Ok, now you have your RX7. I hope you got a compression check... https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...#>/biggrin.png



Get the recalls done. Call Mazda; Have them run your VIN. If your recalls have not been performed, GET THEM DONE.



Do the fan mod. 1 Wire, 5 minutes. Unbolt ECU, find the 1 stray wire, hook it to a 2-pole switch, Ground it, DONE. Leave the switch on for 2 minutes before shutdown. Shutdown car. Fans will stay on. Wait 30 seconds, turn switch off. Fans will switch to low and stay on for 10 minutes. Engine bay heat removed.



Replace your AST with an aluminum one. Or remove it from the system. (Not recommended, but can be done.) The AST is a weak point in the cooling system. It will crack. I advise doing this BEFORE a downpipe, due to the fact that even though a downpipe will keep some excess heat from the engine bay, it will not keep the AST from failing.



Replace your downpipe. YES you can still pass the sniffer. The stock precat is a very heavy, restrictive pipe that retains a lot of heat after shutdown, and releases it into the engine bay. This leads to premature deterioration of vacuum lines, and wire insulation. The downpipe is fairly easy to replace, and can be done on jackstands, with hand tools.



Install a boost gauge, and a water temp gauge. There is a nipple on the intake manifold Mazda had reserved a boost gauge. Uncap it, USE IT. For the Temp gauge, either tap the filler neck for the Temp sensor, or cut the cooling hose running to the upper intake manifold and install a “t”. Don’t rely on the stock temp gauge. It is no good.



Flush the cooling system and REPLACE the Radiator. The stock Radiator has PLASTIC endtanks. They will fail. Replace it with an all aluminum one.



Replace ALL the cooling hoses. ESPECIALLY, the 2 going to the turbos. They can be removed, but again it’s not recommended.



Replace your thermostat. Self explanatory.



Replace vacuum hoses with silicone hoses. Or do the Non-Sequential mod.



3 MOD RULE: You may hear that you can run 3 mods with no ECU. It can be done, but is not recommended. If you have an exorbitant amount of cash, then don’t listen to me.



If you get three mods, your fourth should be an ECU. Enough said.



Please, do not buy an RX7 and think you rule the world. YOU DON’T. Take care of it. It is a VERY reliable car if treated right. If you want to be a statistic of the “ I heard RX7’s blow up at 60,000 miles…. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH….” Then pay me no mind. Happy Rotoring!



:bigok:

good right up every new rx7 onwer shold read this https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/boink.gif

If you think of anythink I missed, please add!!



https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...#>/biggrin.png

can i check the compression of an engine simply or does it require me to take it to a shop? im going to see n rx-7 saturday and i need to do this, i know i do.



anyone have a site that reccommends exact things to do when looking over/testdriving a 3rd gen rx-7?



please help, thanks,



kevin

Thanks that was very informative.

kevin..

youll need a compression gauge minus the schrader valve...

youll need to run the test on both the front and rear trailing plugs..

may i also suggest bringin along a boost gauge..

tap it into the available nipple on the upper intake manifold..

what would a schrader valve look like?



Are the trailing plugs the one on the top or bottom?



What compression range am I looking for in a healthy one, as well as what boost?



thanks,



kevin

dont have a pic available for the valve...

trailing are up top

anything above 100psi is good....

boost pattern on stock needs to be 10-8-10...use third gear

thanx ya very much



kevin

The car i just bought had a new rebuild 3k miles ago, car pulls hard, runs perfect. the car has a downpipe, and a catback exhaust installed already, greddy turbo timer and the ast was removed. i will be buying a custom dual filter intake, kinda like the new greddy one, but its a one off peice. works very well on a friends car. what i want to know is... will it be safe to run the intake, dp, cb on the car with a stock ecu? i have a friend in cali wanting to sell me his gforce tuned ecu, tuned for 15psi, dp, mp, cb, intake, i/c. but i cant buy that till another month or so. is it ok to put the intake on, or should i wait till i buy the ecu and a boost controller so i can turn the boost down a bit?

anyone out there??? btw.. the ecu is tuned for 14psi, not 15psi. https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/smile.png

is your FD daily driven?

if not, i would just wait, stay on the safe side

Your fine Benny. I ran with a dp/catback/IC/Intake on the stock fuel maps and I had no problems except some boost spkies.

Up to 16 psi a few times.. whooaaa trigger,

But You should be fine just keep off the mid pipes until you get some sort of upgraded ECU.



I got away with it for 6 months or so.

well... i think im just gonna do intake/dp/cb and buy the ecu asap. then ill get an smic, mp, plugs/wires and run about 10psi daily and 14psi when someone wants a taste https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...#>/biggrin.png

With the mods your talking about your gonna have a hard time keeping the boost down to 10 psi.

do you mean... wanting to run more boost all the time? lol im gonna put in an AVC-R https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/smile.png

No i am talking about boost creep.



I am not familiar enough the avcr to comment on it.

A schrader valve is like the one for your tires, isn't it?

Yes

good write up thanks for the boost guage info

Use a compression guage with a hose. Remove the needle(schrader) valve that is in the bottom of the compression guage hose. Not the one just below the guage. Then follow instructions at:



http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/c...sion_test.html

syr i'm late but VERY NICE WRITE UP MAN!

Thanks for this post. Quick and straight-forward.



Cheers

I copied and pasted this for my use later when purchasing a FD, thank you and keep up the good work

Awesome info, will come in handy when i finish saving for my FD. https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/smile.png



A work shop here in Australia said they can also do a water seal test by diagnosing the water in the cooling system and also check the condition of the oil for any bad signs.



Also what exactly does AST stand for so i can explain it to a mechanic.

Is the AST another term for the coolant overflow resevoir?



Trev

air seperation tank.



it's the black plastic tank next to the intercooler that has a radiator cap on it.