Hi there everyone! THis is my first post to the forums and I just bought a 1994 FD at an auction in Kobe Japan. At the auctions you cant drive the cars, but they do have an engineers report that should find at least some of the issues that a car may have. Anyway, my colleage goes to move the car and travels around 20 meters in first when he discovers that he cant change the gears. So I have a go and the stick just doesnt wanna go into any gear.

With a little bit of arm, i could depress the clutch and get the clutch and pull the stick into 2nd gear. From there, i could freely move the stick into any gear with the engine on. I started driving the car in the auction yard in 1st gear. No problems. Then, cruisingin 1st I let the foot of the clutch. No Probs. Press the clutch again to change into 2nd, and the clutch locks up again... Any thoughts on the issue?

The dealer i bought it through at the auction is taking the car to a Mazda dealer today. They reckon it could be a fluid issue. Maybe 200-500 bucks to fix. They dont know yet.

If you have any q`s about cars in Japan feel free to ask me. Look forward to chewing the fat with the members here in the coming year.


Wantok (Means friend in Papua New Guinea.

 

Can you get the car in and out of gear while the car is off?

Sounds like the pressure plate isn't getting enough movement. The first (easiest) thing to try is bleeding the clutch. I would start there first and see if that takes care of it.

 

I cant remember exactly. Things were hectic at the auction.

With some effort, engine running, i could coax the clutch into 1st gear, and it would dshift to all gears. The clutch pedal felt fine. Not slack...

 

Yes, the pedel won't feel any different; it will have normal pressure "feel" to your foot. However, there just won't be enough pressure to move the pressure plate far enough (if this is the case, I've had this before after swapping clutches).

 

Ahh, i c... The dealer who i bought the car from at the auction will take the FD to a Mazda Dealer in Japan near his yard. As problems go, is this a large issue? I was disappointed at this problem coming up post-purchase, but it doesnt seem like a huge problem. What would it cost to repair back in the States?

In Japan, we have to have a registered car park for our vehicle, so i wont be able to drive it for around 2 weeks anyway. My last car was a Mazda Miata here, a little metallic blue r-limited edition. No power!!! but great handling. Moving up to the FD will be a huge jump.

I can post you some pics if you want. Has two computers inside, massive intercooler, exhaust, air intake etc. Quite exciting!!!

 

If the system just needs to be bleed, then it shouldn't cost any more than just an hour's worth of labor (as I doubt they'll break up their time any less than an hour).

Keep in mind, it could be something else, but I would have them start with bleeding the clutch.

As for pictures? Definitely! Post any pictures you have of the car!

 

I got a call from my contact that took the car to an authorised Mazda dealer. They replaced the oil and apparently, this has helped. Mazda recommended a new shifter be installed, BUT, as the car is modified they say they cannot guarantee their work so they refused at the time to make the change. Japanese contact then took the car to a RX7 shop/garage where the owner opened the bonnet and commented that the intercooler was too large and this and that had to be pulled out and changed. Sounded as though this guy wanted to do some serious overservicing. Big prob in Japan cause the local owners know little about cars in general and there isnt a DIY culture here. The people at Mazda commented that the shifter/clutch had been tampered with and guessed that the previous owner may have swapped the good one for the old one, possibly causing the present stiffness issue.

When the engine is not on, the shifter works just fine in all gears. My contact reckons the car is `drivable` but it still needs attention. A friend recommended having a new shifter fitted....

As for bleeding the clutch, i would have expected the Mazda people to have done that. I dont know what `bleeding the clutch` means so i`ll check that out.

Any other thoughts?

 

You would think Mazda would try to bleed the clutch, but they aren't always the "sharpest knives in the drawer".

If you can locate someone with a Power Bleeder like this:

http://www.motiveproducts.com/02bleeders.html

then it would be a snap to bleed the clutch. When I had this problem, a friend with the Power Bleeder made the job take just 5 minutes (maybe less).

Basically, you need to jack up the car and open the bleeder on the slave cylinder (under the car) and pump the brakes to push any and all air out of the system. If you have a Power Bleeder, you don't need to pump the brake as it will pressurize the system and push the air out for you. I would still try that first before anything.

As for the rest of the stuff, sounds like they are full of crap to me.

 

Thanks for the fast reply and the directions for bleeding the clutch. I`ll check that out as soon as i get to drive the car. I wont be driving the car for around 2 weeks. Do you think the revious owner changing clutches caused the problem?

Judging from the engine bay photos, and the mods, around how much power would this 7 be putting out. Exhaust system is thick like the muffler.

I did searches for FAQ for newbies. Any good links?

 

Yes, changing the clutch and not getting it properly bled will cause this kind of problem.

I'm no expert on single turbos, so I'm not sure what's on the car. You'll need to find out more information about what's on the car (turbo type, injector sizing, ECU, etc). Even then, it's dependent on the tuning as to what kind of power is coming out.

Here are some:

http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/

http://www.rx7turboturbo.com/robrobinette/

Those really aren't going to help you a whole lot as the car you bought is already fairly heavily modified.

 

Mantok. We have regional forums here, there is a far east (Asia/Japan) forum. See if there are some local 7 owners. I know we have one in Okinawa (won't help you much), but there is also Jason (I think) of jt-imports in Yokohama (I think). Go to www.jt-imports.com, send him email, and he might be able to hook you up with someone around your area that is honest/knows their ****.

 

Thanks for the link. I`ll let you know how things pan out at this end. Once i get my feet wet, i`ll let you know whats happening in the Land of the rising rice prices...

 

I'm in Nagoya - send me a PM with your phone number & I'll call, maybe I can help

 

Some pics of his car...

 

 

how much was the car, in anycase, check to see if the clutch fork is bent, then check for leaks and then bleed the system like people have suggested.