oil-corrosion than silicone, but they're much more expensive. There have been lots of threads arguing for/against viton.

ArchangelX

Wow...that's awesome info..thanks Coulthard Fan (umm...could you explain your name..heh ).

Viton hoses? Never heard of them before..of course..I've never seen a car with so many hoses before.

I've got some pics I'm going to put up...that I took of the car this morning. It's in my driveway right now.

Can you guys give me your opinions since ya'll have an FD, too? It's raining like cats and dogs, so sorry for the gloom.








More to come...

ArchangelX

Wha'tcha think of the state of her interior and exterior?

Oh..and those fog lights are the second damn thing to go. The first was the license plate blocking all of the air.

Thanks for the heads up on that one. :p

ArchangelX

This is what I was GOING to BUY by the way..heh..a 1998 Supra TT for 39k (like 45 after tax and crap).



Anybody think the Supra interior looks rather outdated comparitively?

(Supras are still badass cars though..yeow!)

ArchangelX

Okay..so you're saying I should put off the engine rebuild (Which is going to happen anyways..since Cork Sport is booked up till the beginning of next summer. )....

And first...do my suspension...which must suck. Cuz it's annoying me I'll tell you right now..the car does CLUNK a little..and you can tell it's a 1993 when you go over bumps, because there's alotta shifting noises..such as doors creaking, bla bla.

Will a new suspension help alleviate that? Or what could I do to fix some of the rattles and creaks? Will I have to put up with this for the rest of the car's life?

Next..I'd like to upgrade the brakes..but I don't want to have to buy new rims just yet. I have this thing of wanting to get the best part, rather than buy some crappy parts, and then want to upgrade later. It's too much of a hassle to me.

I saw that RX7store.net has an upgrade package for the rotors...should I get that and keep the stock calipers? Or would it be better to spend 3,000 and get them all done (but then I'd have to spend a grip just to get new rims too. ).

The bolt ons are in the back of my head...but I do know that my precat is shot.

What's the best route for this, because I don't want to have to purchase a Power FC just yet...

Should I just purchase a downpipe, or should I go with a full replacement from the precat back?

Thanks for the help..and I'm still reading. It's just alotta info to take in.

Coulthard Fan

Well I guess you are asking me as well as anyone else so here goes:

yep.

Its probably pretty tired at 90,000 miles. When I attacked the clunking I just replaced everything since the labor overlaps for some of this stuff if you do it piecemeal. Isolate which bushings are clunking or seem marginal and then bite the bullet and replace them. I went with OEM (soft) bushings because I live in the city but the Mazda Competition bushings are cheaper and stiffer. This will solve most of the clunkling - if you have rear end clunking you should check out your trailing arms and toe links, both of which cause clunking when worn. I replaced these with solid Pettit Racing links, no more clunking (or wheel hop).

Other rattles can be caused by any number of loose things in the interior - spend some time isolating them and tightening things down.

When you say new suspension, I assume you mean shocks & springs, etc? If so, then no - this willl make the clunking and rattles WORSE. But again at 90,000 miles if you are on the original equipment the shocks and springs are shot anyway, so you may as well replace them while you are doing the bushings. And I matched my swaybars to the shocks & springs I got, so you should consider those as well. I eventually solved all my clunks and rattles (except that damn hatch lock which just started acting up again), so there is hope.

Again, what exactly is worn, just the pads or the pads & rotors? (calipers don't really wear out) There is never a need to buy crappy parts with this car.

If you don't want to do rims now I'd stay with the stock brakes, which are more than adequate for street and autocross use. I am on record saying that the OEM pads and OEM rotors are the best value and performance if you are sticking with stock calipers. Mazda put a ton of R&D into these items for the best street performance. If you go to the track you will need to swap out the pads though.

How do you know that? Have you taken it off and inspected it?

That's further down the road.

If you want a downpipe, which is good, just get a downpipe, not the full replacement. You aren't ready for a midpipe or a high flow cat yet.

I'd do seperate searches on the forum for all of the above items.

ArchangelX

Thanks...I needed that..that's what I'm doing right now.

To answer your questions...I don't know what's the deal with the brakes just yet...I'm going to give Mazda a call and have them explain to me what they mean by brakes need replacement (the technician who inspected the car went home by the time I got there..the rep just went off his notes). I'll post tomorrow what I find out.

I've seen the stock calipers done up right (the painted calipers post) and I must say..they look nice. I have noticed that the rotors themselves look pretty sturdy, but there's a helluva lotta rust around the center of them. It looks like it's antique.

Anyways, I suppose I'll just have a look at the whole suspension setup, and see about replacing everything. Although I'm not quite sure how to tighten down plastic interiors, just yet.

The precat was noted by the technician that it's probably shot and clogged (cause of low compression? ) and it hasn't been replaced yet, so I can imagine at 90,000 miles that it's probably toast.

And I've read that it's a must to extend the life of your engine by tossing the precat and getting the downpipe instead, plus maybe give some more life back to the engine.

Thanks...I'll go look all of this stuff up...