93 RX-7 FD Project

[AdamGaltress]

The FD failed the MOT after my last update, issue with the brakes and the fog light on the wrong side which was missed on the previous MOT.

Fog light was an easy fix, just move the wiring over and swap the bulbs.

The brakes failed on the following:

[*]Offside Rear Hydraulic brake calliper damaged and braking performance affected seized
[*]Parking brake efficiency below requirements
[*]Rear Brakes imbalanced across an axle Axle 2
With an advisory for; handbrake travel high

So basically the O/S rear caliper handbrake was sized. I thought I'd be cheeky and try to free it off by wiggling the handbrake arm back and forth. It was a bit tight so needed some encouragement, unfortunately the handbrake arm stopped moving. Naturally this happened in the on position which prevented me from removing the caliper as it was clamped onto the disc

After some discussions the only thing we could think to get the caliper off was breaking it with a lump hammer. Luckily I managed to pry the piston back in with the brake disc so I was able to force the caliper off.

I pulled the caliper apart for a rebuild expecting just a quick clean, new seals and grease. It turned out to be a little more troublesome, theres a pin at the back of the caliper that's pushed outwards by the handbrake mechanism forcing the piston against the pad against the disc. This should be packed with grease. Smooth silky grease. Not horrible crunchy rust and road dirt....

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to save this, but I had it open on the bench and thought it was worth a shot. It cleaned up alright albeit a little pitted in palaces, luckily they don't have seals against them and don't need to be smooth for the operation of the brake or handbrake. The cause of this mess seems to have been a failed handbrake seal but it didn't have any obvious signs of being damaged.

Next up, although it wasn't on the MOT sheet the headlight motor on the drivers side had slowly stopped working. A bit of diagnostics showed the motor still received power but didn't work. The motors aren't serviceable items so I went in blind to repair it, thankfully it was a very simple fix. Three contact pins needed bending as they'd lost contact. Happy days

I've had a few bits here and there to fix up before going to the MOT including a manifold heat shield which failed at the mounting point causing it to fall away. Don't worry, the steering universal joint caught it making it impossible to turn which was rather... Um... Interesting... Naturally this wouldn't come out without dismantling half the engine bay again this caused me to miss an MOT last week which I wasn't happy about.

Luckily got her in again for this afternoon and she passed with flying colours. Only issue is I seem to have a coolant leak, I think this started after I changed the turbos. I've got a coolant system tester and can see there's a wet patch over the water pump and filler neck, although I've not pinpointed it yet. Hopefully I just didn't tighten something up when I changed the turbos or disturbed something. Fingers crossed for an easy fix as I've got a another maiden trackday this weekend. Hopefully I'll actually make this one in my own car!

[ChrisHolmes]

Good luck Adam, take care on track, not as forgiving as the 8

[bigpete]

Well done Adam
Where are you going on track?

[boosted]

Yep build up gradually. Very careful in wet powering out of corners.
Keep an on temps...and have you got a catch tank fitted? Right handers same as 8 chucks oil up the filler neck.
And have fun!! Well done on mot.

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[GreySilver Beast]

Adam is at Cadwell Park this coming Saturday the 14th December in his own car for once

[AdamGaltress]

Well do me Adam

Has your account been hacked or is that a typo? Nigel been editing posts

Yep build up gradually. Very careful in wet powering out of corners.
Keep an on temps...and have you got a catch tank fitted? Right handers same as 8 chucks oil up the filler neck.
And have fun!! Well done on mot.

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Thanks Jon, it's easy to light up the rear end, if it's dry I'll put the federals on, if it's wet I'll be on old jap rubber. No catch can fitted yet, has too many other jobs to think about that sort of stuff

[boosted]

Have you got a boost gauge?
Are you taking to track b4 a tune?
Just checking but if the boost creeps up...she will blow up...
I use 600ml of premix on track to a full tank of fuel.
Omp if not working will not cause limp mode with a power fc...you can check its working on the hand controller in the sensor menu. If it highlifted black then its not.
Same as 8 fill to 2/3 on dipstick.
The std pcv system plumbs from filler neck to a nipple on intake to front turbo...so vacuums sump. If oil gets in this line it will chuck it into turbo...lots of smoke and loss of power...it does clear though and away you go again.
If its not been tuned....i think you maybe taking abit of a risk mate.

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[Clive]

Well done for having the patience to strip and repair the parts to get your Mot

As above you will find the FD quite unforgiving on track compared to an RX-8, however Jon has given you some good advise already.

[MightyCondor]

Just keep off the kerbs

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[AdamGaltress]

Yeah got a boost gauge, everything seems to be in order. Not seen any boost creep
Still running stock ECU, not installed the PFC yet, now that everything seems to be in order I'll be swapping out and arranging for someone to tune it but it won't be this week
I've been premixing, I usually up the amount for spirited driving

The plan is to have a fairly gentle trackday to be honest

[boosted]

Cool...pheww thought you were on base map or whatever in the pfc.

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[boosted]

Aftermarket coolant temp gauge?

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[AdamGaltress]

Yeah I wouldn't drive any further than I had to on the base map

Only got the boost gauge at the moment. I'll only be doing short stints really, it's got a thicker ally rad so shouldn't be an issue running stock boost. Ambient temperatures of about 5°c will help too

[boosted]

Standard temp gauge is useless...it dont move non linear. Cool have fun.

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[AdamGaltress]

Yeah, doesn't look very useful. This is what I've found online...

[boosted]

Mine got to 115 and it was still in the normal half way position....92 to 115 and no movement.

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[AdamGaltress]

Hmm.. toasty warm.. I'll have to get one for the next trackday

[boosted]

1 with hi temp alarm good idea.

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[boosted]

Jon, just bought a basic temperature sensor, gauge and adaptor for water, should be here Thursday/Friday ready for a rushed install for Saturday

[GreySilver Beast]

You love last minute deadlines don't you Adam

[AdamGaltress]

Still waiting on my front pads to show up, supposed to have arrived today but not shown up yet!

[boosted]

Brilliant, the system is compromised at best.
The low coolant level buzzer has a 10 sec delay in triggering and resetting... so if you develop a leak whilst driving it will never go off as coolant is being flowed around the circuit and the sensor just keeps being washed over so resets.. It will eventually go off when youve lost about 3 to 4L and then about 5 secs later the temps rapidly rise as there is not enough water to wash over the sensor and maintain a fluid circuit.

Aftermarket temp gauge saved my engine 2 years back at JDM when the aftermarket rad fan fell down dug into tarmac punctured rad and flew out the back. I was completely un awares due to ontrack noises. Only coming down the pitlane at end of session slowly the aftermarket gauge started to rise got to 105. Shut off in pitlane....no buzzer and mazda temp gauge in normal position...

A wise addition.

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[warpc0il]

I can confirm that a sudden loss of coolant results in the temperature gauge moving up slightly, barely higher than normal, then dropping down to below normal.

This is because the best place(s) to locate the sensor for accurate measurement is also so high in the circulation that any significant loss results in it running dry.

Had this happen to me in a (company car) Astra 1.6 GTE and my Alfa. The Astra suffered a blown head gasket as a result of the overheat, while the Alfa survived unscathed.

[boosted]

My shogun towing the temp gauge goes up when going up a hill but normal all other times.

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[AdamGaltress]

Discs and pads changed ready for tomorrow. Thought I'd throw a bit of paint at the wings and light covers too. Not a good match but it's a bit closer than before