STOLEN: My 1993 Mazda RX-7

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Thu May 21, 2009 9:14

That sucks, sorry to hear that! Hope you're able to get things worked out. My car is doing well anyway. I just passed 500 miles and changed the oil last night, so I can open it up a bit now. Feels great to get into boost. However, I think I may have shorted out the wires for the coolant level sensor, or whatever it is that tells the ecu when to throw the "add coolant" light. It's constantly on, along with that annoying buzzer. I don't need to add coolant...I topped it off, and water temps are normal. I'm getting ready to search RX-7 club now to see if this is a common problem, and if there's a fix.

Postby **RX-7 Chris** » Thu May 21, 2009 9:14

I had my car doing that and I had to replace the sensor. I know that the sensor going bad is common on FB and FC.

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Thu May 21, 2009 9:14

Yeah I am thinking it's the sensor, too. I'm probably just going to unplug it and monitor the water temps on the Power FC display. It's only like a $30 part, I'll call around at lunch and see if I can order one. Side note: This car's cooling system is so whacky. No way to check the coolant level when the car is hot. The only place to check it is at the filler neck, and opening a pressurized system when the car is hot isn't the greatest idea. :rolleyes:

Postby **RX-7 Chris** » Thu May 21, 2009 9:14

when I tried to disconect mine the light just stayed on. It needs to be grounded out.

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Thu May 21, 2009 9:14

Huh good point, thanks for the tip! I'll do that then.

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Fri May 22, 2009 9:14

I grounded the wire that leads to the wiring harness and the buzzer is still going off. That tells me there's probably a break in the wire further up. Or maybe there is a hole in the shielding and oil got on it, causing a short. I don't know...but it's gonna be a pain to fix, probably. Electrical problems are the worst. And the sensor itself costs $90, if it is bad

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Sat May 23, 2009 9:14

Ranger wrote: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...

I don't think I've ever had anyone be jerky towards me for owning an FD, least of all sport bike riders. They were probably just jealous.

Obie2kenobe wrote: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.

I'd have told him "well you'll know the point of the car when I clip your rear tire on the highway and put you either in the hospital or the grave" HAHA. He was just a moron that's never driven a car as great and fun as the FD. That's alright though, he can have fun on his bike until he lays it down, we'll keep having fun in our cars that will most likely NEVER be on their roofs haha.

Ranger wrote: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...

To answer your first question...yes, everything on this car is a PITA HAHA. No, not everything, but lots of things. Yes I do have coilovers, STANCE. It looks like yours are made somewhat like mine, in that adjusting the height won't affect the piston stroke. If that's so, I would imagine you could adjust the height like I do on mine...just loosen the nuts and turn the entire upper portion of the coilover, leaving the bottom piece bolted in place. The top part of it should spin so you don't have to unbolt the bottom piece. It doesn't hurt the coilover any so don't worry about that.

And just so you know, I highly suggest NOT cutting up your coilovers just to get the car lower. NEVER try to shade-tree-modify something as important as suspension, wheels, brakes, etc. If you mess something up that is potentially very dangerous.

I have spring compressors too, but you don't need them if you're doing a complete suspension swap like you did, but you already know that now haha.

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Sat May 23, 2009 9:14

Oh, I wasn't planning on cutting them up. Just removing one or two of the locking collars that aren't necessary when they're maxed out anyway. The plan now is to get 6" springs (currently have 7") and possibly still remove one of the locking collars. The front is low low low (too low really, I rub over bumps, need to get some lower profile tires) but the rear just won't go any lower.

You have any advice on my coolant level sensor issue? That buzzer is sooo annoying. I looked at the wiring again and I can't see any problems. I'm wondering if there's something else that could cause it? The thing that confuses me is that it ONLY did this after I changed the oil, seems too coincidental to me. I tried posting on rx7club but all that did was get me flamed. Only responses I got were things like "add coolant!", "post intelligently next time" and "if you were adding oil where it could get on the sensor you need to read the manual!" :rolleyes:

One person even went so far as to say that my car was in bad hands with me owning it, that really set me off. It's a shame that one of the best resources for our cars is full of elitist a-holes. Nopistons is great but not as many people check that...

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Sat May 23, 2009 9:14

Oh I see what you're saying. Still not sure I'd remove the collars but you're probably right, it probably wouldn't hurt anything.

So your wire is still connected all the way? Have you checked where it connects by the oil filler neck? Something else that will make the buzzer go off is the little wire that connects to the top of the power steering pump. If it comes off it will buzz too.

I would just use 7club for reading at this point, NOT posting. The only reason they didn't give any advice is because they're dipshits that don't know anything about the car anyway, so they flame you to get the attention off themselves. Go to Rotary Car Club, they're much nicer and more helpful people there. What is the link to your thread on 7club?

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Sat May 23, 2009 9:14

You know, this wiring harness they installed is just a cluster f**k of exposed wires and things that aren't connected, probably emissions related...I tried to trace back where the wire for the coolant level sensor is but couldn't figure it out. I can't find anywhere in the FSM that it shows it, either. It goes under the back of the alternator and then just kind of disappears. I pulled on it to see if I could see it moving on the other side of the alternator but had no such luck. I will probably have to remove the alternator, or some other things. I'll try and get some good pictures of it tomorrow.

Anyway, it wasn't my thread, I posted in somebody else's...

http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=832144

There actually are a lot of knowledgeable people on there (GoodfellaFD3S for example) but it's hard to avoid taking any crap. I guess I just don't understand how that site works lol. I clearly stated several times that I just wanted to disable it until I fix it, and that I check the coolant level every day. And then when I tried to correct what I said, they just ignored it. Whatever.

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Sat May 23, 2009 9:14

Goodfella is one of my buddies actually, we haven't met in person yet but he's helped me so much through the years. Some of those guys were being dicks though and I'm gonna say something.

EDIT: reply posted.

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Sun May 24, 2009 9:14

Yeah Rich has helped me a lot too in previous posts. I almost bought a car from him actually. That reply is pretty awesome hahaha, it will probably start more drama, but thanks for looking out for me. I'm not even all that worried about the buzzer now, I just crank music over it lol. I am fairly sure it's just the sensor but we'll see. After looking at it again last night it doesn't look like this is the factory wiring for this part so it could just be the wiring. Doesn't make any sense to me also how the sensor would just go bad randomly like that.

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Tue May 26, 2009 9:14

I'm eager to look into that and see why it's buzzing. Will you be at the BBQ on the 30th?

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Tue May 26, 2009 9:14

Yep! I'll be there. I'm eager to find out what it is too, but I don't think it will be easy. I had a mechanic friend of mine look at it again yesterday, and he said there's no telling what's causing it with the condition of this wiring harness. The job that Precision did on the install was completely unprofessional IMO...they should not have used this harness, even if it does work. None of it is really held down by anything like it should be, and much of it is not factory. And by that I mean there are poorly wired hack jobs all over the place. There were even exposed (live!) wires. And as I mentioned before the IC piping was not installed correctly. Aside from that, the radiator (and fans) are just kind of sitting in place, barely bolted on. It's a wonder they haven't chopped through anything yet. My friend even went so far as to say the car should never have left the shop and that I should file a complaint with the BBB. Well, you'll see what I mean this weekend. I'm going to drop by Precision tomorrow morning and see if the shop owner even realizes how shady their work is...I feel like they were probably sick of my car, and so they just put it together and let it go once it worked, even though it wasn't really done right.

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Wed May 27, 2009 9:14

I don't know anyone at Precision nor do I know they're work, but in their defense, you took the car there for a rebuild correct? They did the rebuild and it runs. They probably should have suggested that you buy a new wiring harness though, but just so you know, a new engine wiring harness from Mazda is around $600-700, and that's if you get it through Ray Crowe at Malloy Mazda with the discount he gives to forum members. Really what I'm trying to say is as long as they built the engine and the car runs, and as long as things like the radiator are re-installed in a similar manner as to when it came in, I wouldn't think they're at fault. Now if you told them you wanted other stuff fixed too, like you wanted the radiator and fans installed better or the wiring harness repaired if possible and they didn't do it, then I'd have to back you up on that. You have to look at it from their point of view as well...if you only pay them to rebuild the engine and don't mention anything else, it's really up to them if they want to fix your wiring or other issues, know what I mean?

If the buzz was there before they released it to you, they should have fixed that. If it wasn't there, you don't really have a leg to stand on, but that's not saying they weren't shady and found someway to delay the buzz until you took the car haha.

STOLEN: My 1993 Mazda RX-7

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