I got the license plate frame from Zach Jobe and Jeremiah Burton previously on Donut, now doing they're own thing with their BigTime YouTube channel. When I saw it, I kinda thought it was a perfect fit.
I was pretty happy with it not really having any major mechanical issues just driving around a bit. Exactly right, just have to pick away at the list of little things.

Good to know about RX8 filter. Is the idea that you can capture more particulate and carry a few oz more oil because it's a bigger canister?

What is "change it often"? Like 2000 miles/3000 kms?

 

Larger filter just gives greater filtering capacity. It's never a bad thing.

Intervals? - I guess 3k miles is pretty conservative. I don't daily drive my cars so i don't mind bumping up the oil changes, its cheap and it allows me time to inspect the car for other issues too. At this age, there's always something to do. On top of that, replacement parts are getting so expensive and hard to find, so i don't mind doing maintenance more frequently.

 

Any updates?

 

Not really any updates. Picked up a 20 ton shop press on a sweet deal. That should be good for replacing the bushings and my rear wheel bearings. Pass side bearing has an alarming amount of play. My brother has an 88 GX that also needs bushing.

It's been damn hot here and I have a few other projects that needed attention too. I'm a masochist so I daily a 20 yr old Jeep Wrangler. It needed some body work so got that done. I have a garden shed with a wooden base that rotted about 5 years ago. Disassembled the shed, dragged the rotting lumber to the landfill and replaced with patio stones/gravel. I'm wrapping up that project this week.

 

Finally getting some time to give the FC some attention I have always found the fact the PO sold me the car with a jug of oil and a filter as very suspect. Started the oil change process last night. yes, started.

Firstly, there is annoyingly few places to jack these.
Secondly the oil filter is absolutely an after thought.

So it turns out it's absolutely welded on, there is no room for conventional oil filter wrenches with out some disassembly of either the intercooler or brake booster/master cylinder - screw all of that. I managed to get a pair of channel locks on top of it but only managed to puncture the filter. Next is to get a strap style filter wrench that uses a ratchet or maybe a cup/claw type to get on the top of it. This is dumb.


Ok rant over. I couldn't get a good picture of the oil as it came out but while it was trickling out I did notice some redish granular particles coming out. Not sure what it is, but thought maybe degrading liquid gasket? Anyone else with ideas? Maybe tonight I'll pull the catch tray out after getting the filter off and examine the oil a little more while pouring it into the disposal jug.

I think what I'll do is run this oil filter while I'm working away on other things and change it again sometime mid winter to try and flush that stuff out.

 

Could be excess pan gasket sealant that's broke loose.

Is this filter off, you mentioned it's punctured? If there is some kind of particles in the engine oil, I would for sure get a new filter on before you run the engine. The last thing you want is to plug bearing feeds and starve out for lubrication.

I've found removing the intercooler should give you enough clearance to get the filter off with enough leverage.

 

Interesting you say "excess pan gasket sealant" because I noticed the oil pan has a ding in it...Who knows. Check the oil closely next time I change it.

I haven't gotten the thing off yet. I punctured it trying to get it off, so engine hasn't ran since the puncture. Once I do get it off, I'll clean the area best I can before new filter goes on and then start it. I really hope taking the intercooler off doesn't becomes a regular thing for oil changes! Good reason to go to FMIC I guess.

 

Pouring out the oil out of the tray into the disposable oil jug, found some alarming findings in the bottom...



Some of this material is magnetic, some is not. Seems to run well with reasonable compression. So I think the plan forward here is to drop the oil pan over the winter and try to clean out any remaining material and maybe I'll look for a replacement oil pan in the mean time to replace the dented one after.

I always said this car would be a "forever project". Fully expect some catastrophe is in the works here.

 

@Wubicon Any updates lately, or too cold to wrench?

 

I have been slowly sorting out some questionable wiring under the dash for the boost and AFR gauges which has led me to find interesting wiring for the stereo too. When I first got the car I noted the stereo would power on and then shut it's self off. AFR not working, but boost gauge did work.

After looking around under the dash I saw a bunch of wires here there and every where. Power wires inserted into the fuse block with a fuse etc. Decided I needed to undo some of that and clean it up. Eventually started figuring out what was for what. For some reason that I haven't figured out yet the PO ran a separate power wire off the fuse block to the stereo rather than use the chassis power wire. Once I got the stereo out and started looking a little close, it appears some foolery has happened here.

The L/W chassis power wire has had a red wire soldered to it but it was unused? Like the insulation wasn't even peeled back...Separate power wire ran from these yellow and red wires ran to the fuse block. So I just quickly twisted that together to see if the L/W (with red extension) wire was working. Seems to work fine. No idea why they didn't use the chassis wiring. Pulled the separate power wire and tossed it.

Looking at all these wires, someone thoughtfully soldered new wires onto the end of the chassis wires to give them a little length. Sadly they used the wrong colors so it's a little confusing. Then where the wires splice to the stereo harness they're just twisted and taped. I noticed while testing the power wire some of the speakers would cut in/out as I handled the deck. I decided the easiest solution for this is to take the tape off the soldered sections and put some shrink tube over them and then crimp splice connectors to the twisted wires. Maybe I'll get really fancy and label them later. No plans to change the stereo for now as long as it works. When that changes, maybe I'll deal with the mix matched colored soldered wires...

This leaves the gauges...Like I said, I eventually figured out what wire was for power to the boost gauge. Spent an aft looking at diagrams and it appears there is a couple options for keyed power for the gauges. Looks like tons of posts on the forum with a variety of solutions. I just need to implement one to clean that up. Maybe run the wires a little better before making it more permanent. Definitely going to put some labels on for future me.

Still not sure about the AFR gauge. But I have found a cable that comes through the firewall and followed it down the start of the trans tunnel. So I'm thinking that's going to a sensor for the gauge. I'm hoping I just need to find the power and ground for the gauge and it will work. I'll follow the cable the rest of the way when I jack the car up to investigate the starter.

Yes the starter has started (stopped?) doing something. Occasionally I have to turn the key multiple times before it will engage. I hear a single click of the solenoid and that's it and it's getting more frequent. I think I'll start by checking the terminals on the starter.

The other item added to the to do list is a wire that I think has to do with the timing. Forgot to take a pic but it comes out of a harness and then disappears under the intercooler. What makes it concerning is there is a sections of missing insulation on it...That is a problem waiting to happen.

 

The other thing I could mention is that bought a bunch of stuff to keep me busy for the next little while.

1. New belts.
2. Fuel filter (on clearance figured misewell, old one is old af).
3. Tstat (also old af).
4. Rear wheel bearings. Pass side is shot. Driver side probably not far.
5. Bought all the stuff to do the power window relay. Should be interesting, never made my own harness before. This was the same cost as 1 new switch and I would need both sides.
6. Energy Suspension full poly kit. I know I already have both front lower control arm bushing that are totally shot. I know the poly bushings are regarded as a little rough for street use. It started turning into a a PIA to find all the OEM rubber bushings. Long story short, I got lazy.

My brother is dead set on buying a crashed FC we saw not far from where we live as a parts car. Interesting car, it had a half bridge port 6 port NA running a Speeduino Ocelot standalone/custom harness. Engine has since been parted out but it still has BC coil overs (my brothers struts are toast), poly bushings (he also needs bushings), new brake and clutch master cylinders and some other new parts. We figured this would be a really good parts car for us to pull some OEM stuff from we could use and come other goodies on there we can also use.

 

Keep it up, good to see progress!

This is a known issue, there is fix (possibly a kit for sale) by installing a relay? Maybe I am missing something too.... Click, Click, Start

I had the same issue despite mostly new cabling. I just charged up my battery despite the needle on the charger saying it was at %100. After that, it was all good. at least for now. The battery is a few years old and hasn't been taken care of very well.

Also, it is never a bad idea to clean up your electrical connections.

 

Yeah I've read through a bunch of different forum posts around this. I think I still need to diagnose more before trying any specific fix. Turn the key to start position and I get a single click. That's it. Or it starts. This battery is brand new, fully charged and the car has been doing it since I got the car and steadily getting worse (more frequent). That's why I think the best course from here is to check the contacts on the starter and solenoid, check voltage at the solenoid when the key is turned etc. Might even pull the starter and bench test it.

 

It is two key on/offs for many, including me. Best wishes sorting it out.

https://www.rx7club.com/search.php?d...0click%20start

 

For me it’s was 2, then 2 or 3 now, sometimes it’s 1 or 5… If it was consistent, Id leave it alone, but its not.

Anyways by brother dragged this home for parts for his GX:



So it looks like I can a spare starter if I need one.

 

This weekend I managed to wrap up fixing some of the wiring for the stereo, turbo timer, boost controller (still not working but I think it's just not wired right), the boost gauge and I even managed to get the AFR gauge working! I can't remember if I mentioned I traced a cable coming through the firewall and then down along the outside of the trans tunnel to a sensor on the exhaust. Figured that must be for the AEM AFR gauge...

I was tracing wires and thought I had figured out what was stopping it from at least lighting up. Fixed that and I was pretty excited to see it light up! So excited I started the car and got readings on the gauge!

Pretty exciting to see! I was wondering if any of you folks following have links or resources for what kinds of values I should be expecting to see? When I did a search, the results were largely posts from this forum like 20 years ago so I'm skeptical that it's still relevant. Or a lot of results from people looking for values for big turbo builds...

Some things that make me think I will see some somewhat leaner values are the racing beat exhaust, and there is still a true catalytic converter (for now, I have a resonator to replace that eventually).

 

Leaner, or richer? Lower number = richer, like in the picture you posted (13.3 AFR).

Typically, at idle you'll see richer mixtures. The car will not want to idle closer to stoichiometric 14.7.

 

Yeah, it just wasn't clear to me when reading old posts what kind of values I'd see on a relatively stock engine at idle, under boost and loads etc. I actually did see values on the gauge up to ~14 prior to taking the picture and I also saw values way richer. I think I'll need to just let it do it's thing, and make mental notes if I see extreme values and what the car was doing at the time.

 

If anyone is wondering, I found this thread while searching around a little more https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...2-afr-1157539/

I need to get the car started this week and turned around so I can get better access/lighting to the back so I can start on the rear wheel bearings so I think I'll let it warm up and get out of closed loop and take some notes of AFR values I see. If the street is relatively dry, maybe I'll go around the block or whatever and try to get some values while under load and in boost.

 

So last night was interesting...Got the car started, it was hovering around freezing here and the car was idling around 2000 rpm with AFR values around 16. As it warmed up and rpms came down AFR values went up at one point it was idling around 1500 rpm and I was seeing AFRs around 17-18...Now I have had the battery disconnected and reconnected a bunch of times while fiddling with the wiring so maybe it's ECU relearning stuff going on? But I would've thought the ECU would air on the side of rich vs lean if that were the case.

Car eventually warmed up and idle came down to 1000 rpm or so and was showing AFRs of ~16...Took it around the block and got it up over 4k rpm under load and in boost and AFRs richen up to ~11 - that made feel better. When I got back home I stalled the car backing into the driveway. New experience for me, I wasn't really paying as close attention to the car as I should maybe. It has a really stiff, aggressive clutch, it was dark out and I was trying to reverse around obstacles back up my drive way and into my garage. Then I couldn't get it to start again. Eventually I did but only while holding the throttle some where more than 1/2 but not quite WOT.

Then it was idling waaay lower. Closer to 750 rpm and AFRs in 17.7-18.2 range...All this to say, I don't think I have a fuel delivery problem given the richer AFRs under load/boost. There appears to be plenty of power, car will step out in 2nd around 4k rpm. I'm a big fan of starting with the simplest stuff first, so I think I'll look around for a vac leak, clean the MAF/AMF, check compression again (could have fallen off a cliff, I guess?), while checking compression I'll look at the spark plugs too, check IACV is working correctly...This car sat a lot so I'm inclined to think something is not opening when it should or is open and it shouldn't vs it being like a TPS setting or idle screw adjustment or even idle richness adjustment.

That make sense?

 

Most common culprits in vacuum (idle, low cruise) are vacuum leaks and TPS calibration. Under boost, a small air leak will be overcome by the amount of boost present and you're likely seeing better or more accurate fueling. It sounds like you have a good plan of action, give everythin a once over, replace any hoses that look suspect with silicone. Maybe do a smoke test too.

 

I hadn't thought about the smoke test but that makes sense! I actually made my own smoke "machine" awhile back trying to find a leak in the evap system of another car.

It makes sense given enough load/boost a small vac leak is not a problem. I was thinking it's entirely possible the AFR gauge O2 sensor is cooked (I don't know it's history, how old it is etc.) but from what I understand it's well placed further down the down pipe. But given the idle speed change, probably doesn't matter if I am seeing goofy values from it anyway.
I was thinking the O2 sensor for the ECU might be cooked as it looks like it's only inches from the turbo. Figure I can back pin it and get some voltage values to figure out if it's working ok.

 

if you have the air pump and ACV hooked up, the air pump air goes to "Port Air", the exhaust port, which is before the o2 sensor.
so its totally normal for it to read really lean at idle, and low throttle up to like ~3000rpm.

what AFR does it run at WOT? i've never actually checked a stock t2, lol

 

Not sure if I made it to WOT or if I saw the AFR gauge while laying into the throttle long enough tbh. After all, I live a residential neighborhood and it was dark! But the lowest AFR I saw on the gauge was 11.0 at or near WOT.

 

My brother and I spent saturday pressing the rear wheel hubs apart and sunday cleaning them up. Temps are supposed to drop quite a bit in the near future so I think I may put any more work on hold for a couple weeks until things warm up a little. Which is fine because it turns out I needed to order more parts.
Here they are all pressed apart, inner race pulled off and clean(er).

Passenger hub was a little difficult to get off, mostly drilling out the rotor retaining screws. Multiple bits and like an hour of drilling... Hub came off the car without much fuss. The snap ring holding the bearing in the hug did not want to move. Penetrating fluid, heat cycling, even used the air chisel on it to try and shock the corrosion... Eventually my brother randomly picked up the snap ring pliers after we took the driver side off and half of snap ring came out of the groove. Then it was just a matter of using some slotted screw drivers to work it the rest of the way out.


Driver side... Rotor retaining screws backed out without issue Thank god, not sure my knees could take another hour of drilling. 2/3 of the hub bolts came out with out issue. The DTSS bushing bolt I thought was going to break coming out of the hub. Bushing actually twisted apart and the collar stayed on the bolt. Had to cut the collar off. My guess is that this has not been off since 1991... Shockingly the snap ring came right out. No issue whatsoever. Even being a monster snap ring with a bunch of pressure, it came out without issue.
A quick search online and I saw Mazdatrix sells the hub with the DTSS bushings and state that's the only way to get them. Guess I'm getting DTSS eliminator bushings before these get put back together.


These guys I quickly hit with the wire brush to clean the loose stuff off. I think I might hit them with some rust converter and like truck bed liner or something to give them a little protection.


Cleaned the caked on grease and dirt off the hubs, mostly. Good enough, only going to get dirty again anyway. I did notice some corrosion inside these so I got some small rotory tool (knock off dremmel) brass brushes to clean that up, clean up the groove for the snap ring for the pass side hub, stuff like that.

The only thing I'm a little fuzzy on is the grease seal that sits in these hubs. The replacement bearings I have look pretty sealed so I don't think I need them? Comparted to what came out, anyway. I Looked at some write ups on here, Haynes manual, Mazda FSM, youtube. No one really talks about it. They look like they're in ok shape, but I'm also keenly aware they're old af... So I'm inclined to order new ones and replace them. But I also don' t want to order them and not need them. That could have been pizza and beer money.

Any help would be appreciated!