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Took my car out today to make a short trip (80 miles round), rained like hell for the first half of the journey and had no problems at all. Once it stopped raining and things began to dry out she began to fall on her face when off boost. On boost (stock) she runs fine, no hesitations, pulls right up through the rev range without fail. But off boost there are points where she has no power, as if the injectors aren't firing or there's no spark (which this makes no sense as it runs fine under heavy load). Engine has 10k miles on it, fuel system has 10k on a bosche pump, prof. Q injectors have 10k on them, in tank filter has 10k on it, under hood filter has maybe 3k on it as well as the braided lines and aeromotive FPR (w/mech fpr gauge). I have an electric fuel pressure gauge in cabin to monitor pressure changes, idle she is set @40~42 psi, and it climbs in a 1:1 ratio following boost pressure (as proved with an aftermarket boost gauge beside the FP gauge). Fuel pressure is spot on during these moments of 'no-go', but if I give her more throttle input (opening the butterfly) she comes back to life and zips along merrily. This is in all gears, though more pronounced when trying to 'cruise' along between 55~70 above that and its fine. Ecu is an 88/89 unit within the 87 case, been running premium fuel only, and symptoms were shown while tank was about 80% full to a bit under half a tank (tank was refilled and still shows symptoms). Fusible link box felt hot round the ecu and ign switch links (links in good condition, though red ecu link seems to have 'fused' to one of the blocks spades...), at the same time passenger headlight would not pop up nor down on its own, though unplugging the main fusible link box and plugging it back in returned it to normal. I did not have these symptoms prior to the deluge I drove through this morning and its something I'd like to get taken care of before I potentially sell her this upcoming week, so any help would be greatly appreciated guys.

Actually those mufflers look very much stock or at the 'least' a pace setter Y-pipe and mufflers, though only way to know is to look under the car and check for tell tale welds, my project has all stock exhaust...Good to see the oem boot cover is intact too, those are usually misplaced on most verts these days and fetch a pretty penny, same with a set of good condition BBS's with centers, gotta love rims that weigh in at just a smidge over 10 pounds without tire. Jwrape- for the price he's askin its a good deal, a reskin of the seats, aftermarket headunit, and a fender respray and its set. My last running rx7 I owned for 5 years, she treated me good, and even thoroughly abusing the car (Adding an SAFC and tuning fuel OUT of the maps) I got 20~23 mpg with a severe lead foot (1st thru 3rd gear redlining at every interstate onramp, which in a nonturbo top of 3rd is 90ish depending on if you dip past the buzzer.) Only thing you would want her to keep an eye on is coolant temps and have the oil changed EVERY 3k miles, and maybe have the injectors sent out for cleaning/flow matching (Older rotaries tend to 'flood' out which is easily 'temp' fixed with a switch to kill the fuel pump when you shut the car down, or to pull the ecu underhood fuses and deflood it, though the switch is always nice). Honestly I dont know many 'verts' that will get better fuel eco, unless they are LS1 powered... Also to add~ The 86-88 rx7's are alot more 'mod' friendly in nonturbo form than the 89-91's due to having more 'mechanical' parts that the ecu doesnt care about. IE: the emissions can be junked and vac lines simplified to 1 16" long vac line for the FPR, another 12~18" long line that runs from the intake manifolds to the 'pressure' sensor, and you 'could' also remove the OMP system provided you then ran premix to make up for the lost lubrication. On a S5 car all of the emissions are tied into the VDI (variable dynamic intake) and would require some fun rigging to keep those working right along with the 5th and 6th aux. ports for the intake, and if the omp was removed then the ecu begins throwing the car into limp mode, the S4's dont even know what 'limp' means.

Bump for a clean 7. Just some interesting factoids: In japan, ALL FC's were turbocharged (verts included). They never had a nonturbo model, just varying degree's of interior and suspension trim. A automatic car is more likely to die an early death than a 5speed. Rotaries <3 being redlined, there's no real harm in pushing past redline unless you are holding it forever, if the cooling system is up for it by all means. IIRC the 4 rotor 787B leman's car was rev limited to 9k rpm for reliability for the endurance race, car made great power, their were reports that after the race the motor was removed and 'uncorked' and allowed to rev to 12k rpms, resulting in an additional 3~400 hp. However, if a rotary is not redlined, which is the case in any of the slush boxes, the engine builds up carbon, which is normally burned off with a few good redlinings. This is a fact, there are documented cases of 3rd gen's being bought with <60k miles and supposedly 'babied its entire life and never abused' and the engines were so caked in carbon that they would 'pop' when finally redlined (loosening carbon in lare chunks which would stick seals or break them.) Verts are heavy. But handle every inch as well as a coupe, mostly so from being equipped with turbo equivalent brakes and suspension (IIRC the rear's are actually stiffer than a T2). The drivers seat looks fairly typical of most rx7's in general, a bit rougher than most, but considering it is a vert i'd be more interested to know if the headrest speakers work. As for the stereo not working in car, but working on the bench, that could be either a bad dash fuse, bad ground (usually an aftermarket headunit will be the tell tale sign of that if the new headunit works), a loose wire at the fuseblock, or possibly the wire is broken elsewhere for power/ground. Though the unbroken stereo surround is a big plus, most 86-88's have either missing or broken surrounds/vents, including the demisters...which your's still retains as well.... damned clean aside from the seat and fender overall. Though any underhood shots to see if anythings been rigged/upgraded?

Have you tried either a turbo blanket and wrapping the downpipe? These alone will help keep the heat down underhood, that and using the stock heat shields. Personally I dont have the heat shielding anymore and have suffered a few crispy wires as you have, though buying 'lifetime' NGK wires means I just head to the parts store for a fresh set every year or so.

The Rabbit1: I dont have a knock box because the P.O. wired in what I was told was a caravan ignitor module. Ive not had any real issues with it. REDi: I recommend if installing the FPR, to find a more suitable mounting for it than where the knock box goes. I had to 'reshape' the metal fuel return line so I could get my SS hose onto it without kinking...much cursing and scraped/bleeding knuckles were had.

Can't go wrong with stuff from Brian. I still need to have a few fittings changed out (my fpr placement puts things out of whack) but i'm happy with how my FPR is run. http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo04021620.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo04021620_1.jpg

hah yeah, i gave 500 for my first rx7, 2 used motors (that i installed) later she lasted 5 years and was worth it. Id like to find a supra just to daily. Dont have to mod it, just something clean that I can take to work and such while the 7 gets wrenched on, especially considering my luck with my Conquest as of late..

Sounds like yours suffered from 'sticking' seals. The atf trick is used to loosen up carbon, though using MMO or a good seafoaming would have helped it either regain compression or fully unstick the seals. Heh, only other toy I'd like to try out is a mkIII supra, but so far I prefer my 7s cockpit to almost everything else ive sat in.

Should broaden the search area to include more southern states, though interiors are getting shabbier as years progress i've seen... Got tires mounted yesterday http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo04151727_1.jpg Let them in the van til today, where they got mounted http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo04161137.jpg and here were back on the ground http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo04161147_2.jpg Its definitely going to need all the fender lips rolled, and the rear need a good pull, but so far so good with the stock suspension and not really having the body settle like it needs to.

Crazy- 2k for a decent FC is quite reasonable, as a turbo model in good shape (or at least with a fresh motor) will run between 3k and 7k. Plus, if you should tire of the rotary, a LS1 will easily fit between the fenders and firewall, and plenty of kits to V8 swap it otherwise. 87Blue- Can do, not like they are going anywhere lol.

and 87Blue, id probably take 100 plus cost to ship, a boneyard charges about 25 a wheel for aluminum.

honestly a fb makes a poor drift car, the suspension choices are few, the steering is worse than the sq's, and they lack power (even the later model gsl-se that was fuel injected was anemic.) if yuo want to drift, id recommend snagging either a 87-88 gxl fc like i did, as they have a factory clutch-type lsd and are good to learn the suspensions knack for gripping when it should be sliding (thanks in part to the rear hubs being able to adjust camber in a corner). once you get the car setup and feel confident a turbo swap is just as easy as im making it out to be, a driveline and engine harness being the biggest items to swap, as just turboing the na motor is asking for apex seal death.

Fanta: How much are you willing to spend and how far are you willing to go? I know there will be A LOT of RX7's attending DGRR (deals gap rotary rally) here up at the dragon come end of april (all weekend long). Usually several cars for sale. Though have ou checked www.rx7club.com 's for sale forums? Usually several for sale in varying conditions. My buddy just sold his 'restored' 90 TII for 6k I think with a fresh motor, new paint (minus rock chips from driving), immaculate interior (jdm rear seats even) and some other things, was a very nice car (stock condition turbo's so it wasnt making 469hp lol). I would have gotten a TII if their was one close enough to me for the price i was wanting to pay, but its 'just' as easy to source the parts like I have as ALL the S4/S5 chassis's are the same, only the engine harness and a few sensors change between na and turbo, though S5's changed to a different dash harness so the engine harness changed as well, but the hard parts all bolt the same. 87Blue: oh? mmm incentive to sell rising. Id have to junk the tires (they are corded heavily in back and one tire has a chunk missing from the sidewall.

Yeah, I was hoping to not have to drive out to timbucktoo to find one either (ive gone as far as MD for an rx7, and picked the Quest up from VA). No plans for a 20B. 20B's take more money to swap right than I have to spend in a year or two's time... I plan on a stock 13BT (S4 turbo engine), then once it either blows or I gather the money its getting rebuilt with an aggressive streetport. Then it will eventually (hopefully) see a GT35R (guy whom I buy most of my 'used' parts from builds engines and parts cars, his personal FC made 469rwhp@21psi with a gt35r, an old HKS fmic kit, and an apexi powerFC.) and drive it like it was meant to be. Heh, im junking the wheels. Theyve got some serious curb rash going on and the tires are shot.

Since I've been working nonstop since january (7 days a week...no days off...), I was able to make two more happy day purchases as I vowed to NEVER put those wheels back on the car. Some days I <3 ebay: XXR 006- 17x8 +25 and 17x9 +20 (with a 7mm spacer up front and a 20 out back I think they'd look beastly on the SQ too) http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo03311606_1.jpg Test fitting to the 7 using a set of red anodized DropEngineering tuner lugnuts http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo04011000_2-1.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo04011004_1.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo04011004_2.jpg Heres what that lowly 17x7 looks like in the back...kinda dinky really http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo04011004.jpg With those ordered and properly tested to clear suspension (clear on all accounts), I realized I 'might' need to roll the fender lips at all corners, and possibly pull the rears (fine by me). But since I dislike the stretched look on cars, and the roads around here kinda suck, AND ive curbed a nice set of wheels before (on my first TII no less >.<) I decided on some real rubber. Stock tire sizes for the na's running 15" wheels are 205/60's...I opted for a set of Nitto NT555 235/45 R17s up front and 255/40 R17's out back to aid in my quest for grip. Oddly enough, these were ordered last, and showed up the night before my sway bars lol. http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo04121517.jpg They go to be mounted this friday, then they get mounted to the car and set on the ground for more clearance checks to see what I 'need' to do to try and not run 'hella flush' or cambered wayyyy out. /sigh at one point my driveway consisted of these rotary's: First NA (flat black) sitting beside a blown waste of money (both traded for lol240) http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/media1-2.jpg My very first TII... http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/88%20TII/667820-R1-00-1A.jpg Sold it shortly after a semi took out the left rear quarter... http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/88%20TII/DSC00278.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/88%20TII/DSC00280.jpg And some before and after shots of the original beast: http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/6.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/3.jpg Before ^ After lots of work and some rattle can 4 years later(never did fix that left rear corner) v http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/DSCF2177.jpg And her last voyage up the Tail of the Dragon (love being an hour away) http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/DSC00584.jpg

So now that I had the base for the new project, it was time to set out some goals from the beginning so that I wouldnt get sidetracked and lose focus on the overall picture (this happened with the first one and I regretted it as much as I regret selling her). The plan is to strip everything nonturbo off the car, replace with factory turbo components, replace the 23yr old suspension, freshen up the interior, work the exterior over so that its got somewhat functional aero without destroying the body lines, then shoot for 400rwhp in a car that I will drive occasionally in the summer during the week, often on weekends, and would be proud to take to a car show and autocross the piss out of. All respectable goals in my book. So, with all this in mind, I began my preparations and the hunt for parts began. Mid January saw the arrival of some very key parts: JDM turbo AFM (airflow meter) and JDM downpipe (stock) http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo02100935.jpg 87-91 Turbo Rear differential (87-88's had a clutch type LSD, 89-91 had a viscous type LSD, im unsure which year this differential is without dismantling it as the cases are the same year to year) http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo02100953_1.jpg S4 Turbo 5-speed transmission (gobs stronger than the nonturbo tranny) http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo02100953.jpg S4 turbo starter, aluminum hood latch assembly, turbo axle halfshafts, turbo flywheel/clutch/pressure plate (Rumored to fit 87-89 SQ flywheels...oh and the splines are the same) http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo02100952.jpg Not pictured is the S4 turbo engine wiring harness, manual steering rack, turbo clutch slave, 87 sport spoiler (duckbill), and a ford taurus electric fan. With these parts in hand it meant I could, in theory, swap all of my nonturbo driveline parts out for the turbo parts, and if my NA engine was good, swap the flywheel over and run the car while I wait to pounce upon a j-spec engine for the rest of the swap. However, since my engine is blown (confirmed rear rotor is both short some apex seals, it also appeared to have a blown coolant seal , it at least affords me the parts to begin the swap proper. I also was not keenly fond of the PO's choice in wheels, nor his insight in running 17x7 wheels at 4 corners and running 205's up front and 225's out back, the very first thing I did was this: http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo03150820.jpg Thats right, at one point all rx7 owners inevitably put their beloved money pits up on stands for weeks or months on end (FD owners know this plight even more). Honestly its the RX7's natural resting position... Though all kidding aside this afforded me the ability to further survey my undercarriage for rust (none as of yet...but it appears my underbody is stained TN clay brown/red) and to better get at the suspension components. After that...well I to buy myself some things for my birthday in march... First purchase was a set of Godspeed Coilovers. I purchased these mainly for the reason they were cheap, and I only plan to run them long enough to learn suspension setups (and avoid breaking big $$$ coilovers in the process). Unfortunately, thanks to the earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan, these have yet to arrive. At the same time I ordered the coilovers I also placed an order with MazdaTrix for some more serious suspension parts, which unfortunately just arrived due to delays in them getting parts from Mazda USA and from the suppler who they get the sway bar end links from... Racing Beat front and rear sway bars (front bar is huge compared to stock...definitely not losing any weight by adding this beast), MazdaTrix adjustable sway bar end links, poly bushings for both front and rear control arms, and new front control arm brackets http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo04140743.jpg Since I plan on new bushings, im going to have my front control arms and spindles powdercoated. I had a set already coated but they were sold with my last rx7 (stupid idea again...) But they did look like this: http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/powdercoatedfcsuspensionparts023.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/powdercoatedfcsuspensionparts019.jpg

I owned my first rx7 (88na) for 5 years, putting 3 engines into it, a 5 lug swap, 4piston caliper swap, some exhaust work, and then stripping the interior, I traded it off middle of 2010 for an abused 240sx (s13). Didnt like the 240 much as it felt completely wrong to me, so once I got my Conquest up and running again the hunt was on for a new rotary powered toy. After searching through my usual avenues for a Turbo II (turbo model FC) and not getting much luck in finding anything close or in good shape, I had a better idea: Id buy a nonturbo in good condition (running or non I didnt care so long as the body was sound) and build it up. So after some craigslisting I found what I was looking for way out in the sticks, a 88 RX7 GXL (luxury model retty much) for about 1000. Went to go look at it, engine wouldnt fire over and rubber looked toast, offered up 850ish for it and it came home with me just before New Years. She is a bit rough around the edges, namely the suspension appears toast (all four of the auto-adjusting struts/shocks appear to show signs of leakage) the wheels are junk, and the interior is a kitbash of black 89~91 rx7 bits and the stock 88 grey bits, she got a quick bath and parked at home. Here she is the day she was dropped off: http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/88%20RX7%20project/Photo12301344.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/88%20RX7%20project/Photo12301340_3.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/88%20RX7%20project/Photo12301339.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/88%20RX7%20project/Photo12301339_1.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/88%20RX7%20project/Photo12301339_3.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/88%20RX7%20project/Photo12301340.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/88%20RX7%20project/Photo12301340_1.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/88%20RX7%20project/Photo12301341.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/88%20RX7%20project/Photo12301337.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/88%20RX7%20project/Photo12301335_1.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/88%20RX7%20project/Photo12301335.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/88%20RX7%20project/Photo12301336_1.jpg Exterior wise she's not too bad. Could stand a 'new' front bumper and passenger fender and a few dings fixed, but overall in far better condition than my first FC (had a good sized oops the PO put in it via a guardrail to the left rear corner >.<). The sunroof works, power windows work (switches not so much), wipers rigged to work (switch is shot), rear wiper works, no radio (boo), and engines blown... Interior wise...i'll be removing everything but the front carpet and dash and start over. The S5 (89~91 FC) interior does not match up with the S4 interior bits (namely the rear carpet is cut differant, as are the storage bin fiberglass panels). Perfect says I, I need a long term challenge that I can achieve, no offence guys, but the FC fits small people better than the StarQuest does (not to mention will also fit larger people as the seats go wayyyy back).

To point out the truth to that video posted: That FD had JUST had those wheels installed by a tire shop, they (the shop) also sold the owner a set of lug nuts to fit those wheels. What really happened, and isnt mentioned in the video, is that the lug nuts were NOT for the RX7 wheel studs, therefore when the 'shop' zinged on the lugnuts, they held just fine until his first run, then ALL 20 lug nuts came off, stripping 20 studs and warping 4 brake rotors in the process.

Do the lights shut off when you depress the button? Sounds like the switch is going out, as my switch requires a bit of wiggling at the button every now and then whenever the headlights dont go down, but the lights turn off.

KTD, I have to say...I love your frame rails <.< Ive thought about doing that exact same thing to mine when I can afford to have her down for a few weeks for other things. Looks good overall...but you can keep that snow, our mild winter down here claimed what was left of my last airdam.

I'm going to add that in my experience, and many other RX7 owners experiences, the walbro is notorious for whining. They call it the "Whinebro" for a reason, even though it whines it functions just fine. My Bosch pump whines as well, but did so since day one and the whine only changes pitch when voltage drops at idle. Also did you wrap the pump in some form of sound deadening material (IIRC the stock pump has a foam wrap around it to deaden noise as well as help with vibration)?

They look like a knockoff of something, and i've never heard of that particular manufacturer, but they look good for the price. And by 17's, what widths are you looking into? IMHO, changing wheels is kinda pointless unless you go bigger (at least wider), unless you are stepping up to a 17 because you cant find good rubber in 16's

Posting to let everyone know the condition of my evoIII 16G W/TD05H wheel: After ONLY 4k miles the oil seals have started failing and the turbo has developed front to back shaft play (minimal side to side). It does not smoke visibly to me at speed or when idling for short periods, but coming home after a 15~20 min drive to let things cool down, she begins to smoke heavily (oil smell), goes away when some throttle is applied but returns after a few minutes more. It DID spool fine prior to the issues it now displays, and neither wheel appears damaged, though there is oil residue on the hotside's plate/seal thing that sits behind the turbine. Also, turbo only ever saw 'stock' boost (7psi) never more (stock wastegate). Turbo is off and sitting in my floorboard as I debate what to do with it, i've already got a new OEM 12A thanks to another member a month or so ago (when the oil smell and some noise was first heard). Let me know what you want to do with this Julian, I know I was one of the first few people to get a turbo back last season (just in time for my new motor to be broken in), so heres to seeing if its a seal failure or what (ive not disassembled the unit any farther than separating the exhaust housing from the CHRA, may take my AN fittings and oil drain off as well).

The reason people 'trim' the valve cover is that two studs will hit the baffling and prevent the valve cover from seating completely. A ticking sound 'might' also occur if you used all 'exhaust' rockers on a head that doesnt have jet valves (the exhaust rockers do not have the stud hole provision for the jet valve adjuster), these rockers may contact the valve cover if used as intake rockers (or so i've heard) The places to trim are here: http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/RX-7-88/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo10022202.jpg I did my trimming with a dremel, others have just used pliers to snap those parts off.

since I just watched my copy of the DVD, I can assure you...that is just another camaro >.>