My What Have I Gotten Myself Into FD Build Thread
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balasky (02-16-18)
#77
PITA #4: Shifter Engagement
So went to install my new REA shifter and was stoked at finally starting to the light at the end of the tunnel
Then I went to try to move it and it wouldn't budge out of 1st.
F^%%$!!!!
Can't believe this. This was like around 10 pm and I just wanted to get this thing done. I've been working on it for well over 18 months and wanted to get to the end.
I knew I screwed something up when I redid my synchro, so I was looking at having to pull the transmission out and break it down to figure out what I did wrong. This was extremely depressing to say the least
Of course I couldn't end the day like this, so I had to get to a place where I was in a better shape. I decided instead of pulling the transmission, I could get the extension housing off with the transmission on the car. Holy crap was this a pain. It might have been easier than pulling the transmission, but had to get all the sensors off as well as the shift select spindle and the opposing spring as well as the the upper mounting bolts (which are a lot harder to access than the upper bell housing bolts). Oh, and on top of that, another bout of automobile bodily fluid all over the place.
The problem was I didn't have the control rod (#15) correctly mated to the doglegs
And in the process of wrestling with that under jack stands at around 2 am in a really pissed off mood, I broke a rib
A couple days later, I got the extension housing back on and mated correctly.
Lesson learned: Make sure things work before you put them back together and if you F something up, give it some time before you deal with it.
Then I went to try to move it and it wouldn't budge out of 1st.
F^%%$!!!!
Can't believe this. This was like around 10 pm and I just wanted to get this thing done. I've been working on it for well over 18 months and wanted to get to the end.
I knew I screwed something up when I redid my synchro, so I was looking at having to pull the transmission out and break it down to figure out what I did wrong. This was extremely depressing to say the least
Of course I couldn't end the day like this, so I had to get to a place where I was in a better shape. I decided instead of pulling the transmission, I could get the extension housing off with the transmission on the car. Holy crap was this a pain. It might have been easier than pulling the transmission, but had to get all the sensors off as well as the shift select spindle and the opposing spring as well as the the upper mounting bolts (which are a lot harder to access than the upper bell housing bolts). Oh, and on top of that, another bout of automobile bodily fluid all over the place.
The problem was I didn't have the control rod (#15) correctly mated to the doglegs
And in the process of wrestling with that under jack stands at around 2 am in a really pissed off mood, I broke a rib
A couple days later, I got the extension housing back on and mated correctly.
Lesson learned: Make sure things work before you put them back together and if you F something up, give it some time before you deal with it.
Last edited by TomU; 07-15-16 at 07:12 PM.
#78
No A/C!
The large condenser before the radiator can't help with cooling, so I yanked it. Also gained some room in the engine bay for an oil catch can or coil relocation. I really can't stand A/C so this was a no brainer.
I left the evaporator in for now (capped off),
but scored one of the last, if not last, evaporator delete ducts for if and when I decide to remove the evaporator
I have a bunch of the caps left over (you can't get just a couple from McMaster Carr) and will ship for cost of shipping. PM me if interested (PNs are 84735K93 & 84735K95)
I left the evaporator in for now (capped off),
but scored one of the last, if not last, evaporator delete ducts for if and when I decide to remove the evaporator
I have a bunch of the caps left over (you can't get just a couple from McMaster Carr) and will ship for cost of shipping. PM me if interested (PNs are 84735K93 & 84735K95)
#79
Exhaust
While titanium is awesome, goal on this build is the 85% solution. To me, the benefits aren't worth the cost. Instead went with a used Peter Farrell exhaust and barely used Bonez high flow cat. The mild steel downpipe came with the donor car so I painted it with exhaust paint and went crazy with DEI titanium wrap (ok, I did go with titanium)
Weight savings is around 35 lbs not counting weight of exhaust wrap and paint
Weight savings is around 35 lbs not counting weight of exhaust wrap and paint
#80
OMP Tank
As mentioned in post #51, I went with the Rotary Aviation OMP adapter.
https://www.rx7club.com/build-thread.../#post12063132
Now, I just needed to figure out how to feed it. I mounted an aluminum expansion tank to a thick piece of aluminum tapped to the frame rail.
Doesn't look pretty, but hope it does the job (function over form). Only concern is with the tank full, there may be tendency for the tank to create a moment where the plate is bolted to the frame which may work the bolts loose. I'll probably zip tie the top of the plate to provide a little added stability to the top.
I am using Legend ZX-2SR for both the OMP tank and pre-mix.
ZX-2SR | Legend Performance Inc.
https://www.rx7club.com/build-thread.../#post12063132
Now, I just needed to figure out how to feed it. I mounted an aluminum expansion tank to a thick piece of aluminum tapped to the frame rail.
Doesn't look pretty, but hope it does the job (function over form). Only concern is with the tank full, there may be tendency for the tank to create a moment where the plate is bolted to the frame which may work the bolts loose. I'll probably zip tie the top of the plate to provide a little added stability to the top.
I am using Legend ZX-2SR for both the OMP tank and pre-mix.
ZX-2SR | Legend Performance Inc.
#83
Oil Catch Can
Had a catch can before. It was an ebay el cheapo, but it worked. Problem it only held a pint or so and I was emptying it after every run
Since I've got some added real estate from pulling the A/C and PS, decided to go with a bigger unit (did I just say that???). The space next to the vacuum chamber seemed like a perfect spot, and there's already a couple mounting points
Fabbed up another mounting plate. Problem was the vacuum chamber protruded ever so slightly that I had to cut a cutout
and a nut behind to keep it straight
With the added space, I now can go with a larger can. I wanted a quart capacity with baffles and some kind of level indicator. Problem is there's not a lot of baffled cans out there and most are rather pricey (Radium & Mishimoto) or too small. Decided to get a Prosport. It fits all my criteria except it does not have a sight glass or dipstick. Oh well, guess i'll have to figure out how often I need to dump it through trial and error.
Prosport billet Aluminum baffled Oil Catch can - Black. Vented Dual Baffled Oil Catch Can
Mounted...
Another problem was routing the hoses. I wanted to go with rubber due to it's resiliency to oil, but I already had a silicone hose connected to the metal tube that runs under the UIM/rat's nest to the primary turbo and I couldn't get to that w/o a lot of removal. Figured if the can was doing it's job, it would only be vapor and not oil going through this line so I left it silicone until I have an opportunity to get down there. Only other problem was the size of the hose. Had to go with an adaptor to bump up the size to fit the 3/8 barb fitting on the can.
Since I've got some added real estate from pulling the A/C and PS, decided to go with a bigger unit (did I just say that???). The space next to the vacuum chamber seemed like a perfect spot, and there's already a couple mounting points
Fabbed up another mounting plate. Problem was the vacuum chamber protruded ever so slightly that I had to cut a cutout
and a nut behind to keep it straight
With the added space, I now can go with a larger can. I wanted a quart capacity with baffles and some kind of level indicator. Problem is there's not a lot of baffled cans out there and most are rather pricey (Radium & Mishimoto) or too small. Decided to get a Prosport. It fits all my criteria except it does not have a sight glass or dipstick. Oh well, guess i'll have to figure out how often I need to dump it through trial and error.
Prosport billet Aluminum baffled Oil Catch can - Black. Vented Dual Baffled Oil Catch Can
Mounted...
Another problem was routing the hoses. I wanted to go with rubber due to it's resiliency to oil, but I already had a silicone hose connected to the metal tube that runs under the UIM/rat's nest to the primary turbo and I couldn't get to that w/o a lot of removal. Figured if the can was doing it's job, it would only be vapor and not oil going through this line so I left it silicone until I have an opportunity to get down there. Only other problem was the size of the hose. Had to go with an adaptor to bump up the size to fit the 3/8 barb fitting on the can.
#84
My girl
iTrader: (3)
You should just do the evap core now, took me maybe 20 minutes to put the one I got from you in and just needed to take out the glove box. The hardest part is just the one nut at the top but I got it with an extension. Funny how you took all your out and I am putting it all in mine.. ~__~
#86
You should just do the evap core now, took me maybe 20 minutes to put the one I got from you in and just needed to take out the glove box. The hardest part is just the one nut at the top but I got it with an extension. Funny how you took all your out and I am putting it all in mine.. ~__~
Last edited by TomU; 08-04-16 at 10:03 PM.
#87
Emissions/Intake
In Northern Va, emissions are required until 25 yrs when you can register as an antique. That pretty much means stock intake, cat, and air pump. I've got a '94, so that means I've got 2 more emissions tests to pass. I decided to keep the stock ECU, intake, cat and air pump to pass my second to last emissions. Also the stock ECU will tell me if I screwed up anything putting it back together. On the next one, i'll take more risk (aftermarket ECU, intake, and cat)
All that said, I thought I could get by on the stock ECU and pass emissions with the PFS exhaust and a "cheap bastard intake"
So I proceeded to cut up my intake ala https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...intake-628764/, but w/o the fresh air duct
All that said, I thought I could get by on the stock ECU and pass emissions with the PFS exhaust and a "cheap bastard intake"
So I proceeded to cut up my intake ala https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...intake-628764/, but w/o the fresh air duct
Last edited by TomU; 08-04-16 at 10:29 PM.
#88
Uim
The UIM runners were pretty grody, so I honed them with a flex hone (Flex Hone, Cylinder Hone)
To keep the UIM from getting heat soaked, I glued some heat fabric to the underbelly. I also installed a Triumph fast acting IAT sensor.
To keep the UIM from getting heat soaked, I glued some heat fabric to the underbelly. I also installed a Triumph fast acting IAT sensor.
#94
Nope. Those guys are posers
More on the Mazda cars...
Motorsports Journal: Motorsport News, e-Media Headline News
More on the Mazda cars...
Motorsports Journal: Motorsport News, e-Media Headline News
#95
Ecu
Back to the build. Went with tried and true PFC and Datalogit. May update to a more modern ECU when I go single, but for stock twins, this is the way to go.
Got the TurboJeff PFC holder. That's certainly a well crafted item
And got a patch harness since I did not want to cut the factory harness
All buttoned up
Got the TurboJeff PFC holder. That's certainly a well crafted item
And got a patch harness since I did not want to cut the factory harness
All buttoned up
Last edited by TomU; 08-28-16 at 09:20 PM.
#100
Idle
So I put back on the stock ECU and cat on to pass emissions but it produced a real lumpy idle and bucking around 2k. This wasn't too surprising since it had an aggressive street port. What was surprising, was it passed emissions
Passing emissions, I reinstalled the PFC and exhaust. While the idle smoothed out somewhat, it surged from 500 to 1300 rpms. I played with the bleed air and got it somewhat stable (but high). What I really need is a tune
Passing emissions, I reinstalled the PFC and exhaust. While the idle smoothed out somewhat, it surged from 500 to 1300 rpms. I played with the bleed air and got it somewhat stable (but high). What I really need is a tune
Last edited by TomU; 09-08-16 at 12:58 PM.