Could the aging hoses and brake fluid be causing my strange and unusual popping sound while braking? Also, yesterday I had to adjust the e-brake again to keep it from dragging. Is there an opening where I can lube the cable? I think it's getting stuck somewhere. A friend of mine said he had the same thing happen on one of his old domestics. I only drive the car once a week, so I figured the cable sticking a little could be a possibility.

 

This might be wrong but after a brake hoses ages for a long time it will actually "stretch".
That poping sound might be a brake hose exspanding/collapsing when you are applying the brakes. Where are you hearing the poping sound from? Front, rear, master cylinder? If anything i would suspect the master cylinder. It may be faulty and also ahve something to do with your brakes dragging.
I would put in a new master cylinder and bleed the entire system before you drive the car again. Brakes are not something you want to fool around with, plus a new/rebuilt master cylunder is pretty cheap.

 

brakes hoese on the fd tend to last according to my experience. i would go around wasting time and money installing parts w/o knowing whether or not they need to be replaced.

if you aren't able to diagnose it yourself, go to the regional forums and find a rotary specialist in your area and take it in.

 

Old fluid just lowers the boiling point and aged lines either swell and eventually crack and leak or dont swell at all. That popping might be coming from a sliding pin on the brake pads or maybe the inner shims need to get greased. My front brakes made a clicking (kinda like a stretching noise) whenever I really push down on the brake pedal at a stop. I greased the back of the shims and put brake quiet on brake pad side of the shim. My clicking went away. As for wondering where you can lube on the e-brake system, this should help. http://www.rx7city.com/Manuals/93%20.../14_Brakes.pdf Its basically all the "T" joints.

Jeremy

 

I think the popping is caused by my passenger side motor mount being fubared. Perhaps it only slides enough to make noise with just the right hit on the pedal. It doesn't do it every time. The dragging goes away after a few miles, I noticed. Is this from humidity and rain? I only drive my FD about once a week. The popping sound has been coming from the same side as the worn motor mount.

 

Like others have said old brake fluid itself does not cause brake restriction. The rubber brake lines on FDs seem to be very high quality and last quite a while.

If your brake fluid hasn't been changed then your brake calipers might need to be taken apart, cleaned and inspected. Sticking pistons are semi-common and can drag.