Ok, so i have driven my car(86 Rx7 N/A) a few times and the last time i started it i heard a grinding while i was cheacking my oil/coolent and making sure nothing was 'Out of place". It was comming from the front of the engine, im a first time rotary owner and kinda paranoid about my car being one of 'those' rotarys that might leave a bad tast in my mouth. How ever i feel the engine is in fine condition. but it has the "gravle being tosed around" much like a Piston engine's water pump going out. its not leaking...yet. i looked in my chilton to see how big of a pain the waterpump was going to be..... and yes it look's like i wont be able to do it due to my AC compresser needing to be removed. i cant pay the outragous price's the shop's want and NEED a water pump in my daily driver. do i really need to remove the AC components to do this? i have worked on cars but NEVER touched the AC system.... any tips would rock. i love the car and dont want to have to get rid of it... to have a shop fix the water pump they want almost as much as i paid for it......NOT going to spend that kinda of cash on it becouse i could buy a newer car that didnt have any problems and with my luck i would get tossed by the shope lol, anyway my only thought was to go to some shop and have them decompress my ac system and just remove the damn thing or reinstall it and have the shop recharge it... or convert to R-34a any thoughts would be amazing i really like the car, but i HATE imports and dont like the idea of starting off with a nickle and dime car.. i know that rotarys are not honda's so i really want to give the car a fair chance befor falling back on a v8. Also please dont flame me for dissliking imports i did buy one after all thank you for helping another human get hooked on rotary's!

 

The water pump just unbolts from the front of the housing. 6 bolts or so, without the need to remove the A/C stuff.

The Factory Service Manual can be found in the FAQ For FC thread. It contains all this information and more, and is an essential tool for any sort of service work that needs to be performed on these cars.

Additionally, the Haynes service manual for the 1986 thru 1991 RX-7 (both turbo and NA) can be found at most local auto parts stores or purchased from any good bookstore (ISBN number 1 56392 007 7). It is only about $25 and is a great quick reference for things like this. Not only does it contain most of the information in the FSM condensed into an easy to read format, but it includes full wiring diagrams as well.

These manuals will answer 99% of service related questions for the car and if you intend to do your own repair work, you will need at least one of them. Preferably both, since the FSM is a free download.

 

Thank you very! i have bought the chilton for the car, and plan on getting the other 2 books, also. the chilton says the A/C compressor must come off in order to accses the water pump...must be some sort of typo but it sure did scare me lol and i will download the other manual and agin thank you soooo much the more i drive and own the care the more i love it and question why i never thought about a rotary as a personal car befor.

 

on the side of the water pump that does all the work has the piece that spins. it sounds like something broke off and is hitting that piece? mine did that and doesnt anymore with the new water pump. its not to big of a deal changing the water pump. a water pump for your rx7 cost 65$ at shucks for the non-re manufactured one. i had help with the ac. but i dont know **** about motors and especially rotarys. but the water pump was so easy i could have showed a kid what to do. it slides right onto bolts. but when your putting sealant on the gasket make sure you dont put to much. if you do, you could get sealant runnin around in the works and even i know no one wants that