2k6

Hey guys so my FD is coming in November from japan and I'm looking to fix the issues it has and do some maintenance. see below for issues and what i plan on doing over the winter.

Issues: window motors gone bad, driver door handle not working properly, rough idle, trunk does not open, radio not working, and no a/c and compressor has no movement.

Plans: Already ordered some new aluminum door handles and some trim pieces that were missing. Ill replace the mechanism that opens the trunk hatch, I don't imagine this being very difficult. I'll be looking to do some light maintenance since i just bought it. gonna do oil change(Valvoline vr1 20w50 with OEM filter), diff fluid change(not sure yet), spark plugs(BUR9EQP's), plug wires(NGK), fuel filter(OEM), coolant(Mazda FL22)

Once i change out the regular maintenance fluids ill be doing a compression test to see the health of the engine. if its good i suspect the rough idle to be a fuel issue and will be changing out the injectors. does anyone know a good brand that should be the same as OEM? I also plan on converting the FD to a 134 system by swapping the RX8 compressor, condenser, Evaporator and drier. is there anything that I'm not thinking of that i should replace that I haven't listed?

Akagis_white_comet

iTrader: (4)

One thing I would suggest doing is to consider the first fluid changes to be sacrificial as one does not necessarily know how the car was treated by previous owners. Also, it may come as a shock, but unless a vehicle specifies a non-standard fluid such as Dexcool, it doesn't really matter whose name is on the bottle as long as it meets the appropriate specifications. For example, any conventional (green) coolant will do just fine here, as will any 10w-30 oil, assuming a median climate somewhere between Chicago and St.Louis (Today's high in STL was 75 degrees Fahrenheit). Plan on changing fluids again in 500-1000 miles, if not sooner as this will tell you quite a bit about the condition overall, based on what comes out when drained.

Since you mentioned doing a R134 conversion, it would be safe to assume it is an early FD, Version 1 or 2 with R-12. I would suggest taking a deep breath and going through the system first with manifold gauges as it could certainly be cooling properly. Is it likely? Doubtful, but it is possible. My E38 is still on the factory R134 charge after 22 years and still within the proper specifications too.

Last, give the fuel system a full servicing. A new Filter, some 8mm (5/16") J30R9 hose and new hose clamps throughout is inexpensive insurance, and a clogged filter would definitely explain funky idle issues. Plus, who knows when ANY of it was replaced, if at all. The last thing you want is to spring a leak and see it p*ssing 93 octane on the ground after one or more lines decide to nope out as I found out last week with my BMW. Based on the drip location being opposite of the supply line, I'm thinking the Return line coming off of the fuel pressure regulator is the problem I've encountered. On a FD, the Fuel Pressure Regulator and Return Line is a little too close to the turbos/exhaust for my liking to risk a failure. Fuel hose is (relatively) cheap. A FD is not.

If you need a hand with finding parts or information like proper torque specs, fluid capacities, etc, let me know. I literally have ALL of it here

2k6

Yes I read through some older posts and if im correct theres oil in the oil coolers that does not get flushed out. therefore a second oil change will be a better way to judge the health of the engine. for the oil, i only plan on driving in summer/fall weather, i think with temp range being between 55 to 105 degrees F, i read that 20w-50 would be better?

Yes, my fd is a 93, i believe its the first version. Ill check out if it has any r12 in it and what the issue could be. eventually ill check to see if its the mana or denso system.

Yes, i agree. ill be changing out the fuel filter, plugs and plug wires. I was planning on replacing these as a maintenance thing and i have no idea when the last maintenance was done on the car. if that doesnt help i would assume it would then be the injectors?

Where do you source your parts from? ive seen IRP has an online store but i havent tried them yet.

Akagis_white_comet

iTrader: (4)

This is only my opinion and I am definitely no expert on the subject, but at a glance, 20w-50 seems quite thick considering the climate here in the midwest. A chart similar to this one was put in the North American manuals to help with proper viscosity selection.
https://penriteoil.com.au/knowledge-...-viscosity/180

40 degrees Celsius is 104 Fahrenheit. For reference, the hottest day here in St Louis this year was 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest day was 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 Celsius). Between this and seeing FAR colder temperatures when I was in Ohio, I tend to err on the side of lighter oil in case the weather does what it did in 2014 with Central Ohio hitting -40 Fahrenheit a few times.
https://www.extremeweatherwatch.com/...ouis/year-2022

Seems like a good idea to adjust for what your specific area experiences. If the car is arriving in November, I would use 10w-30 so it'll behave correctly down to 0 degrees Fahrenheit. This will ensure it will crank and start with minimal effort while you are assessing the rest of the car over the winter. I've tried 10w-40 in my FC in winter before, it was a bear to start and rotary engines tend to be grumpy on cold starts if left sitting. Plus, thinner oil will make it easier to flush out all the nasties that have accumulated in the passages, moving more of the buildup into the filter as intended. For the sake of flushing things out, any inexpensive 5 or 10w-30 oil will be fine for the first 2 oil changes. As for filters, everyone has their own personal preference but you can't go wrong with OE Mazda, made by NipponDenso.

As for parts, this is where things can get murky. Mazda made quite a lot of changes in Japanese Series 6 FDs (Version 1-3), quite a few of them not aligning to version introduction dates either. For example, the turbo inlet/outlet gaskets were changed partway through one version because the early paper gaskets were apparently failing. Meanwhile, the Version 1-2 ABS system was carried over from the FC GT-Limited Special Edition. For Version 3, they transplanted the system from the 20B Cosmo.

If you're ok with sending me your VIN, I can remove any possibly ambiguity when looking for parts by nailing it down to the specific day your car was built. Plus, I do have every FD parts catalog here too

Your A/C is NipponDenso R12, R134a was introduced for Version 3. MANA was only used on North American FDs. Unlike the North American workshop manuals that gloss over anything a/c related, the Japanese ones are VERY thorough in Section U: Heat & Aircon. When tackling Section U for the Eunos Cosmo Workshop Manual, I kept the same degree of detail and took it a few steps further to make it as unmistakably clear and concise as possible. Simple things like adding (RED) to anything on the High Pressure Side makes it much easier to get it right the first time. Except for the refrigerant and oil amounts being different, all of the procedures for the Cosmo will apply to a Japanese FD with R12 in it too.

Last, it may seem like a "duh" thing, but you will want to replace anything made of rubber. This means radiator hoses, heater lines, vacuum lines, intake couplers, etc. The cheapest I've found 8mm SAE J30R9 fuel line is $2.36/foot from Rock Auto. Wasn't sure how much I'd need on my BMW, so I just ordered 10 feet since parts stores charge at least $7/foot for it. Oil cooler hoses are usually converted to -10AN, while the rest of the coolant/vacuum/intake lines, go directly to silicone. The good news is that even 10 years after I did my 20B-REW conversion, the price for thick wall silicone vacuum line is still $1/foot on Ebay. If memory serves, most vacuum line kits for the FD have 40ft of 4mm line in them, and various lengths of the other sizes needed too.

2k6

The VIN should be 117241