OilyRotor16

Hey all. Yes, I'm new to the forum and to the 1st Gen, well heck, all Rx7's lol, and I've run into some issues, so I need some help.

I'm rebuilding my Nikki carb on my '79 Rx7, and I've nearly completed it, but two things have stopped me:
1) My gasket plate's OG gasket has been removed, and the thin paper gaskets sat in it's place, which I have removed.
2) I can't remove the intake manifold :|

For the gasket plate, I've tried my best to find replacements online, and the only ones I can find in stock (Autopartone.com and Autopart3.com are both sold out :/) are on Ebay, and they're honestly not worth the price lol, $200 on Ebay vs. $50 on Autpartone.com.
I was thinking of just DIY-ing it like some other guys on the forum have done, I don't remember what thread but I just remember reading that a guy had just used some silicone and the gaskets that come in the Nikki Carb rebuild kit and he had no vacuum leak, so I had been considering that, but if anyone here has any suggestions better than that, I'd love to hear them (or if you're selling a gasket plate then hmu lol)

And before I talk about my manifold issue, I need to explain why I want to take it off.
The previous owner had the air cleaner on top the carb removed and sitting within the car for idk how long, but had a rag over the top of the carb. I've also had a rag over the intake manifold while rebuilding the carb, but I still want to take off the manifold to check for two things:
1) To make sure nothing fell into the manifold, and
2) To check to see the condition of the engine and rotors.
Now yes, I know that tiny little port won't be much of a help, but this block has never been opened, with only 75k OG miles, and so I have a feeling everything is lookin' perty noice inside, but because the carb was loose with a dirty shirt on top, I just want to make sure everything's okay (sure, maybe I'm being overly skeptical about this, and yeah I probably am, but hey, first time car owner, new to rotaries, not wanting to mess things up cause I don't have money to waste lol).

So, here's what I've tried doing to take off the manifold.....
I've tried my U-Joint, my extensions, I've tried from above and below the engine, and nothing works, oh and I don't have an engine hoist so I'm not going to be pulling the 2 rotor out any time soon lol, unless I realize after taking off the manifold that I need to crack open the engine, so, any tips, tricks, or literally pure magic that anyone knows of, please let me know

Also, I've done my best, being a newbie, at searching the forum for intake-manifold-related stuff (mainly searching through First Gen Archives), and I didn't seem to really find anything, and I'm assuming I just need to make a custom wrench, file down a socket (which a friend recommended to me), or possibly remove whatever pump is to the right of the manifold (with that blue label lol) so I can get to those bolts. I've also attempted at removing the exhaust manifold to then get to the intake, but to no avail.

So anyway, long story short, what do you guys do to remove your intake manifold? What's your recommended solution to the whole gasket plate issue?

Thanks for reading my mini-essay
Pascal

KansasCityREPU

iTrader: (9)

I know it can be a bear to get off if never done before. Try taking off the exhaust at the output of the exhaust manifold, then take off the exhaust manifold. This will get you room to take off the two nut and two bolts on the bottom of the intake manifold.

You will also need a new intake gasket and the two water seals. Might as well install a new exhaust manifold gasket.

OilyRotor16

Great, thank you so much! I'll definitely order those gaskets, as I've just recently taken off the manifold finally
And I should only be grateful for this humbling experience, as I know realize that it was a very simply issue that stumped me, when I realized, after using my phone to look under the manifold further (I tried before but this time I got better results) that there were more bolts as well as those two nuts, and in my excitement at almost removing it, I forgot about the coolant.......
That'll always be a fond memory of mine :P

But anyway, it was a lot easier than I realized, so thank you for your patience. As it looks right now (and I've ordered an endoscope for my phone so I can examine whether my engine is all good to go or not), I'm almost ready to fire her up, just gotta inspect the tank, fuel lines (spark plugs have already been redone), replace some coolant hoses possibly, and also use the scope to look inside the water pump, just in case, but other than that I'll just change my fluids and fire her up!

Also, if you have any recommendations for any other things to check before I attempt to start it up, I would much appreciate them!

Thanks again,
Pascal