STOLEN: My 1993 Mazda RX-7

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:14

Well, that would be quite something if they replaced it, especially themselves, haha. You don't have to pay me for the tank. Let's just see if it works first anyway. I know the lower portion won't leak, I think it seeps from the neck where the two pieces come together, but I'm guessing it's only when it's completely full up through the neck.

Which coilovers did you get again? Yeah I forgot about the break-in period, of course you won't know if it's boosting fine, I'm duh sometimes haha. How were they testing the boost though? Did they pressurize the system? Even then they shouldn't know if it's boosting right though.

No problem! People looked out for me and helped me alot when I got mine, I'm just hoping to do the same. Pay-it-forward some might say, haha. Yeah I got the big green FSM too, but the pages are so mixed up in there I'm printing off a new copy, putting each page in a page protector and all in a binder. Yeah that would be funny if they cracked open the FSM to figure out the cooling issue HAHAHA. How long I'm in CO depends on if the car is finished and my turbo kit is there ready to install. If the car won't be ready by about the 21st, I'm waiting to go home until it's ready. My step-mom told me they'd postpone the family reunion until I can make it home, but I don't want them to do that haha. I would never expect that. But if my turbo kit isn't there or the car isn't finished in paint or whatever then I'm not going home until later. I'm sure I could get the guys together to give your car a once-over. I'll let you know when I'm in town and get a chance to look at it, cool?

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:14

Yeah, admittedly I don't even know how hard of a job it is to do the thermostat! But I wouldn't be surprised if they tried. That's cool about the tank...mine has a crack in the bottom LOL so anything would be better than that. I have the Powered by MAX coilovers...they aren't well known in the US, but they are designed by a D1 drifter in Japan and I've heard nothing but good things about them. I'm sure the dampers probably aren't up to par with the likes of road race guys like Koni, Bilstein, Ohlins etc. but they'll be fine for what I want to do...slam the car as far as I can without scraping ground and drive the crap out of it lol. As far as the break in goes, I didn't think to ask about how they tested it...I hope they didn't boost it all the way to 12PSI (what it was tuned for before) but they might have just to test. I've noticed that the car is very moody...sometimes it runs great, other times it idles low and stutters. I never saw why cars were compared to women until I owned this one :rolleyes:

(Just kidding...no offense to the female members on here!) Anyway, yeah that sounds good with the once-over thing...just let me know what date works. It's about time I introduce myself (again) to the other FD guys in the springs, anyway.

On the way home today a bunch of guys on crotch rockets pulled up next to me and said, "That thing sounds like shit! Put an exhaust back on it!" I wanted to be angry, but I just smiled instead, knowing that my car would probably keep up with them were it tuned...I have nothing against bikers, but wtf is up with that? I know not all sport bike riders are that way, those guys had some nerve...

Obie2kenobe · Postby **Obie2kenobe** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:14

haha, I had a crotchrocket rider the other day say something to me whilst I was waiting in line at walmart. He saw me in the FD I guess and he was all "whats the point of a car like that" I was kind of stunned and just was like um its fun to drive and he was like all "but bikes are so much faster" and I was still stunned so I was like...oh. Then I had finished paying so I just walked away but he was like a mid or late 40yr old and it was one of the most akward conversations that I have had in a while. I got outside and just started laughing as I realized what had happened.
The linear gauge mod is on rx7club.com just search it and if you can't find it then I will link it but its on there a few times I have thought about doing it myself but it doesn't seem like it is worth the effort right now.

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:14

Well I got about halfway through the coilover install and quit. Is everything on these cars a royal pain in the ass? Sheesh! I had assumed that getting them in and out would be an easy process, out with the old, in with the new...but nooo. For some damn reason, the rear shock is held in place by a bolt that is permanently attached to the swaybar endlink. I'm guessing this is a good design from a handling perspective, but it makes things so much harder. To get the shock out, you undo the nut that holds the endlink on, and then have to hammer the endlink out. But that won't do it either...you have to detach the upper arm from the hub, because it's in the way. At that point I discovered that the upper control arm bushings are completely toasted, which made things even more difficult, due to the bushing moving around when I tried to press the hub back over it. Suppose bushings willl be the next thing I buy for it. Much to my dismay, I'm pretty sure this process must be done every time you want to make a ride height adjustment...due to the way the shock bolts in, it has to be removed to make an adjustment. So it's currently sitting at monster truck status since I'm an idiot and tried figure out how to adjust it without removing the lower bolt, but ended up raising it somehow. I have to admit though, it does feel good to be turning wrenches on this car...first time ever for me. Eric you have coilovers on your car right? Did you have any of these problems? Ride height adjustment should be straightforward, but I really can't see a way to adjust the rear without undoing the bottom bolt of the shock housing, as well as the sway bar endlink and upper control arm...

GR-8 · Postby **GR-8** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:14

That's the way it is with anything you try to do that is 'suposed' to be easy. It gets difficult because of something stupid, you quit, the next day you get back to work and your like, WTF now it comes off!

Always happens for everything..... Building puzzles, Word searches, that Boss level you could never beat, that easy question on the test, why the world is round.... I can go forever.

GTConversion · Postby **GTConversion** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:14

Greek8 wrote:That's the way it is with anything you try to do that is 'suposed' to be easy. It gets difficult because of something stupid, you quit, the next day you get back to work and your like, WTF now it comes off!

Always happens for everything..... Building puzzles, Word searches, that Boss level you could never beat, that easy question on the test, why the world is round.... I can go forever.

I've definitely had this happen before.. like trying to break loose a bolt holding the seat on my motorcycle. I had the wrench on there, even had a steel pipe on the handle to give me more torque, had my whole freaking body pushing against it and it wouldn't budge. Came out a few days later because I had to get that seat off, and it broke loose with just the wrench and one hand..

*DarthRX8* · Postby ***DarthRX8*** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:14

When I got my BHR coils/ new spark plugs I told my wife that it should take me about 30 minutes to install. I never paid any attention to where the spark plugs were on my 8 and when I traced the wires to the plugs I went back into my house and told her it might be an extra hour. She laughed and was not surprised because nothing ever takes 30 mintues when I am working on my 8.

Postby **RX-7 Chris** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:14

FB's FTW

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:14

Yup, that's how it goes...well, the front "should" be easier, so hopefully I'll finish it tonight. Oh yeah, it kinda amazed me how short the wheel studs are on FDs...with just a 6mm spacer I barely had room to put the wheels on. I might need to get extended studs for my rims to work. Drove the 4runner to work today...it was weird! At least I have AC in it though. Does anyone know how hard it is to recharge an AC system using one of those DIY kits? Or if it's possible to go from the factory R12 to R134? Or whatever it is that's used in cars today...

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:14

Here's a picture of the FD suspension (not mine) so I can show you guys what I'm talking about.

In order to get the shock off, two things need to happen...the sway bar endlink (left of the red shock mounting point) has to be removed, as it is the bolt that holds the shock in. Then the upright (thing attached to the brake) has to come off, like so:

This picture is from a tutorial on how to replace the bushing where the upright attaches, which I absolutely need to do. You can move the bushing around by hand as if there's nothing in there. This is why I had a hard time putting the upright back on...the bushing kept moving around and I couldn't slip the upright back over it.

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:14

Ranger wrote:the front "should" be easier

Man was I ever wrong! It's HARDER. The lower mount for the shock is stuck in the control arm. Most likely I will have to drop the sway bar and the lower control arm to get the shock out. Which I couldn't do tonight, because for some reason the only 21mm socket I have has gone missing. Ooops. I wish I had started this project at a later time, when I knew what I was really getting into. Double wishbone designs may be great but they sure are a pain! Well, at least I did figure out how to adjust ride height without removing the lower mount. It's too bad the FSM is useless for this. The diagrams are hard to read and make it look like the shock should come right out without removing any other components. Yeah, right. Although I think it does mention that you need a spring compressor, which would make this job a hell of a lot easier. (That way I could compress the spring and remove it, and then it'd be easier to pull out the shock.) I may have to go rent one tomorrow when I pick up a 21mm socket.

Postby **RX-7 Chris** » Wed May 13, 2009 9:14

You will definitely need a spring compressor.

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Wed May 13, 2009 9:14

Well, I technically don't "need" a spring compressor, there is little to no spring preload on FDs. In other words, if you put the car up on jack stands, there is no tension on the spring, or at least not enough to need a compressor. Normally (i.e. in the case of an FC or 240SX) the whole coilover assembly can be removed relatively painlessly without the need to remove the spring. Just unbolt the top and bottom and pull it out. But on FDs, other parts are in the way. I got the rear assembly out without using a compressor only by removing those other parts. However, I think it was designed to be taken out with a compressor, because there should be no need for removing the control arm, sway bar etc.

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Fri May 15, 2009 9:14

Got the coilovers on. I am a bit disappointed. The car will never be as low as I want it to with the limitation of the rear shocks. I'm not sure if this is a function of the design of the FD, or these particular coilovers.

Completely maxed out in the rear, and it looks like this...

Two whole fingers fit in the gap. Ew. And as you can see, this is with the springs dropped down, which isn't really a good idea. With the spring preloaded (i.e. spring meets top of the body like it should) the gap was a whole hand including thumb. Maxed out like this, there is around half an inch between the spring and the upper mount; I can hear it binding pretty bad sometimes. I don't care, I'll sacrifice performance for lowness, but it still makes me go WTF? This is as low as I will ever be able to go with these, unless I modify them. Which is stupid, seeing as how one of the reasons I bought these is that they're known for being able to go really, really low. I'm considering drilling a new hole in the lower mount and cutting the excess off...there's plenty of room, but I don't think it'd be safe? Also considering removing that lower lock nut (the actual nut not the spanner), if it's possible. I'll never need it if it's maxed out all the time anyway. Not sure if it would help though.

In reality, the car actually is pretty low. I'm just gonna need some massive rims to fill that extra gap. Sorry for the bad pictures, I'll take some more during the day.

On the plus side of all this, the ride quality of these is amazing for how stiff they are (12k front, 8k rear). I can't wait to push them a bit!

Oh and the wiring harness rubs on the tires, worse than my old 240SX, which was notorious for that. Fun stuff. At least it won't be terribly hard to relocate, I don't think, seeing as how there is a huge hole in the fender wells (from the factory) after removing the fender linings. I may even be able to get away with tucking it further up into the fender. I'm a bit concerned about what Precision did with the wiring harness. There are exposed wires all over the place that do not look factory, and even a fusebox that doesn't look factory. If you recall, the wiring harness that was on the car was melted when the thieves overheated it. I bought a wiring harness used a while back that looked in good shape. Precision said that it was causing the turbo spool problem, and replaced it with a harness they had on the shelf, that came out of another customer's car. I'm really wishing I had been able to do this job myself...would have taken just as long and I would have learned more...

I put a HUGE scrape on the side of the front bumper this morning when pulling into my garage. I couldn't have seen it, but there is a big metal piece sticking out of the opening to the garage. I still feel sick to my stomach over it...I hurt my poor baby

I hope I can compound it out somehow...but it looks like it may need paint.

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Sun May 17, 2009 9:14

Sorry I haven't gotten on here in a few days. I'm back in CS now but my car is a total mess, not even close to being finished, looks like someone backed into the front while the bumper was off because the bracket is mashed in, can't get leave, trying to find a place to live, haha. I'm about to start working on the car again, but I'll get on here and see if I can give you a hand when I get a chance.

STOLEN: My 1993 Mazda RX-7

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