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Endurance Drive

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Old Dec 31, 2010 | 05:09 PM
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VA Endurance Drive

Yesterday I came home after I drove My 95' from Northern Virginia to Tampa and back. First of all , Im really impresed with the car considering that I drove it knowing that I had a bad water seal. BTW, stock engine and no mods except for the radiator upgrade and samco hoses installed. No worries, I made often pit stops to check the water level and such. When I made it to my friends shop, we put the car on the lift for a check and discovered that the turbos were leaking, the downpipe was rubbing against the chasis and the rear wheels were spining individually instead of both at the same time. I also have a mad gas leak from somewhere around the tank. Sounds like a little bit of work to do to the car to have it back on optimal conditions.!!!!

Well, After my time down in Florida, I drove back the same 12 to 14 hrs on cruise control @ 80mph on the average. No issues other than the ones mentioned above. Please comment whatever on this post for new parts and upgrades needed, Thanks, Joe.
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Old Dec 31, 2010 | 07:35 PM
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Originally Posted by T-SMASH

When I made it to my friends shop, we put the car on the lift for a check and discovered that the turbos were leaking,
Leaking what? Oil, coolant? From where?


Originally Posted by T-SMASH
the downpipe was rubbing against the chasis
Really? Never seen that before. What DP is on there?

Originally Posted by T-SMASH
and the rear wheels were spining individually instead of both at the same time.
That is normal for a Torsen diff. The LSD (limited slip diff) spins both wheels as you mentioned.


Originally Posted by T-SMASH
I also have a mad gas leak from somewhere around the tank.
Check the fuel filter


Originally Posted by T-SMASH
Sounds like a little bit of work to do to the car to have it back on optimal conditions.!!!!

Well, After my time down in Florida, I drove back the same 12 to 14 hrs on cruise control @ 80mph on the average. No issues other than the ones mentioned above. Please comment whatever on this post for new parts and upgrades needed, Thanks, Joe.
Welcome to the joys of owning a 15 year old car. Think maintenance, not upgrades for now. Read the 3rd gen FAQ thread to learn about how to diagnose the coolant system properly. Many people diagnose that incorrectly. Read the links in the FAQ thread to learn how to diagnose correctly - and to learn where to buy parts.
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 11:08 AM
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Its leaking OIL from the back turbo. The DP its from Megan Racing. The pipe is not top of the line, but it does the job. I think the engine mounts are worn due to oil saturation. Every time the engine torques, the pipe rubs against the frame due to weak mounts. There is a grinding noise everytime I punch the gas and its vibration is felt throughout the car's frame . Cooling system is ok except for the water seal. Engine swap is coming in FEB, thinking cosmo 2rotor. Fuel filter will be replaced soon and will check for leaks. How do you check if the diff is good?
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 12:09 PM
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Sounds like the mounts are shot. Common issue if they're OEM. There are several options for motor mounts but if you can find them, I can personally recommend Noltecs. NO increase in NVH like many others but they're durable and keep the engine/transmission settled really well.
Forget the Cosmo.

I also road-tripped last summer. About 1800 miles in a 5 day trip to the Colorado for some mountain driving. Short of the rare autocross, most fun I've had with my car in a long time. Absolutely NO issues except some worn out Yokohamas.
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 01:57 PM
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Originally Posted by T-SMASH
Its leaking OIL from the back turbo.

The DP its from Megan Racing. The pipe is not top of the line, but it does the job.

I think the engine mounts are worn due to oil saturation. Every time the engine torques, the pipe rubs against the frame due to weak mounts.

There is a grinding noise everytime I punch the gas and its vibration is felt throughout the car's frame . Cooling system is ok except for the water seal. Engine swap is coming in FEB, thinking cosmo 2rotor. Fuel filter will be replaced soon and will check for leaks. How do you check if the diff is good?

A small oil leak is somewhat normal with the stock turbos. They all seem to leak at some point. So long as they don't smoke and make good boost, I probably wouldn't worry too much about a small leak. Big leak is a different story...

I am actually selling a very nice used downpipe made by RX7.com if you are interested. No fitment issues with this pipe. Link and pic here:
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-rx-7-1993-2002-parts-99/bonez-rx7-com-downpipe-935748/


Sgt Blue already mentioned engine mount options. IRP and Banzai Racing also offer poly urethane mounts.



On another topic, have you ever heard of using paragraphs? Makes your posts easier to read. If you are looking for input on stuff, don't make it hard for us to
read your post or you won't get much help.
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 09:30 PM
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this is a little enlightening as i am getting ready to drive 2500 miles from oregon to ohio where i can sit down for a while with a garage and do a rebuild.

i also have what i believe to be bad water seals, so lets hope i make it there with no issues...

im bringing all my tools so if somthing does happen id be a least a little prepared, but alot of the travelling will be in below freezing temps.
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Old Jan 2, 2011 | 03:41 PM
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any input, you guys think i can make it?
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Old Jan 2, 2011 | 03:49 PM
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IF you have a bad coolant seal, coolant will likely get stranded in your overflow during cool down. Just watch your fluid levels and 'burp' the system by squeezing the radiator hose if you have to top it off. That will minimize the air pockets and temp spiking. The fewer cool-down cycles the easier it will be. Depending on how severe of a failure, your not likely to have huge issues and should be fine on highway driving.
If this was August and you were asking about going to one last track event before rebuilding, the story would be way different.
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Old Jan 2, 2011 | 06:25 PM
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cool man, thanks for the input...dont have heating problems...i definately keep a close eye on all my fluids...good to hear that, thanks again!
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Old Jan 3, 2011 | 10:35 AM
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To Rotary Everything: My temp stayed the whole way and back at 180 degrees thanks to the cold air flow. At times it was around 165 to 170.
My advice would be to keep an eye to that temp gauge. Im sure we all do that. The advice from this veterans is good as well.
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Old Jan 3, 2011 | 04:21 PM
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i definately always keep a close eye on my temp guage...i think in the fc s4 base(what i got) model the guage is only suppose to be half way up max. and a quater the way up normally...thats about where it stays...and i also take as much advice from the vet's and guru's...

thanks for all the input guys...

fc out.
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Old Jan 3, 2011 | 05:54 PM
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If you are losing coolant out the exhaust (white smoke), then this might help: https://www.rx7club.com//showthread.php?t=930506&page=2

But if it is getting blown out of the radiator/overflow, then there isn't really an easy fix that I know of.

Best of luck, and congrats on your long drive.




.
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Old Jan 4, 2011 | 04:56 AM
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cool man, thanks for the link...personally i think ill avoid it for now as i dont know if some of the exhuast gases are actually gettin in there, plus i intend to do a rebuild pretty much as soon as i get there. thanks
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