I LOVE how you painted your engine Mazda 787 colors!
So much work being put into this build!
I cant wait for the music video

 

Thank you so much - yes 787B, my favorite car in the whole world.

Music video - looking like 2-3 years out.
If I need an engine rebuild that will be in FEB-MAR 2022
Bodykit / lighting remaining 2022
Active Aero (after bodykit) - late 2022 into 2023
Finishing lyrics, song, filming... realistically finish probably in 2024 (low budget video for fun)
my first video . hahahaha http://www.rotaryextreme.com/ben/Ben...inal%20mix.mp4
But hey - it's the journey right.. lol

 

Day 85



From that day on - I was run'ning - Go Forest … Goooo !!!!!

We win some we lose some.

Car runs (extremely rich at idle) but now I have to fix some leaks and wiring - read on my friends.

Now I get to bring my post up to date currently where I am at in the build. Everything was happening so fast I didn't take time to update things and before I realized it - I was in over my head. Now it's time to fix what I can fix and call in the professionals (Daniel Kuo) for some remote PFC tuning once all my little NEW issues are fixed.



Part 1 – Fill Fluids

Part 2 – Stock Ignition Saves The Day

Part 3 – Exhaust Silencers Out

Part 4 – Fuel Level Sender Cleaned Up

Part 5 – New Issues To Fix

Part 6 – New Surprise Leak Bottom

Part 7 – New surprise Leak Top



Part 1 – Fill Fluids

Here is a list of the fluids that I went with and out much fluid the car ended up taking.



1. Castrol GTX 20/50 Dino oil. With upgraded twin 25 row oil coolers and lines = approx. 6 qts.

2. Prestone synthetic power steering fluid. With track p/s cooler kit = 24 FL OZ.

3. Motorcraft specialty green coolant mixed with 50% distilled water. Koyo Rad = 2.5 Gals.

4. Lucas synthetic blend marine 2 cycle oil. Ratio says 50:1 = 2.5 oz. Me = 100:1 = 1.25 oz per Gal.



Prior to starting the car I filled about 3/4 qt into each oil cooler until the oil stopped dropping, I secured the cross over oil line and then I put the standard amount into the pan – approx. 3.5 qts. I do not know how much further forward the xcessive oil filler neck goes but my oil filler cap is now under the strut tower bar so now you have to use a funnel to get the oil in the neck. The p/s cooler took 18 oz. The radiator fluid used was 2 .4 gallons – wow. The gas I used was 10 gal 91 octane from shell here in cali and per the table on the back of the marine 2 cycle oil I ended up using 12.5 oz for the 10 Gal of gas and used my trusty liquid pump to get it into the tank. I let the car sit over night to see if I had any leaks in the morning and it was completely dry, also all the fluid didn’t drop from the fill line at all – sweet !!!



Part 2 – Stock Ignition Saves The Day

Finally it was time to start the car. I was so nervous I had to pee…lol. After watching Rob’s videos, I was hoping I would get a loud bang like his 3 rotor and then it would magically fire up – nope. It tried to start just once, then it just sounded like an air compressor. It was spinning kind of quick, must have been my dual battery kit giving the starter enough juice to spin at full speed. All I smelt was gas. I pulled out the spark plugs (4 training), The plugs in the leading position were soaked but the training were dry….. hummm. I ran the engine again – NOOOIICCEEE equal puffs.

OK, let’s check the ignition side. I had my nephew start the car as I held each spark plug to ground. Guess what – NO LEADING 1 and 2 SPARK. Both Trailing’s fire fine but nothing on both leading. No wonder why it was spinning so fast but could not start. So, I have the IGN1A set-up. It is very possible that I messed up on a ground or maybe I even pulled something loose in the harness, however I have another harness on the way – Thanks IRP !!!!!!!



So what else can I do, what? Dale is that you? Say What – really… no ****, what I great idea …lol. So I search for all the parts to my stock ignition set-up and luckily I find them all. I tear apart the IC piping to TB side and find the connector for the stock ignition, but where the hell am I going to put it…….. let’s hang it like a pair of ***** under the car.. hahahahaha. I run the ignition harness down towards the sub frame and plug in the coil pack and bracket assembly. Then I plug in the igniter and run a ground from the bolt holding down the igniter to the bracket holding the coils. I forgot if the coils needed to be grounded through the bracket but better safe then sorry. I found some factory plugs with the 7’s for leading and the 9’s for trailing. I must have 1 really old leading plug because it is a different color and instead of the 13b picture on the box it has the carbureted 12A or something on the box. The spark plug numbers were the same so I went with it anyways. Luckily the racing beat spark plug wires were just long enough too. OK – let’s try this again one more time.



IT FIRED UP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG OMG OMG OMG – quick….. check fluids.



Added the rest of the second bottle of p/s fluid since the pump was gurgling – total 24 oz. Oil pressure above 100psi because it was cold and I set base fuel pressure to 38psi with the vacuum line off and plugged. I let the car warm up, AFR pegged at 10 duri8ng idle but didn’t care because the car was running and then turned it off, then I went to bed with a smile on my face. Lying in bed thinking – oh I have the exhaust silencers in, I’ll take them out tomorrow and play with it some more – giggity.



Part 3 – Exhaust Silencers Out

I went to the back of the car to pull the silencers and I already had a little soot building up on the bumper above the exhaust tips – just from idling… wow. Well I am running pig rich anyways. I start the car without the silencers and it idles a little better. I verified fuel pressure with the vacuum line on and it was about 30 PSI, with the vacuum line off it was set to 38 to 40 psi. My idle is off so I adjusted the pre-load throttle body screw for a higher idle and then I adjusted the air adjustment screw under the greddy elbow to ½ turn ccw from being fully closed and then lowered the rpm with the pre-load throttle body screw down to 950 rpm. The car idles smooth and the rpm’s do not bounce. The AFR showed some life being able to read 10.3 now, just happy to see a change. The rest of the gauges looked good, my EGT is in the downpipe about 18 inches away from the turbo flange and it is reading cool at 580F, probably cooling from the gas. Vacuum looks good at -16. The fuel pressure gauge is located between the FPR and secondary fuel rail and reads higher by 8 psi then the FPR (38 vs 30, is this normal? Oil pressure around 36 psi at idle, (pegs over 100psi when you give it gas). The oil temp and water temp were both at 195F. I verified the oil cooler thermostat was working by feeling the oil-coolers… ouch.. hotter than expected. Well at least the temps and pressures are where they are supposed to be, time to move on.



Part 4 – Fuel Level Sender Cleaned Up

Are you telling me I burned through 10 Gallons of gas at Idle for a cumulative (big word) of 1 hour? Why am I at E, why is the needle waaayyyy below the E, wait I’m almost ½ tank. Time to pull out the fuel pump out – again. I taped 1500 grit sandpaper around the tip of a small screwdriver and sanded away the carbon build up. I stopped halfway so you could see the difference. I also undid the 2 clips holding the swing arm down and cleaned the little point on the spring arm as well. I also cleaned the ground on top of the fuel pump cover, I think it does the low-level light. I put it all together and its working like it should be.







Part 5 – New Issues To Fix

Well, I thought I was in the clear when I filled all the fluids and let it sit overnight because the next morning It was completely dry on the ground. But nope, after it ran, I guess the oil pressure found all the weak links. I have some old Earl’s swivel neck fittings that I reused and it was leaking from the o’ring section. The 90 degree oil feed to the thermostat leaked the most, but the 90 degree oil return from thermostat and left side oil cooler cross over line were wet on top. I was also leaking from the O’ring on the 45 degree fitting feeding the right side oil cooler. I ordered some replacement fittings and hopefully I can just screw the new ones into the hose side and pray it doesn’t leak. Both turbo return hard pipes were leaking as well but the front turbo return was leaking the most. I ordered some sealant to assist the gaskets at those flanges. I am hoping that the oil collecting in the back corner of my oil pan is from the turbo oil return pipes. I would hate to have to drop the subframe to redo the oil pan.



Part 6 – New Surprise Leak Bottom

Sooo, How this went down was I was going to my car to take some more pics of the oil leaks and my heart just sank. There was a lot of coolant on the bottom right side subframe, I followed the trail up the motor mount, then up the oil pan and onto the rear rotor housing - damn - really. I did a lot of searching for blown coolant seals and symptoms but I was still uncertain. I had no white smoke and I forgot to do the coolant bubble test. I needed more data so I went to HF and got a CEN-TECH boroscope. It's cool, it has a video out, usb to computer, takes pics and videos and it's rechargeable - woot woot. So I found the coolant trail leading to the rear rotor exhaust manifold gasket. If I have a coolant o'ring failure is this even possible. I cleaned the bottom of the subrame and come home from work the next day and there was more coolant on the subframe. I'm trying to picture how coolant can make it out the exhaust port and leak down the exhaust gasket. I do not think it is coming from between the plates either but I do not have enough experience to tell. And why the heck is the nut wet that is holding the exhaust shield, I wonder if it is left over from me spraying the area with MAF cleaner trying to see where it's leaking from. I still think it should have evaporated by now.



Part 7 – New surprise Leak Top

On to the real reason I bought the boroscope - to check the top of the motor under the UIM. I looked everywhere focusing on the TB hoses. I went to look where the rear TB hose goes to the engine and I see some coolant... I actually had a massive smile on my face when I saw that. So there is a puddle on the top of the rear rotor below the rear TB to engine hose, I looked for the wet trail but it was really hard to see. BUT.... I did find a allen head set screw above the puddle as well. Anyhow, I am really hoping and praying the coolant is coming from those spots and leaking past the intake manifold gasket somehow and down the exhaust manifold gasket. It's a long shot but I might be lucky.



The plan of attack is simple.

1. Drain the coolant and save it because it's expensive as hell.

2. Remove the upper intake manifold.

3. Pull the leaking upper water temp sensor and wrap the threads with teflon, it will ground through the crush washer.

4. Tighten the ideal clamp or replace with fuel line clamp on the TB to engine hose.

5. Pull both allen head screws, add teflon and re-install. (front and rear rotor)

6. Pull both turbo oil return pipes, clean and add sealant with gaskets.

7. Re-assemble everything, fill with coolant and allow a few days to look for leaks.

8. If I get the IRP IGN1A harness install and start, if not use stock ignition.



No leaks = sevenstock, Leaks = time for a rebuild, gotta save so the car will sit... again














pics - Part 1 – Fill Fluids

 

pics - Part 2 – Stock Ignition Saves The Day

 

pics - Part 3 – Exhaust Silencers Out

 

pics - Part 4 – Fuel Level Sender Cleaned Up

 

pics - Part 5 – New Issues To Fix

 

pics - Part 6 – New Surprise Leak Bottom

 

pics - Part 7 – New surprise Leak Top

 

Fingers crossed it's the rear iron fitting, they do tend to corrode. I tapped mine for an aluminium fitting to prevent this. Or if you don't have the thermowax just plug it.

 

yes it was a little corroded. I do not have the double throttle but I do not remember removing the thermowax but my car acts like it is not there. Either it is not adjusted or it is not there.

Im just going to save this thread right here.

Thanks arghx

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...tments-866062/

 

While fixing some issues I took off my UIM and both secondary runners on the LIM were soaked with gas.

Why are my secondary injectors firing at idle - no wonder why my AFR is 10.3.

Time to start troubleshooting some more crap.

 

Do your primary injectors fire at idle? I bought an RX7 cheap once because it overfueled and fouled injectors all the time... Turned out it was just the injectors plugged in wrong.

 

yes sir. Max rpm was 3k but the car is still up on jack stands. Everything is plugged in correct.
550 pri 2000 sec.
I pulled back all connectors in the harness and cut all the emission connectors.
I wonder if it’s in the base tune I got that was made for a similar setup as mine.

 

Day 86



Chain of events.



Day 46 update, post 187 and 188



07-31-20, 0839: Dale - I see you have Ideal hose clamps on the water and fuel lines. Those clamps will dig into the hoses over time and degrade them. I'm not a fan of those clamps, they also don't have great clamping pressure and they strip out easily. OEM-type spring clamps or lined hose clamps are a better way to go to insure the hoses don't leak and don't get damaged over time.



07-31-20, 1757: Ben - I actually bought the right clamps and I'll change them out when I take off the UIM to do the silicone hose.



The next statement I make is for the IDEAL worm drive clamps.



"I do not over tighten them and I can feel as soon as they get snug. I think that have such a bad wrap due to people tighting them to tight until the rubber buldges through the slots."



Look who's laughing now - not me.



All my hose clamps were loose, not all were leaking, but they were not tight enough either. I think the rubber settled in and I ended up giving them all a few turns.



Part 1 - UIM Off For Inspection

Part 2 - Is That OIL !?!?!?

Part 3 - Coolant And Fuel Drama



Part 1 - UIM Off For Inspection



So I have a clue as to why I am running pig rich. When I took off the TB I noticed some oily fuel residue on the lower part of the primary port. Then I took of my UIM to fix other issues but low and behold my secondary runners on the LIM were soaked with fuel. Could it be that my secondary injectors are firing during idle and that's why my AFR is 10.3? Yes I did have all the injectors cleaned by RC engineering and they sat for about 8 months. I have the right connectors on the right injectors. Fuel Pressure holds when they key is in ACC and the car not running - no leaking injectors. I think I will spend more time verifying the actual injector wiring in the harness to make sure I did not accidentally screw something up.



Part 2 - Is That OIL !?!?!?



Why is there coolant on the lower part of my rear rotor housing, when I looked on top or the rotor housing near the rear iron coolant nipple I noticed more liquid on top. I was unable to see a coolant trail and I did the taste test but I only tasted oil, no bitter coolant. Is it possible that the oil injector plug was leaking????. Great now I have to take out the fuel rails to get to it... just great. After removing the fuel rails I noticed a few more interesting things which took me to a different direction on the coolant leak. Anyways I took out the allen head set screw and cleaned it up. I also noticed the threads on the rotor housing were in bad shape. I put some Teflon tape on the set screw threads and coated with pipe goo sealant and now I pray and hope it does not leak.I had to take off the oil filler neck to remove the cross over TB coolant pipe. I lifted of the pipe and there was this white foamy creamy sludge !?!?! I briefly thought blown head gasket but then realized that's not possible...lol. I also remembered that it could be vapor condensation which is normal, only one way to check. I wipe my finger tip in it and dirty thought entered my brain and got even worse the closer my finger got to my mouth to taste it. Thank goodness it tasted like oil and fuel - no bitterness. Last I saw a little oil near the oil feed line for the turbos. I took out the bolt and saw the pipe way a little tweaked. I used a socket, stuck it inside the hole and bent it to lay naturally flat, then I used some new crush washers and bolted it down nice and tight.

Part 3 - Coolant And Fuel Drama



Everything is apart again on top of the engine and it looks like an absolute mess with the harness and vacuum lines. I think that if I did not document everything I would be screwed so hard I'd be stripped out. I put some Teflon tape and a new crush washer on the water temp sensor - Annnnd its gone! - Google Southpark -" and its gone" for those who do not know. Well judgeing by bthe inside I'm glad it broke and I have already ordered a new one. Thankfully I planned ahead and placed the all the clamps in an orientation where I could get to them later on, as stated before they were ALL a tad bit loose.



When I took out the primary injectors I noticed bottom of the primary fuel rail was coated with a thin film of ..... oily fuel??? I know it looks green but the taste test verified it was not bitter coolant. It tasted like oil with a hint of fuel. Is this coming from the oil injector plug? Is it blow-by? Wow. Well now that I have all the fuel line discounted and the upper part of the engine apart I might as well fix that mess of AN fittings I have coming off of the FPR. I also noticed the white Teflon tape I used is not holding up so well. I ordered some new fittings to make a new set-up for the FPR to secondary fuel rail, some more fuel injection hose SAE J30R9 and some yellow Teflon tape that is used for gasoline and it says gasoline on the tape container as well.



And the thermowax warm up idle issue. I read so much about it that I said screw it - it's coming out.

I can hold the peddle down until the car warms up - it's more interactive and fun that way. I mean the overall goal is to drive something that you feel a part of and this is just one more thing I get to control. I also removed the cross over coolant line under the engine which was buried under everything. Another benefit of removing it is that it is one less connection point between the rotor housings as far as where I will be attaching the R1 and R2 IGN1A gnds at. I have some left over high pressure power steering hose left that I will use for the coolant line going from the rear iron to the back of the front thermostat housing.



So back to the coolant on the lower part of the rear rotor housing. Just thinking out of the box here. Where the turbo coolant return pipes are bolted, there is no signs of coolant leaking. There is a wet nut on the lower outside portion holding the exhaust shield together, you can see it in my previous pics. Is it possible that the coolant was leaking past the hose clamp on the turbo coolant return line and dripping onto the exhaust inside the shield and finding its way down the exhaust housing to the lowest section and then dripping down the bottom flat section of the rotor housing on top of the oil pan. It is probably unlikely but not impossible. Another question is the taste test. When the coolant is wet you can really taste the bittering agent, but when the coolant is dry it is hard to taste the bitternes. By the end of the day all I had was coffee, a coke, a couple licks of fuel, oil and coolant.... my burps were funky !!!



I'll hunt down some more fuel line clamps and finish all the repairs and verify the injector connectors and wiring for the next update.

pics - Part 1 - UIM Off For Inspection

 

Part 2 - Is That OIL !?!?!?

 

Part 3 - Coolant And Fuel Drama

 

Dang man. I hope the leak is on the peripheral items and hoses, cause you dont want a pintch coolant seal or a damaged O ring during the engine assembly.

 

yeah I know right. But it’s a used engine from Jamie.. battlecat here on the forums.according to him It ran fine for him when he pulled it and went a different direction. Well if it is a bad coolant seal I’ll get it so it can move on its own power and save for a rebuild. In the mean time I’ll continue with the powered automatic vertical doors and body kit……after I’ve recovered emotionally from this situation…lol

 

Two things. 1) seems like a lot of places you are using Teflon, that should be limited to only npt type fittings and there aren't that many.

2) stop tasting fluids and gunk from the car haha

 

hehehe - my bad

yeah I ordered the gasoline rated Teflon for the 2 tapped brass fittings on the primary rail and for the 2 FPR gauges.. those are NPT like you said.

my water temp sensor leaked a little and I don’t know if replacing the crush washer will fix it so I considered Teflon for that as well.

 

wait … what. You mean I don’t have to jump it to the front.?

I guess I thought that connection still had to be made.

 

Yes. Just plug it off. No need for that to circulate.

 

Cool… learning a lot here during this build.

So I did hear some ticking in the exhaust near the turbos so I have been looking into exhaust gaskets. I found a thread where they sell an oem style gasket for cheaper…I think they make the gaskets for Mazda.


Link is expired but I just got 2 off of parts geek shipped for 100

also looking at the Cosmo gasket since I have a 95 car.

any recommendations on the manifold to turbo gaskets or just stay stock. mine were bent

the engine stuff is half way taken apart so I’ve decided to pull the turbos, exhaust manifold, lim and the rest of the vm kit.

the top had oil probably from the oil injector plug and fuel seepage through the wrong teflon used.
I think from the secondaries firing I’m seeing fuel seeping out the bottom of the exhaust manifold. I think it’s fuel from when I was cranking the engine and the leading plugs were not firing.
I could not find any coolant trails that would carry that much fluid down to that area of the engine, and looking at the pics of the engine it looks like there is rtv sealant piled up in the corner in that area. I think the outer coolant ring as an issue.

I'm going to pull the radiator, LIM and turbos and use my homemade leak tester on the engine. I will cap all the lines and pressure check the engine coolant system and spray bubble solution in that area.

if it bubbles in that area then I’ll pull all the sealant off, clean with acetone and use this other sealant that dries like a hard rubberized material.

I'm redoing a lot of fittings and lines already.

If I can get the coolant leak to slow down to seeping instead of dripping I’ll call it good and save for a rebuild.

I honestly think the outer seal is the problem.


what do you guys think.

I'm half asleep writing this.

nighty nite

 

Looks like I found the leak that was already there when I bought the engine.

There is already RTV on the outside.

Time to clean up the old RTV and pressure test the coolant system to find the exact section thats leaking.

Clean with Acetone and re-seal with some better stuff to get it running without dripping and then save for an engine rebuild