No I didn't know that but having some air in the system still did cross my mind. I've only tried bleeding it twice and after no difference I assumed the transmission was going bad because every part of my clutch system has been replaced. Im going to look up reverse bleeding and how do you get the fluid to flow into the master cylinder through the bleeder? Hold the pedal to the ground, loosen the nut, then pull the pedal up and retighten, repeat?

 

All you do is crack the bleeder, pump fluid up through the bleeder with a tube on the end of a NEW, I repeat, NEW, oil can. That's it. You may need to siphon some fluid out of the master cylinder, but what this does is force the bubbles UP, the way bubbles naturally want to flow. Otherwise, you're trying to force air bubbles down against their natural tendency to move up and out of a liquid. No messing with the pedal.

Keep in mind, I say check the pedal free play first because there is a take up port built in to the master cylinder. It's a little port that is uncovered by the piston when the pedal is at rest, or fully upward. It allows fluid to flow in to the master cylinder when the pedal is not depressed. When the pedal is pushed, the little port at the top is covered by the piston, so no fluid gets squirted out. So that's where the air will bubble from if there is any... right out through the master cylinder reservoir.

So check the pedal free play first, then reverse bleed it. It should have about a half inch to an inch of free play when measured from the floor to the pedal. Wiggle the pedal up and down just slightly until you JUUUUUST feel pressure. The distance it travels is the free play.

 

Alright Im definitely going to try that out. Sounds a lot easier and cheaper then getting a new transmission. I figure I could use something like an eye dropper to syphon some fluid from the master cylinder. I don't know if this will have anything to do with the problem but the rubber bushing around the clutch neutral safety switch dried out and fell off but the little button still goes into the notch on the clutch pedal when I release it.

 

Nope, but that will prevent it from starting unless you either fix it or bypass the switch.

And I'd use a turkey baster instead of an eye dropper.

 

It still starts good but sometimes I have to turn the key on and off to get it to start. I assumed it to be the solenoid on the starter. I cleaned basically all my grounds and have a new battery so I don't get how I'd have low voltage getting to the starter. Maybe the neutral safety switch is what is causing that? Anyway, I'll find someway to get the fluid out of the master cylinder. I just have to go buy a new oil can with hand pump first. Hoping to find it at Autozone. I'm getting my brake hard lines there.

 

Search for "sticky starter". That's a common issue with the FC because there can be a lot of failure points along that circuit. There are quite a few things that could be the problem, or it could be multiple problems together.

Also, I forgot to add that usually the best way to bleed hydraulic components is to use a combination of methods. Start with gravity bleeding, then do a regular bleed, then try reverse bleeding. I've dealt with some tricky ones before, but I believe the FC takes the cake for bleeding difficulty.

 

Yeah I've read that starter issues are very common on FC's. I was thinking it might be time for a new starter though. The one I have is the original and was all gunked up with oil and crap from the previous owner. I cleaned it really good but I feel as if it should be replaced with a brand new unit. I still will search for a "sticky starter" though just to see if I can do anything I haven't done yet.

I've tried gravity bleeding the clutch but gave up after nothing happened, same with regular bleeding but I guess I'm just going to have to try and be more patient with the car. I finished my brake hard line from the master to the rear splitter today. I tried bleeding the brakes once and after reversing my car out of the garage and almost hitting my neighbors fence because there was barely any brake feel I immediately pulled the car back into the garage for another fun bleeding session tomorrow. Looks like all I'm going to be doing tomorrow after work is bleeding my clutch and brakes but I know it'll all be worth it in the end.

 

No work today, I get to work on the 7 all day! I bled the brakes again and tried bleeding the clutch the regular way. I have yet to drive it to see if it improved. I'm waiting for the battery to charge, my warning lights came on lastnight and wouldn't shut off. I read that could be due to low voltage and I accidently left the key on ACC the other day for about 4 hours.

 

Found out the warning lights were on because my alternator belt snapped. Lucky for me I had another new one laying around. Already changed it and the lights are gone. Brakes feel pretty good now too.

 

The clutch is starting to get a little notchy again and still wasn't going into first or reverse too good after bleeding so I'm going try reverse bleeding today. I've been slacking on it because work beats me up and I don't feel like working on my car after work some days. The brakes feel good as opposed to the old brake pads but still need to be bled again. Will reverse bleeding work on brakes too?

 

I bled the brakes again and now they work great. I also tried reverse bleeding the clutch today and the clutch feels a lot stronger but it is still hard to get the car into first gear and reverse. It shifts a little smother while driving though. I'm pretty sure that at this point I need a new transmission. I also need a new convertible top rear section pretty bad. The one I put on as a temporary until I can afford a brand new one is starting to get pretty bad.

 

It looks like tomorrow I will be trading my blown S5 N/A shortblock for a 90k S5 N/A transmission. I'll be very happy when the other transmission gets installed and I can actually drive my car with no problems. Once that is fixed I have to replace the rear section of the top and I can finally start to focus on coilovers and a 13b-t swap.

 

Trade went successful although the transmission will definitely need to be cleaned up. It is really dirty. Tomorrow it will be degreased and pressure washed.

 

I hope you finally get to drive the car without any more issues. /crossedfingers

 

Thanks man Im hoping so too! I didn't get around to pressure washing the transmission. I have off work tomorrow so Im going to do it then. After the transmission is in I need a new top and a few small odds and ends.

 

I just realized that the hole in the transmission where the clutch fork meets the slave cylinder is cracked on both sides and has been pushed up. Also my clutch fluid is very dark, almost black. Also the hole on my clutch pedal does not always align with clutch neutral switch and other times it does. The rubber around the hole has fallen apart and now the small shaft of the switch goes into the hole sometimes but does not fully extend unless I move the clutch pedal slightly over. Other time it doesn't align with the hole. Sounds confusing even reading this so hopefully someone will understand my problem.

 

Winter is here and since the car has a soft top I haven't been driving it much. I am about to put it away soon in my garage for winter. Im going to work on it over winter and fix it up. I just bought a 92 Ford Escort GT. It has a BP Mazda engine pretty cool daily driver fixer upper.

 

The Rx-7 is officially off the road for winter. I'm still going to start it up every week and take it around the block but that's about it. I started dumping some money into the Escort to make it into a nice daily driver. I've been thinking about compression testing my engine again to see how healthy it is (thankfully I have a compression tester) and depending of how it looks, start to turbocharge the N/A using a port matched Turbo2 lower intake manifold and all the other Turbo2 parts.

 

I have been driving the Escort lately and although it is a decent car I've been thinking about my Rx-7 a lot. I miss driving it and I came to realize that I don't even really drive in the snow that much and that was the main reason I took the 7 off the road. So with that being said I think I'm going to reinsure the car and start driving it again and sell off the Escort. I'm trying to unload it onto my friend. He had a few Escorts already and is fond of them from what I can tell and plus he likes mine. Hopefully it works out because first thing I'm doing with that money is ordering a new top and taking the car to Speed1 (formerly KDR) for a tune. Also, if I'm getting some water in the trunk when it rains, does that mean the weather stripping has failed? Is this a common problem on the verts? I pulled the drain plug out where the scissor jack sits to let water out instead of letting it build up in there and rust it out but I want to fix the problem asap before it gets out of hand.

 

take a hose on a dry day and see if you can find where the water is getting in. I wouldnt worry about getting a tune on the NA engine. The $/hp you'll get is so low. plus the factory ECU isnt tune-able.

 

I don't really mean a full on dyno tune I just want them to look over the engine and adjust a few things for me because I feel like either I suck at adjusting my TPS or it's bad and I feel like there may be a few other small issues I'm not seeing that an experienced guy like Dave over at Speed1 can point out in a few minutes. I read on Convertible Top Guys website that water in known to seep into the trunk from a leaky top and I have a leaky top for sure. The drain pockets are so dry rotted and I have them all taped together with Gorilla tape. Still Im going to try what you said.

 

Hey, great build! I love my vert too and am about to get it back on the road just in time for spring.

I just noticed a similar problem on my 90 vert, granted mine has been sitting for four years. I went to check it out and when I looked in the trunk I noticed some moisture collecting inside. Let me know if you find out what's causing it on yours.

 

Thank you! A lot of people aren't convertible fans but I don't get why. They look amazing and drive the same as every other FC. I guess because they are heavier they are looked down on. Before I bought mine it sat for at least a year with no engine in it and then it took me almost 2 years to get it on the road. I slacked off and was unemployed for a few months. I'll keep you updated on the water in the trunk issue. I won't be doing it soon though, its freezing here in PA and only getting colder in the next few days.

 

Ive had 2 verts s4 and s5 and they both get soggy trunks.
My s5 had the entire "spare tire well" on the rear of the trunk full. I just remove the rubber plug and let it run out.
The seal seems intact and tight.

 

I did the same thing, took the rubber plug out on the spare tire well and where the scissor jack goes but I don't want water in there at all. Eventually it will rot out and I'm trying to make the car last as long as possible. I had another 1990 Vert I used a parts car but I never checked to see if water got in the trunk on that one since it was used just for parts.