Silicone Hose Job question
 

I searched, and found lots of threads, but nothing specific to my question. I am up to my elbows in a silicone vacuum hose replacement as my UIM and TB are in the capable hands of Twin Turbo Teddy, and I am having trouble removing the solenoid rack.

I have 6 of the 7 phillips screws out, one of the top 3 is stripping out, but I am wondering if I am over looking something? Are these screws the only things holding the rack in place? I have removed the air pump, alternator, intake, UIM, TB, and elbow. Do I have to remove the coil rack? If so, what is involved in removing it?

I have all of the print outs of how to's from Robinette and Scuderia, and a service manual, but any advice is greatly apreciated.

Thanks,

David

The coil rack and ACV need to come out too. After that there are only 4 screws holding the solenoid rack to the bracket below it which holds some fuel lines so don't cut it off like I did! The 2 in the front are easy, the 2 in the back however... Dave Disney has a great how to - http://rx7.voodoobox.net/howto/vachose/vacjob.html

Thanks for the help. I have the print out of the how to you referred to, I must have overlooked the ACV removal. Still no mention of how to remove the coil rack, is it a simple procedure? Thanks again!

Yea, the coil rack is bolted down by 2 (maybe 3) small bolts. I think they are 8mm size.

Okay,

I got home last night, and tore into the ACV. I was able to disconnect all of the solenoids, and from what I can tell there are 3 bolts that need to be removed. One on top, (very easy), one towards the fron of the car at the bottom, (not too difficult), and one in the middle, underneath the ACV. How do I get this bolt off? It is a 10mm bolt, but no socket or wrench can get to it.
Any ideas? Those that have removed it in the past, am I missing something? Thanks again for any help.

If you are standing on the driver side of the car looking at the ACV is it the nut on the bottom right? If so it's a bitch to get out, but possible. It' is a 10mm, I used a 10mm deep socket with my longest extension and snaked it through the solenoid rack to break it loose and then I just shoved my hand in there and took it off with my fingers. Good luck!

I pulled the entire rack out and never removed the acv; it can stay. There is a hose down under it to the LIM and if you are very creative with a very long pair of needle nose you can slip the new hose on.

Thanks for the tip. I thought that the ACV covered a screw or nut that held the rack in place. If not, do I need to remove the coil rack to get the solenoid rack out?

That is the one! I tried to get a socket on it, and I failed miserably. I'll keep tring with a longer extension. Do you remember, did you use a 1/4" drive socket or something bigger?

Thanks

I believe I used 3/8" as that is what I normally use, but it could have been a 1/4" since it is so tight there.

I'll stop on my way home tonight and get a long 1/4" extension and give that a try. If I get the 3rd screw out, is there anything else I need to worry about?

Also, where are the screws / nuts for the coil rack that I need to remove? I looked last night, but I couldn't see exactly which ones to remove. Thanks!

If you are on the drivers side of the car going into the engine, they should be on the front of the coil rack. Two nuts on the front. I was confused earlier, I think those are 10mm and the nuts to remove each coil from the rack is 8mm (if you do that for some reason).

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and info. I have 2 more questions:

1. where can I get a part number for one of the solenoids? I broke the nipple off of the first solenoid in the rack as you look at it from the front of the car. I have a dealer close to me, but I fear that they won't know what the hell I'm talking about. On this same subject, any suggestions on where to buy it would be great.

2. I have seen a lot of threads on the "pills" that help control boost. Where are these, and will I be replacing the lines they are in?

Thanks again,

David

I have a used standard rack solenoid for sale for $25 let me know if your interested. Here is a pic of the lines that the pills are in:

http://rx7.voodoobox.net/howto/vachose/pills.jpg

You will probably need to cut them out. Do yourself a favor and do one at a time, they look the same but one is slightly bigger than the other and swapping them will either give you 7psi boost or a blown motor! As far as other sources for solenoids, I think your local Mazda dealer or an online dealer like http://mazdaformance.com/rx7.htm could help you out with them.

Thanks for the info. I'll keep your rack in mind. Does it include the solenoids? I'll know if I'm going to need it after this weekend. Thanks again!

No sorry you misunderstood I have 1 solenoid for sale. It is a standard solenoid off of the rack as opposed to one of the unique ones like the turbo control. Mazda wants quite a bit for them new. Here's a pic:

http://jrx7.rx7life.com/images/Parts...solenoidFS.jpg

Oh, I see. Are all of the solenoids on the rack the same? Do you know that the one you have works? The one I broke is the first in line looking at the rack from the front of the car, but if the one you have will work as a replacement, I'll take it! Just email or PM me how you want to be paid. Thanks

The front solenoid on the rack controls the double throttle; you can live without it. If the solenoid fails the double throttle fails to fully open.

I didn't realize until I did my hoses that my double throttle had been dead the whole time; it's output hose was broken off. If you want you could just cap those lines so there are no vac leaks and say "screw it!" :D

I never bothered to replace mine and just don't run the car hard until it is warmed up.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll probably replace it with the used one from JR, but it is nice to know what it does! Thanks again!

OK. I got the ACV off, and the coil rack as well. I have all 7 screws out of the solenoid rack. Is there anything else holding it in place besides the vacuum hoses? I didn't get to spend too much time on it last night, but after removing everything I know to remove, the rack still seems to be attached somewhere. Any ideas?

Thanks,

David

I hope these are my last questions. I got the rack completed and back in the car, along with the ACV, and the coil rack. Thanks to all who helped with suggestions and advice. Now on to my question.

The last solenoid in the rack, closest to the firewall as you look at it from the front of the car, has an output hose that goes straight up. I can't tell from any of the hose diagrams where this hose goes to. I have a photo of the solenoid in question, but I keep getting the "file is too large" message. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

David

It goes to a nipple on the fuel pressure regualtor, take a look on the firewall side of the fuel rail almost underneath the ACV and you should see it. You need a real long thin pair of needle nose pliers to get that hose on with the ACV in place. Good luck.

I was afraid of that. I mightjust remove the ACV to attach the hose. The nipple is not on the firewall, but on the fuel rail under the ACV, right?

You might be able to get at it better from underneath the car. Mine was ripped right at the fuel pressure regulator, and I know that I didn't have to remove the ACV to get at it. I noticed it when I was removing my turbos. Of course, I had the turbos and downpipe removed at the time...

It's on the fuel pressure regulator which is attached to the the fuel rail on the side pointing the firewall. It is not on the actual firewall. If I remember correctly the nipple is facing up and on an angle toward the firewall, but that's just a guess from my limited memory of when I did the job.