Is it true that t he newly manufactured ASt's are not prone to failure like the one's originally on our cars? I'd like to keep my car as stock as possible, so as preventative maintenance, could I just buy a new one form the dealer?

 

Not really sure, but aftermarket AST's aren't really that expensive, and it looks like you have very few miles on the car, so you should be allright anyway.

 

Just get an aftermarket one because the stock one is plastic, save yourself from when it breaks and coolant starts to spill all over your engine bay

 

you could buy ths stock plastic one and worry about it cracking and over heating your motor. or buy the pettit one and have peace of mind and be done with it. I don't think the stock one is made any better than before and will cost more than the pettit one. with the high under hood temps of our vehicles why would you want to put plastic back in the car?
Jeff

 

Check out my AST...it doesn't look that out of place...I also think its easier to get to! It bolts in the same place as the old AST.

 

No, ALL the stock ones will crack in time. As far as I know, the part has never been updated. I prefer to eliminate them using the 2nd gen cap flange that has the extra nipple.

 

Is a new OEM Air Separator Tank just as good as an aftermarket one?

Not really my friend
The intensive heat of the engine, coolant and presure build up makes them prone to failure when you least espect it. Engine overheat is deadly for a Rotary engine.
I would defenetly recomend you to use an Alumium After market Air Separator Thank.

93' rx7 Pearl Dark Blue, C1 Veilside BodyKit, Mild Street Port, 3mm Apex Seals,
Single Turbo T 60/1, et.c etc.

 

Mileage means nothing...the plastic degrades over time. You could just buy a new OEM AST every 5 years if that suits you....

 

Correct...mine let go at 43K miles. It was 13 years old. As rynberg said, it's all about time (and heat cycling), not miles.

 

Powder coat it matt or satin black if you want it to look stock.

 

I had problems with my pettit sealing properly. Apparently this is not rare. I went back to stock once my AST starts turning green it's time to buy a new one

 

A new OEM tank is just fine for at least 5 years. I'm running a new stock AST just because it's $100 cheaper than an aluminum one and it fits better. Like rynberg said, it's the longevity of the stock tank that is a problem, not the design.

Dave

 

I remember reading about someone who copied the OEM AST in cast aluminum, I think they were from Australia. It would be a pretty easy job if you've got access to a metal shop: cut the OEM AST in half, press it in sand, pour in molten aluminum. You'd need to weld the aluminum halves together, but most radiator shops would do that for a price. Sand it smooth and paint it black, and most people wouldn't notice that it's not the original.



On another note, have you seen the inside of the factory AST? It's not very impressive...
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/ast-dissected-433610/


-s-

 

+1

(although I have a metal one on my car now. Tripoint Engineering sells one that's all black. I wish I had bought that one.)

 

Just eliminate it and be done with it.

 

installed a Pettit alum unit and immediately had cooling system issue...it was used and leaky at the neck (corrosion).

Return to stock OEM ast and all issue went away.

IMO the aftermarket ast were not designed like it should...they are alum so no bursting but functionality wise there are questions whether it is better than the stock ast.

If stock ast were made of metal than this subject would never surfaced.

IMO.

 

was thinking about getting rid of it....has anyone had or heard of any problem with doing that....