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Yeah I was a little winded but so was Cindy so I guess I was ok! What wasn't ok was the vision, no the view of this "backyard " this guy called his playground. First off it was dark but there was one light lighting up the area. Not nearly adequate so all the cell phone flashlights were needed to navigate the yard. His "shed" looked like a Christmas Manger scene minus the sheep, goats and camels. But man this was a scary looking lair. Robert had his radar on. You see he is a retired State Trooper... yep he's got a nose that can smell trouble if it's brewing. Me? I had the guys flashlight and I couldn't help but notice that the entire area was riddled with broken down, rusty, half torn apart vehicles of all kinds. He was definitely working on owning a real junkyard. Tommy had a look in his eye that was saying " wtf are we doing here!?" He was jumping all around looking for tools to find and cut s hose. At one point he fired up his air compressor and left it running while he's cavorting all over the place in a hyper state. With the tattoos which were the most sinister I've seen, the hyper activity doing a jumping jack flash, Robert looks at Cindy and says" meth or inbread." Yep we had a live wire here but he seemed to honestly want to help so I jumped into his shed area, no doors all open, and start helping him find whatever he's look for. Cindy and Robert stayed outside but I think tommy was trying to avoid the many howitzer shell sized holes the guy dug as work pits to drive car over. It was a little dangerous walking around there.
Finally he goes into the dark tearing into one vehicle after another looking for the right hose hanging from any firewall he can find. He's been saying the whole time " I got the hose!!" He just needed to find it.
Im holding the flashlight a distance but on him as he searches the cars and Robert says .." you ever felt like you just slipped into the Twilight Zone?" Yeah this was one bizarre event bring witnessed.
Finally after listening to the compressor for 7-8 minutes he shuts it off having never needed it or used it. Pulls out a propane hand torch sparks a flame burns the cords off the end of the hose he dragged in and says "this should work ". We realized we need more water so he headed to the "house" to fill jugs for the return. Now he's gone and we're standing in the dark with a flashlight and looking like Larry curly and Moe in a horror house film short.
Were re standing there when a pair of car lights come up and drive right pass us. It was an older lady and she drove by and straight up the mountain. It was kind of bizarre till she came right back a minute later, stopped and said out the window.." is my son hepping you?! We said sure thing and she smiled waved and drive right back out to the road and left. Weird.. banjos are starting to be heard in the distance. It was feeling like a scene right out of "Deliverance "...
With a makeshift hose, two gallon of water a flashlight we all head back to the car. He starts right in attaching the hose Bellow the oil filter. That's one! I get on the other side with flashlight and try to help him guide it up over the engine, between the fire wall and throttle body and make a sharp right turn into the heater core exit port. Problem is this hose is a straight hose and that turn is built into a oe hose. At this point he's using a screwdriver, small socket, with his hands that are so greasy while constantly leaning on the cowl leaving huge ground in hand prints and laying his tools on the cowl as well. I'm bristling every time he does it. I look up to my soft right and there's Robert shaking his head mildly "no" knowing what I'm thinking of "his greasy fingers smearing tattered clothes" approach to car care!! I nod in agreement and let it go. After all, when we hose it and fill it this guy got us outta here.. fair trade off. I'll polish back when I get home,
It's around 1:00 am at this point. Operating on fumes, I can say for myself. But, still we're all on a mission to be successful and get outta Here without further delay. As he's screwing the clamp at the firewall a State Highway Patrol officer pulls up lights and all. He sees the situation and we explain the situation fully. He understands and watches as we continue. Small talk and pleasantries are going around when the "guy" has it hooked up and tommy starts pouring water in the radiator. Victory is coming soon.
At at the time I didn't fully notice but the guy was moving a little faster if not a little fidgety. Hosed up and water in the radiator he says fire it up! I get in.. as before nobody knows my car better than I do.
I crank it over as everyone watches me through the windshield. After three rotations I knew it wasn't starting. I cranked and cranked... uh uh not starting. Again!!! Are you fooking kidding me!!! I'm pissed. But I'm holding it in, it's not going to start and Robert Tommy and I know it. Probably flooded again. After all, the plugs were two w 9000 miles on them and two used others added at the cabin that didn't even match. !! I've never seen so much head shaking going on since Elvis 🕺 ... this Was too much. This!!! Was a Spartacus Army versus the last Roman field battle.. the one were he loses the battle. It's not going to start and that's it.
Now the inevitable. Tow truck, flat bed!!! Where too?? The motel? Can't do the cabin.. hills too steep. ... a quick brainstorming and we all agree that the Village is probably the best place. Safe.. and there's a probability of wankel heads converging on my car the next morning to help out with anything needed.
Now we have to discuss options for towing. The trooper tells us he was called to the scene of an accident. At the time I don't really understand the difference but he informs us to either seek our own tow service or he can radio in for the next rotation. I tell him whatever the case I'm not letting anyone "tow" it. It's got to be a rollback. Nobody dragging my baby doll down the road behind them!! She's got to be carried!! He asks if anybody has AAA? But warns us it could take 2-3 hours if we choose that option. I didn't have membership and neither did Tom, Robert, Cindy or me. The "guy" says he thinks he does. At around this point another Trooper pulls in behind us so now we have two sets of lights going. As I said our "banjo boy" was acting a little quiet and fidgety. He checks his wallet and says he may have one up at the house. He departs. It's got to be almost 1:30 by this point. We mull around while Robert shares stood his 30 years as a Trooper with the Trooper. It was old home week for them.
The Guy comes back but this time he's in a car. He didn't walk back. He's sitting at the wheel and I go over and ask him if he has AAA. He seems real nervous. Later we agreed that possibly he wasn't all that comfortable with the added state Trooper.
I ask the Trooper to call it in and let's get this thing moved. I've already imposed enough on all these fine people. We look behind us and during the call in our"guy" had slipped slowly back up the hill very quietly. He's gone.
We we stand around chit chatting when finally 20 minutes later the roll back shows up. Load her up and let's head to the village. It's now around 2am I think.
ha ha!! I don't watch much tv these days, unless it's formula 1 or IMSA but I recognize the guy on the left. had they been there I'm sure we'd have lost our "guy" with the junkyard hose before he could have helped us.
If it was just flooded I'm surprised you didn't try to roll it down the hill and pop the clutch. The starter turns the engine at ~250 RPM where the hill would give you ~2500 RPM. Has worked every time on my old GSL-SE when I flooded it.
I grabbed my two warm beers and Cindy and I climbed in the back of the toms rx8 with Robert up front and headed to the village. As we pulled there were still a number of people hanging around. We were getting close to 2:15 am. We jumped out and as we walked towards the main door out comes Phillip. As I walked towyhim he's looking past me and says "who's that?!". I turn around and realize he's looking at my car on the rollback. I turn to him and say " that's 2nd place." He's like .. what!?!" I say yep that's 2nd place and it's a long story. Not much I can remember at this point. I just watched the driver lower and leave my car in the first space nearest the walkway to the pool. Instantly I knew it would be safe here for the night. We all had enough and the handshakes and see you tomorrows were rapid fire. Tom reassured me that he'd pick me up and we'd deal with it the next morning. So we packed back in his car and he took us back to our motel. We were toast at this point. As we left the car at our room I started in the door and remembered my two warm beers in the trunk...yep I flagged tommy down and retrieved them. It had to be around 2:45. Cindy was asleep before her head hit the pillow. Me?? Huh huh, I had two warm beers and I was doing both of them. I sat on the front walkway alone, in the dark and doing my best 🕺 Elvis for at least a half hour. Shaking my head but not my hips. Pondering the whole day, over it all back and forth. Man, Robert was kind of right about the Twilight Zone but damn it felt more like the Outer Limits to me. All I could do was drink my warm beer, puff a cig and look at the empty spot my AWARD WINNING RX7 once at earlier. It was unsettling yet rewarding. I felt pretty good actually. I had a bunch of new friends, a story to never forget and one more item off my bucket list. Yep!!! I was lucky and blessed. The new plugs were going to at advanced auto parts in the morning... and so was I.zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Tommy picked us up around 8:45. We made it to advanced a few minutes before they opened. Bought the plugs and headed to McDonald's for a drive thru sausage egg and cheese. By the time we got to the village there were a few Rotary heads hanging around. Phillip and Holly were there. I shared a Readers Digest version of the last 25 hours and apologized for not being at the awards. Thanked them and told them we had unfinished business sitting in the parking lot.
Tom and I started towards the car when we were joined by Brett and Alex. Things were moving fast and I could tell Tommy knew exactly what the problem was. Of course it wouldn't start so he pulled the plugs. Brett did a quick search on his cell and reminded himself of the flooding procedure for a 85se. Did he pull the igniters? No. Did he pull the coils? No. Did he pull any wires off the cap? No. He pointed to a single connection on a small wiring junction between the coils and the driver side shock tower. He pulled one single plug only. This is were I remind you that all those connections were pulled by compression boy and Landers. None of which was necessary. One single plug pulled disables the injectors. With all four plugs removed tommy says "turn it over till you stop seeing the mist coming out of the plug holes". I did and it was obvious that this was the proper procedure for a flooded system. Tommy popped the plugs in and like I said... I know my car better than anyone. It started immediately. And I knew it was right. It went through its cold start fast idle and back down to 1000 rpms.. all normal for a cold start. We were golden. If we'd had those plugs at the cabin, no tow truck would've been necessary.
I thanked Brett for his help. As for tommy?? I just didn't have words.
This isn't where it ends. In some ways it's where it begins. Hugs handshakes and off we went back to our motel to check out.
The owner of the motel actually figured in too. I failed to mention that he drove me to advanced that Saturday late afternoon to pick up the plugs that didn't show up. Also he told us the night before that If the car wouldn't start we could stay at the motel an additional night .. for free!! If you're reading this and need a cheap place to stay at DGRR I highly recommend Two Rivers Lodge. Like I said not fancy but CLEAN. Great place for a group too. I can't remember this guys name but he's a Saint too.
We pack up the car. I make a thermos of coffee and we are about to pull out. I can't help but just sit there and have a cig and a coffee and gaze at the object of all this artery.
At this point I do have a reservation about the temporary hose installed. But what choice do we have? We have 4 1/2 hours home, the car runs better than when we got there and I have a gallon of water for the trip. Just have to make a run for it and hope for the best.
We get on the road and the 7 pulls hard and runs great. I probably looked at the temp gauge every 2/10 of A mile going home. On the road home all I could do was rehash the entire weekend. I'd come away with these thoughts. i needed help at every juncture during this trip. I, a journeyman Tool and die maker, designer, engineer, machinist builder of all kinds of dies, fixtures, jigs, special Machines,saws, routers and on and on... can't fix his own rx7.. what was I going to do about it!?! Tommy mentioned to me before we left that I should just start out with simple stuff. Plugs, oil changes, cap rotor etc. get some confidence. He was right. All my tools are at work. I have nothing at home but a crescent wrench and a screw driver. I had 4 hours to ponder my next move.
The trip home was smooth. Wish you could drive it. With 120k on it it's like driving a much newer car. We got in around 2:30... unloaded and straight to the couch where I literally conked out. I woke up 2-3 hours later. I tell Cindy I need cigs so I'm going down to the store. Where I live a Walmart is 25 minutes in any direct. A convenient store?? 4/5 miles. I walk out in the garage and well ... this is where I'm supposed to be smart right?? Take the truck!! After all you just spent three days, 900 miles and a series of catastrophes to get home... right?? I'm supposed to be sick of driving her... right? Uhhhh nope, I am and will remain a "serious" rx7 guy and yep!!! I'm driving her to the store..that hose held 300 miles it'll hold ten more!! Right??
The car just had 2+ hours to "rest" and cool down. Compression is always best when the engine is cold. I never "get on it" cold but I rev her a little to 5500 to get her warmed up. I pull out of the allotment thinking, cooled off, minus Cindys weight, luggage weight... just me and this AWARD WINNING rx7 ... and she's just had 900 miles to really blow the engine out. I give her a mild goosing through 3 gears get to fourth then fifth and she's warmed up. I have a spirited drive to the store. I decided to go farther to save some money. I pull into a plaza and go onto the smoke/vape shop. Their a/c isn't working and the front entry door is propped open with a screwdriver and pliers holding it open. I get my smokes and as I'm putting my card in the slot I hear water running, gushing outside. I slowly glance to my right out the door and see the light clear green coolant coming out underneath my engine. The girl at the counter says...wait for it...." did you use your air conditioning on the way here?" ....
Nope darling!!! It's not the a/c dripping. I shoot straight out leaving my cigs on the counter. Pop the hood.. yep!! That temporary hose popped right off the exit fitting from the firewall. That connection is in a high place so only the coolant from the core and whatever was on the supply line came out on the ground. I grabbed the hose which was up against the throttle body and started pushing it back on the fitting clamp and all. The Damn thing slipped on easily with the clamp too.!!! That clamp was never tightened to begin with!!! We made it all the way home in 88 degree weather and that hose didn't pop then??? More Elvis going on.. im really shaking my head. I go back in and get my cigs and ask if I can use the screwdriver indertthe door? She says absolutely!! I push the fitting on firmly and tighten that clamp good this time. I still have the water jug so I top her off and head home.. yes.. I made it just fine.
I parked it in the garage. Told Cindy what just happened and the revelation of the loose hose. She shakes her head big time.. it's a disease!!! Over the next few hours I decided it needed to stay parked or go somewhere for new hoses to be installed. That latter was not sitting well. That evening I told Cindy it's time." To do what?? "She said. To get some tools, a floor jack, some stands and what else was needed to fix whatever I need to fix by myself. Damn it!! She's a big Amazon freak and within two minutes had a floor jack ordered and on its way for $58.00. It was a decent low boy and since my car is light a 2 1/2 ton was fine. It was officially ON!! Found a sale on at KMart for craftsman 220 pc mechanic tool set for $99.00!!! Got that, two stands, three funnels and a decent container for the oil or coolant changes.. Whatever it takes I'm in it to win it. Tommy said start simple. I'm thinking all new hoses so I order all of them from Mazdatrix. I already had a brand new upper and lower radiator hose in the garage. Was this simple enough to start? I was soon to find out.
From this point on I use my common sense to look things over. What had to come off or out to get to all these hoses? I'm up on jack stands at this point so it's time to drain the engine and radiator. Done. There's a small screw at the base of the center iron for engine drainage and a plastic screw at the base of the radiator. As the coolant, which is very watered down, flows I can't help but notice how clear and clean it is. Good news. Time to start removing things. What first? The lower splash pan under the engine. Check! Removed. Next. Lower radiator hose. Had to cut it and remove it. Check. Temporary line removed. Check. I decided at this point it makes no sense not to just freshen her up right and remove the radiator too. Inspect and have it taken to a radiator shop for the works. There's four bolts that hold it in. But, it's obvious things have to get out of way to get to them, out comes the battery, the air intake box, the bracket for the overflow canister, the overflow bottle too, the a/c canister was in the way so removed the screws and pushed it aside. Now I can just get a wrench on the four radiator bolts. I unhook the top and bottom sensors via the plugs provided. I should've removed the hood but I'm alone, its original paint and I'm thinking it'll clear withodoing so. It does. Here's where I am today.
05-11-17, 06:58 PM
