Okay, I got my barn car towed home to AZ from CA. It has been sitting for 8-10 years. I just did the ATF treatment and the car now cranks over. I went to the auto parts store to try to replace the hoses and spark plugs but they don't carry what I need. Said I had to go to the Ford dealer! I do live in a small town but I thought this stuff would have been easier to come by. Any suggestions?

Also does anyone know of a good product to condition the convertible tops on these cars?
Thanks

 

What store did you try? Ford isn't going to carry Mazda parts, so it's a safe bet the store employee is missing some brain cells. Autozone, Kragen/Oreiley's or NAPA will carry many parts and be able to order more. If you don't have a Mazda dealership nearby, you can also order tons of OEM parts through www.mazdatrix.com.

Vinyl treatment products work on tops.

 

This may help you a lot in what you need to do:

http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/unstore.htm

For future reference, avoid ATF. It eats the rubber oil o-rings. Just regular old engine oil does the job.

 

Okay, got the new plugs, new hoses and new gas in! Whew!!! She started and Oh The Smoke!!! I thought I killed my roomates chickens!!(You know how fragile birds are to that stuff). Drove down the the end of the block (down hill), turned around and gave it gas in 1st to get up the hill and stalled. Started again reved put in gear, power high, down with emergency brake just a small burst of power then sputter and die. 3 times....tow her up the hill. Sh*t!!!!!

 

good to hear the car is running

 

most of the guys at checker/ autozone/ pep boys/ advanced auto, are morons! i went there to get 10 ft of vacumm hose and the dude comes back with a length of fuel inj. hose. idiot!

 

Pull codes. You can make your own code checker for $3-$5 with 2 LEDs and some wire.

Check closed loop operation (O2 plays with the ECU at cruise, abt 8 cycles rich-lean per 10 seconds). You can make a 2 LED checker for this for abt $2, or use one leg of the two led checker you made for the codes.

Check for exhaust restriction: try running with the O2 sensor pulled out of the exhaust manifold, leave the hole open. If it revs better that way, you probably have an exhaust restriction, ie. clogged cat or ?

Check compression.

Pull the upper manifold, get the injectors out, and send them out to be professionally cleaned and flow checked.

Check for vacuum leaks.

Check timing and advance (5 deg BTDC)

Adjust idle speed and idle mixture.

Check the TPS for max/min resistance values; no dropouts; and then adjust per FSM specs.

Check operation of the double throttle diaphram (I'll bet money its perforated, given the age of the car)

At idle, at temp, put your hand under the right fender, forward of the wheel. There is a little rubber elbow, about 1" ID, there, that points towards the left (towards the center of the car). If there is a little tiny bit of air coming out, that is good. If there is a strong breeze coming out of it, somethings wrong with the air control valve (air injection for the cat, smog).

 

If the car has been sitting this long, then much of the fuel system is trash. The filter and injectors are likely clogged with gunk and rust.

 

I bought a new fuel filter but not sure where to find the old one. I looked at the diagrams here of the factory manual but it's still not real clear to me just exactly how to get to it. Can anyone guide me there please? Thanks so much from a middle aged woman who has never worked on a car in her life, but enjoying every minute of it.

 

its under the brake booster on the bottom of the firewall.

 

Pick up a fuel pressure guage, i.e. Harbor Freight, < $20. Do the fuel pressure test per the factory service manual (availalbe online, see FAQ section). If the fuel filter, pump or sock filter in the tank are at issue, you will see a drop in fuel pressure under acceleration. If that shows no problem, check the fuel return line for an obstruction, i.e. blow it out with compressed air...

 

Got her running good and road worthy, good compression reconnected the wire for coolant sencor and it stopped buzzing. Time to replace plugs and plug wires. I had a guy tell me to run all NGK Bur7eq for both leading and trailing, ever heard of that? What kind of plug wires are best? Thanks again,
Sabrina