Popular Post chris r Posted March 24, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted March 24, 2017 Late last year I saw a certain rx7 advertised, wanted it, talked to friends and they said get it. I made a decision, slept on it, slept on it again. Had a week away to see reason and paid for it. It is joe/goats fc3s rx7. Here is his excellently written ad & some pictures I think I'm a sucker for punishment and I'm blaming the brain injury for making another project when everything else I own needs something doing on it a good idea. And I think I like cars that people hate? No space, no money (now) a trademe rtv rebuild rotary that hasn't run properly in years. What could possibly go wrong? After a few delays I made it down to Wellington, because brain injury I can't organise a piss up on a brewery. I arrived at Wellington airport and forgot my aunty & uncles address and while working out where to go and how to get there almost forgot about my bags. Caught a train and I'll be meeting Joe soon and we'll get some more parts and see what we can do. I have ordered new plugs and leads, made a diagnostic connector and got a new coolant temp sensor in the (misguided overly optimistic) hope it may help the flooding issues. No new pictures yet but I'll try remember to take some. 24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post chris r Posted March 25, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 25, 2017 So a few hours in we have found * plugs were worn - replaced then and the leads. * fuel pressure was low. Pump has 5volts to it. Smashed a battery in the back which sorted that. * it's now only flooding on the front rotor. Double checked injector wiring and it's ok. We will pull out and test the injectors. Update. Pulled the primary injectors out and one was wet. Tested them by blowing in and tapping them across the battery. Some were completely blocked and some had old fuel shit in them. Slammed two good ones in, cranked it and it tried to start killed power to the fuel pump and it started! 26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post chris r Posted March 25, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 25, 2017 Picture time. I forgot to take pictures but got some. First thing was to sort out the lack of battery clamps. Easily fixed Joe convinced me to use gasket paper instead of the ht lead box or rtv. Turned out ok We popped out to supercheap and I splashed out on some caps for the unused vacuum ports instead of using bolts and hoses. The lower rad cap was leaking and it turned out to be a split of ring, I'm too tight to pay $8 for a new one so on fitting with the theme of the motor rebuild I made this We have reinstated the idle? Motor or air bypass valve and swapped the rangi fuel setup with factory stuff. It was great having the adjustme reg so we could see the pump wasn't working properly and then the fact that the pump had 5v to it. I've written up a quick list for tomorrow, everything is easy enough except figure out why the ignition stays on even after we unplug the ignition switch. I'm genuinely surprised at how easy and nice to work on this is. Plugs have been pulled many times and we have had the manifold off heaps of times. Same with the fuel rail and injectors. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post chris r Posted March 25, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 25, 2017 Oh we also made a clutch pin for the slave out of a Datsun clutch master rod. I made a code checker too, got a bit carried away and put it in a enclosure and made it plug in etc. The only code we got today was tps and that was because it wasn't plugged into the correct plug 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post chris r Posted March 26, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 26, 2017 We tidied the engine plumbing and it didn't start. Plugs were dry.... Turns I put the fuel lines on wrong. Fixed that and it ran again. We started to diagnose why it wouldn't turn off. In the process I swapped some plugs and we wasted two hours wondering why nothing worked. Checked the drive shaft and rear cvs 3 out of 4 bolts ain't bad. Drove it out and went to fill the gearbox and it was full I have to remember not to let off the starter too soon 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted March 26, 2017 Author Share Posted March 26, 2017 We found a box with some home made circuit board in it and wondered wtf it was. No idea how I found it but turns out it's a fuel cut defender. I don't quite understand the reasoning of them. They say fuel cut can make you go lean which detonates & damages apex seals etc. So you make a device that tells the ecu it has less boost and it then will be running lean causing the same problem... Can anyone elaborate on that? Here is a link for the write up on making your own for series 4 rx http://web.archive.org/web/20050205221712/http://www.fc3s.org/how_tos/electrical/fcd.html 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted April 26, 2017 Author Share Posted April 26, 2017 I suck at photos. All going well this will be getting collected from its nice warm shed and be dropped off to me next week. I'll have to ask the landlord to put up another garage so I can work on my stuff at home 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post chris r Posted April 27, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 27, 2017 There were a couple of mx5s at zebra so I grabbed the cv bolts and the diff input bolts so hopefully they are similar enough to work on the fc so its less sketchy. I also have sorted a load of wheel nuts so there will be more than three holding the wheels on. Its a bit early but does anyone have a set of r32 gtst wheels for cheap? I've seen a couple on those wheels and like the look if them. This one on tardme looks pretty sweet imo 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted April 28, 2017 Author Share Posted April 28, 2017 I filled out the online form for getting this collected from goat, they called last night saying they would collect it today. its a bit too soon as it still needs to be moved out of the shed and I still haven't paid them to pick it up. The tow truck driver is named barry which I thought was appropiate. I should hopefully get it late next week 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post chris r Posted May 12, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 12, 2017 Best Friday ever. The rain must of washed some of the dust off. I was barrying away in the garage and missed a call from a random number, guessed what it was for and wandered out the front to find this I was quite amused at the existing damage on the paperwork Grabbed the battery and it fired right up like a champ! It won't idle no matter the temperature. I ran it for about 5 mins and moved it out the back. Good news is my rangi radiator o ring replacement rtv gasket paper works perfectly, it showed half on the temp gauge but was boiling a bit. It is missing the radiator fan and probably needs a drill port & rebuild good bleed and flush. Both hoses were hot so it has thermostat opening and flow through the rad. I'll measure up the rad and have a look through zebra for a electric fan that I can make fit. Hopefully It has a thermo switch somewhere I can re purpose/use to trigger a relay. A quick list of stuff i need to do off the top of my head - wheel nuts - diff mount/cv nuts/driveshaft bolts to diff input - put a flexi in the exhaust and figure out the leak - air filer and figure out the idle situation - fan/bleed coolant etc - paint/sort the surface rust so it doesn't get worse - re run fuel pump wiring - spanner check everything before a wof - check/get all lights working for wof check -fail a wof and do a skid whats probably going to happen is the van will turn up and i'll be like a kid with too many toys and wont know what to do first 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted May 12, 2017 Author Share Posted May 12, 2017 remember how I said I couldn't find a turbo timer? well I didn't look very hard... I chopped that out and it still wont turn off when you turn the ignition off so I'll have to keep looking. @yoeddynz has very generously loaned me a wiring diagram book so it'll make tracking down the fault easier I topped off the rad and ran moved it, it was running for all of 3 mins and its pressurizing the rad enough to spew out. Before I jump to conclusions I'll flush everything out and give it a bleed 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 I popped into adl and had some sharns picked up some rad flush, cooling system bandaid/radiator clogger and some exhaust cement Zebra mission was successful, after looking at nearly everything I found a electronic fan that's pretty close in size. It's even got a metal shroud do I can butcher it to fit the fc rad. It's twin speed even so I can get fancy later. For now I'll just switch high speed. Gave the rad a good hose out and threw some flush in it. I got it to idle by unplugging the idle valve. The fine bubbles calmed down a tad but the bigger surges I guess you'd call them stayed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 I chopped off the mounting tabs and moved them so they would bolt onto the fc rad. The swift fan is a pretty good fit I think, its a score for $20 Got my monies worth out of the cutting disc Welding is getting less bad Lovely, the wiring even comes out in a nice place. I didn't plan it that well it needs a bit more tweaking making the holes bigger & nicer for the hoses but I'm happy with fitment for how little work it needed I tried warming it up again but it decided to do a few backfires and run on one rotor. I suspect the injectors are gummed up again and the fuel pump wiring is still shit. I need to stop being impatient and sort out the running problems instead of trying to get it good enough to do a skid go for a test drive. There is what looks like a thermo switch in the bottom of the rad so I'll test it to make sure it works and actually is a thermo switch and wire it up with a relay. I figured out the fan wiring, it appears there are two sets of brushes in the motor, if you have either powered up it'll be low speed and have both connected in parallel it'll go full tit. Another option could be series/parallel them for extra low but thats for later. I've ordered some of these for the shroud so hopefully it'll prevent any vibration etc 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted May 19, 2017 Author Share Posted May 19, 2017 I got it running long enough to bleed it today and the bubbles have mostly gone which is good, It still has the large surges? for lack of a better term. It ran long enough for me to think its a good idea to take it for a test drive and I got 50 mt up the road before it lost a rotor. I'll get it in the garage and make a start on running a new fuel pump wire and getting the rad fan mounted and wired. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted May 21, 2017 Author Share Posted May 21, 2017 Poor thing Didn't want to start for me last time I tried so I cranked it on the starter until it got here. I'm actually quite liking the steelie/whitewall combo. I need to tidy the garage enough so I can get it inside. I have ordered some bosch ev1 plugs off aliexpress so I can replace all the fucked injector/temp sensor plugs 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post chris r Posted June 19, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 19, 2017 I initially went out to the garage to pull the injectors out so I can get them cleaned at some point, as usual I got carried away and decided the loom needed some attention as well. The injector plugs were shit and falling apart, as was the tape holding the loom together. Only the cheapest finest aliexpress injector plugs and tesa tape will do. There is nothing like a relaxing few hours playing with wiring.... (I do actually enjoy it) @yoeddynz Very kindly loaned me his copy of the factory wiring diagram so I was able to identify which injector plug was which. I owe you a beer or three for that! You can see the general shitness of the tape and plugs there Like any barry instead of doing it properly and replacing the plug and wiring I patched it up with more wire and a few layers of heat shrink That was the state of the plugs. The mazda pins clicked nicely into the aliexpress connectors too which was good. only one needed to be cut off as the wire had a few splits in the insulation which I wanted to heat shrink Man barrel crimps are so satisfying when you get them right, from a distance you can pretend they came from the factory. After I replaced the plugs, identified the injectors and partially taped them up The worst bits of the loom have been repaired and I'm happy enough with it. Eventually I'll completely redo the loom as lots of the insulation is getting a bit hard/brittle 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted June 21, 2017 Author Share Posted June 21, 2017 I borrowed a compression tester and confirmed my gut feeling Front rotor I slowed the second vid (rear rotor) Anyone want to buy a van? lol This has gone waay down the project priority list now 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted June 25, 2017 Author Share Posted June 25, 2017 I watched the video on rebuilding rotaries and it looks easy enough... When I get my other projects more complete then I'll rip into this. I need to focus on finishing one thing instead of having 3 un finished projects on the go 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.