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mine does something like this, usually in reverse. with my car, it doesn't get driven much, so i think the adjuster is sticky or something.
the R888's are ok for a sticky street tire, they work in the wet too. the RE71R comes in a 225-50-16, maybe close enough?
I was thinking it was brake related but since I can't replicate it by hand, I have my doubts. I'll be putting it on stands this weekend to take a look.
I thought about the RE71R, but I don't want to run a 225/50. I feel like the tire will be a little too tall for my liking.
So I think I found the source of the noise. Took apart the passenger rear brakes and found uneven and high levels of wear on the inside pad.
I was able to easily screw the piston back into the caliper and it seems to extend just fine when pressing the brakes. However, it doesn't retract. So, I'm thinking it may need even more bleeding, the caliper is bad, or I have a warped rotor.
The noise was likely the pads being heated from dragging more than normal, then getting stuck on the rotor at each take off.
Well, I replaced the pads, rotors, spring clips, all retaining hardware, and greased the slide pins. After bedding in the pads, it still seems like the right side is still making that noise from a stop. I think it might be time for a new caliper.
GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE! Just kidding, it's actually terrible news. Apparently, remanufactured passenger side rear calipers for 5 lug FC's have been completely discontinued by all manufacturers. I've contacted every parts store known to man, as well as the re-manufacturers themselves and was told they simply don't exist anymore. For the time being, you can get driver side rear calipers so I may start hoarding them
Since buying a reman wasn't an option, I decided to completely rebuild the potentially sticking caliper. This meant a new OEM Mazda seal kit and new caliper boots.
Caliper taken off
Looks like the boot has seen better days. No visible leaks though.
Piston had no pitting, just light discoloration that was easily sanded off with 1500 grit sand paper.
Slight surface rust in seal areas. The rust was basically just a staining with a tiny bit of build up. No pits or anything, so I bought a tiny dremel wire wheel and was able to remove it all fairly easily. The bore was immaculate minus one spot with rust discoloration, so I hit that with 1500 grit sand paper and removed it.
Just a random picture of the reassembly process. I can say that for the most part, it was relatively easy. The only exception being that my snap ring pliers wasn't quite the right size and it made getting the snap ring back in a pain in the a**.
On an unrelated note, got my sticky guys in
While I didn't take any pictures, I also installed a set of Ronin Speedworks Stage 2 camber links to dial out the -2.7 degrees I have in the rear and also raised the ride height a tiny bit. For the most part the camber links were easy to install; however, they use slip fit connections that go into the spherical bushing. With the tight space between the subframe and link mounting points, it was a pain to line these up without the fittings falling out.
cool, on a Scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being walking by the car, and 10, being a ground up restoration, how hard were the calipers?
i think i might redo mine this summer (and the miata too, that thing goes through calipers like crazy)
I'd say they would be around a 4, and this is coming from someone who's never rebuilt a caliper before. The biggest issue was having the right tools (picks, extended nose snap ring pliers). I found a really good FD Rx7 caliper rebuild video on youtube and followed that, as the FD and FC rear calipers are basically identical (FD has a few extra parts, but that's it).
Also, I promise I'll get better pictures soon but here's a teaser of the new wheels and tires for now . I still need to refinish the center caps.
Wheels look awesome. Big thumbs up for obscure/authentic JDM wheels.
Thanks! I've loved these wheels since I first laid eyes on them in high school (14 years ago). It's been a long ride to get there, but mission accomplished.
What made you decide on the R888R over a 200 treadwear like RE71R, RS4, A052, etc? I never like to drive around on my NT01s on the street for fear of wearing them out... Also, have they fixed the road noise issues the old tire had?
What made you decide on the R888R over a 200 treadwear like RE71R, RS4, A052, etc? I never like to drive around on my NT01s on the street for fear of wearing them out... Also, have they fixed the road noise issues the old tire had?
One, price. These were the cheapest option in the size I wanted. Two, size. 225/45/16's are slowly becoming less common and I had 4 tire choices. None of the ones you listed were available.
So far, I have minimal road noise. As far as wear, my coworker is running these on his 400whp mazdaspeed 3 and has 6k on them with minimal wear. However, that is normal street driving and not being aggressive.
You have to jump up to 225/50/16 and then your options really open up. RS4s are about 135 a piece. ~150 a piece for the R888R isn't a bad price though and tread width seems to be about perfect for your 8" wheel width. Since you aren't limited by class rules to a 200 TW tire those do seem like a pretty good deal.
Well, now that most of the big things have been completed, it's time I start tackling the little gremlins that have been popping up. This week I plan on repairing:
-Click, click, start issue (power is reaching the solenoid every time, so it's either the starter cut relay or a bad starter [it does have unknown miles])
-Passenger side auto door lock is sticking and won't unlock when unlocking the driver side. However, it will lock as it should.
-Have my intake manifold flange milled flat (it was slightly warped when welded together and doesn't seal well)
Down the road, I really need to change the front wheel bearings. Super excited....
Since I'm most irritated by the click, click, start issue, I tackled that first. I know the issue is not tied to my clutch switch, as power always reaches it and the starter solenoid clicks.
After reading several threads with helpful posts by Hailers and Satch, I discovered the issue may be tied to my starter cut relay that's used for the factory alarm system. Since I have a GXL with the factory alarm, I made a jumper wire and jumped the large black/green wire and large black/white wire. Results? SUCCESS!! The starter kicks over everytime so far and I haven't had any click issues.
Made the jumper wire out of some 12 gauge wire I had laying around and two small male spade connectors. To ensure everything stays nice and dry, I used marine grade heat shrink on the connections.
We'll see how long this fix lasts but for 5 minutes and a whopping 2 dollars in materials, I'm satisfied.
Unfortunately, the jumper wire only worked for so long and I still get random no-start clicks. I finally caved and decided to replace the starter as it has unknown miles. After calling up the local parts store, I purchased a 2kw starter from an automatic rx7. Seeing as I have a turbo transmission, this just plops right in.
Downside to this adventure is that now the car won't start at all. The starter cranks so slowly that the car won't start. After thinking about it for a while, I think the issue is my light weight battery. It's been drained a few times and I don't doubt it's dying on me. I'm going to hook up a spare full size battery tonight to see if the car starts. If so, I need to buy ANOTHER battery. Super excited.
I'm hoping it's not the starter, as I've got the manufacturer spec sheet stating it passes all their start output requirements. If using a bigger battery doesn't work, then I'll know.
I'm hoping it's not the starter, as I've got the manufacturer spec sheet stating it passes all their start output requirements. If using a bigger battery doesn't work, then I'll know.
Plugged in a different battery and the car started. Albeit, begrudgingly. With all that prior cranking, I probably flooded it and the battery couldn't spin the starter fast enough to clear the engine. *shrug* old car problems.
Anyway, I found out my FT230 came with a two year warranty. I managed to find my credit card statement that had the purchase and was able to exchange the old battery for a new Fullriver FT410 (https://www.fullriverbattery.com/product/ft410/) at a discount. This battery should help a bit with cranking on a heavily ported motor.
Plugged in a different battery and the car started. Albeit, begrudgingly. With all that prior cranking, I probably flooded it and the battery couldn't spin the starter fast enough to clear the engine. *shrug* old car problems.
Anyway, I found out my FT230 came with a two year warranty. I managed to find my credit card statement that had the purchase and was able to exchange the old battery for a new Fullriver FT410 (https://www.fullriverbattery.com/product/ft410/) at a discount. This battery should help a bit with cranking on a heavily ported motor.
I have been using large motorcycle batteries for years, but I am always a little nervous. That's pretty cool to see an actual full size AGM battery that doesn't suck.
Yeah, I've been using my Ft230 for around 1.5 years (2k miles) with little issue. However, it seemed to struggle on turning over the 2kw vert starter I installed and would discharge faster than normal. Eventually, it stopped charging.
So far the FT410 has been a vast improvement. My volts are consistently higher, the car starts immediately, and I have zero voltage drop when switching on the lights and the heater. I'm replacing my plugs today and will be going for a quick quarantine test drive lol.
While the replacement starter turns over everytime, it cranks very slowly and doesnt disengage quick enough when the motor starts. This is causing it to grind for a split second afterwards.
I'm 100% certain this starter is faulty as my old starter never had that issue. It just clicked 8 times before starting. On the plus side, not local store is willing to swap it.
Mystery solved! Two. Count them, two autozone starters are garbage (one specifically for a t2 and one for an automatic vert [higher output]). I called my local store and luckily enough, they still had my old bosch core. After taking out the autozone starter, here's a comparison pic (couldn't get this originally as I turned the core in).
Notice anything different? The autozone starter on top has a gear nearly 50% smaller than the OEM Bosch and the motor is physically smaller. In addition, the spring had very little resistance and could be easily moved, while the OEM required force and instantly snapped back to place upon releasing.
After cleaning the gears and solenoid, I plopped my old starter back in and guess what, the car started right up, no click, no grind (it only clicked occasionally to begin with).
To summarize, the pictured starter is the correct number that autozone lists for a t2 rx7. What you will get is a starter with a smaller motor that cranks slower, has a vastly smaller gear, and will grind the teeth of your flywheel. As they say, always compare what you have to what you're getting.
In the ongoing quest to wrap up some of the old car problems I'm having, I decided to finally tackle the front wheel bearings. Knowing the parts numbers for these cars are often outdated and superseded, I checked with Mazda and picked up the following x2.
As I don't have a welder just yet, I opted to make the process easier by visiting a friend's shop to swap these out. That said, I was actually smart and only took one side apart in case I messed something up (look at me, being an adult). To my surprise, I found that the nut holding the hub on was completely loose! Not even finger tight
Since I was in there, I decided to continue with the procedure.
Hub with outer bearing removed. Back side of hub with inner bearing removed. Not pictured here, but I also sand blasted the outside of the hub since I had access to a blaster for the day. Bearings and oil seal. Couldn't find a bearing packer in the shop, so I manually packed the bearings with Redline bearing grease. Not too bad of a process, just have to be thorough and ensure the bearings are sufficiently packed. Instead of using a grinder to notch the races and risking damage to the hub, I had a bead welded around the inner races. Once this cooled, the races pretty much fell right out. The hub reassembled and packed with grease. The oil seal was actually the biggest pain, as it refused to go in straight.
After that, I reassembled the hub and tightened the hub nut per factory specs.
Since I had some play in the other front hub and I now knew the side I repaired had a loose nut, I decided to take a peek at it. Sure enough, the driver side hub nut was also completely loose. As I was out of time for the day, I simply re-tightened the nut to factory specs and nearly all the play was gone. I'll eventually replace the other bearing,but for now it's out of sight out of mind.
It seems that I do have some play in my manual steering rack though, which I'm not pleased with.
I got sick of having crappy autozone universal floor mats, so I picked up some Phase2Motoring floor mats. Overall, I'm impressed with the quality for the low price tag. Similar floor mats for the FC are over double the cost. Even if these wear out relatively quickly, the replacement cost is low enough not to care.
01-30-20, 09:43 AM
