QUESTIONS: Vac hose job, electrical connector, & coolant flush/replacement
 

hello all,

i'm was in the middle of a DP & Y-pipe install when i also decided to replace a few of the outer hoses that were accessible while i had the airbox & pipes out. then i noticed how accessible the radiator hoses & thermostat were, so i decided to change those out, too. and i'm also gonna change the oil, too, while i'm in there :) but anyways, here's the questions:

1. in the infamous vac hose diagram from the service manual, there's a couple of lines in the front of the extension manifold that are applicable to AT only. mine is a MT (5-speed). the line in question has an extra callout diagram on one end that shows it capped off for MT. i assume mine is, but i'll have to check it tonight. the other end of that line, i'm guessing, is left open. well, mine is open. is this line supposed to be left open or capped off???

2. the other line is the one with the check valve (AT) in it. mine, of course since it's MT, doesn't have that check valve, but instead has what looks like some kind of small dirty filter on it. is this anything to be concerned with???

3. when i loosened my airpump, took the belt off, & rotated it up, i found an unused blue electrical connector underneath (kinda wedged between the airpump & thermostat housing). does that go to anything??? i couldn't find any other loose/dangling connectors nearby.

4. i've never drained the radiator or flushed the cooling system myself, but i would imagine it would be a good idea to avoid a big mess when i replace my thermostat. anything i should be aware of when i do this???? this i really need help on, because once i actually jump in & do this, i can finish putting all the other air/turbo/down-pipes back in.

5. ok, one last question. since i've got everything out of the way, should i consider a manual boost controller???? see my sig for list of mods, but it's very minimal (DP, catback, stock box K&N, y-pipe). will i see boost spikes on the secondary that could possibly blow the engine??? i'm a little hesitant because tuning seems like a pain-in-the-ass. i've replaced the lines with the stock pills. suggestions please??

if you've read this far.............THANKS.

1&2- Yeah, you're right....nothing to be concerned about.
3-Weird, mine doesn't have one of those...but if you aren't having any problems...i wouldn't try to connect it to anything it doesn't match.
4- pretty straightforward to drain coolant, take out the drain plug on the radiator, place pan underneath, remove filler cap, watch (probably dirty) green liquid pour out the bottom.
5-Yes, this is easy to do, but if you don't want to do it now, no biggie. The actuators are easy to get to with just the intake removed. I put in a profec B, and have never looked back. I tried the needle control and it was ok for the price, but if you can afford it, go electronic controller.
~Tom

thanks tom.

5- i think i'm gonna stick with my stock pills for now, since you're right, removing the stock airbox isn't too bad if i want to go with a manual or electronic boost controller later. right now, i'm saving up for a Power FC, and it's my understanding that i won't need a boost controller with the Power FC. anyone please correct me if i'm wrong about this.

thanks.

Correct. A boost controller would piggy-back on the stock ECU. The Power FC is an all-in-one ECU/boost controller assembly.

I think the blue connector behind the airpump is/was for the EGR valve. Only CA used it so yours doesn't have anything to connect to.

neevosh,

thanks for the info. that's the only explanation i've gotten so far. i'll browse thru the manual to see what it says about the EGR.

thanks.

The blue conector is the EGR Switch (California Only) (Blue) Service Manual page Z-33 connector B1-44. No worries with it not being connected.

Re: QUESTIONS: Vac hose job, electrical connector, & coolant flush/replacement
 

If you'ev never drained the coolant, be thurough about it - unplug the drain plug under the radiator... once that's done, remove the drain plug from the block (see pic below).

When you're filling it back up with coolant, remove the coolant hose from the throttle body so that air has a place to escape while you're refilling. By doing that, you'll get almost all 9 quarts in with no air bleeding. A quick trip around the block will coax the rest of the air out of your system.... top off & you're done.

the block drain plug:
http://www.rx7turboturbo.com/robrobi...drain_plug.jpg

The blue harness in #3 is for an california car.. Its for some extra e,mmisions crap.. So dont worry about it!

OK guys, thanks for the info.

That's good to hear about that blue connector. I thought my "master mechanic" had screwed me again and left something unplugged.

I guess I'll do a complete drain of the system. This will be a first for me. Wish me luck :) My "master mechanic" probably only drained the radiator whenever he's done it.

Thanks again.

If your FD is a 93 and not a California car the blue connector does not plug to anything. If it is, plug it up. If you have a 94 or 95 you need to plug it up to the EGR.

All 94 and 95 cars have the EGR sensor to which the blue connector plugs in to, and ONLY 93 Cali cars.

whitekingsnake,

that seems to be the consensus here. thanks for the info.