Clapped Out Garage - Projects and such

Today is 75° and damp here in Columbus. Perfect time to do some pressure washing. 

The engine bay in the RX7 is much to dirty to work in so I need to remedy that before pulling the engine. 

After 10 minutes with the pressure washer it is much better. Still not perfect but should be easier to work with when pulling the dead engine. 

In reply to EvanB :

Only 50 degrees here two hours north of you. 

John Welsh said:

In reply to EvanB :

Only 50 degrees here two hours north of you. 

I definitely wasn't expecting this weather. It will be back down into the 40s by Monday though. 

After cutting down a tree I was looking for things to do today. The RX7 got pushed into the garage so I can pull the engine. There was no other progress made other than walking around it looking at things, trying out all the electrical systems to see what worked (not much) and pushing the gas filler door closed only to discover that it doesn't release with the lever. 

EvanB (Forum Supporter) said:and pushing the gas filler door closed only to discover that it doesn't release with the lever. 

HA!  Okay I found this to be really funny.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

EvanB (Forum Supporter) said:and pushing the gas filler door closed only to discover that it doesn't release with the lever. 

 

HA!  Okay I found this to be really funny.

As I was doing it I was thinking there must be a reason it was open. I was correct.

If it is like the Series 3 door popper, you can reach in through the interior and there is a little tab sticking out of the popper you can slide back.

The popper on mine started failing shortly after I got the car, and half the time I would have to release it manually.  Eventually it stuck in the release position so the door flaps.  You are in luck, they are very easy to find for FCs.  (Series 3, not so much)

I have no idea if the mechanism is the same on those, but my FB wouldn't pop the gas door because some dummy forgot to put the spring in correctly.  There was a leather bit on the keychain that I would jam in between the gas door and the body to push out on the door.  Then, when you hit the lever it would pop open.  As a bonus, at night I'd get a chance to crawl around on the ground trying to find my keys.

I started getting the engine ready to pull. 

I was expecting more coolant to come out of the radiator.

The oil cooler looks to be a bit dirty. 

This is where I stopped for now. Still working on removing the wiring from the engine. 

Any thoughts on whether I should pull just the engine or pull the trans with it? I am leaning toward just the engine but I will want to move it around while the engine is out and am not sure how supported the trans would be with the engine out. 

The trans will be completely unsupported.  I usually leave a jackstand under mine.

Pulling the engine with the trans is possible but can be kind of annoying with the wiring going down to the trans.  There's all sorts of different gear switches and they all use interchangeable bullet connectors.  IIRC the "easy way" to deal with the wiring on an FC is to go to the interior and unplug the engine harness from the computer and stuff.

Don't manipulate the harness too much, it is probably really fragile.  It gets cooked on top of the engine with the intake plenum sitting over it to hold the heat in.  FC wiring harnesses sold a lot of Haltechs and Megasquirts. And carburetors too, I guess.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

That is what i found through some searching. The other option is removing the intake manifold to undo all the wiring. After starting to remove the intake I'm leaning more toward unplugging at the ecu.

Guess I'll pull the trans too, i want to be able to roll it out for pressure washing and deep cleaning everything.

That is probably for the best.  Since you have pulled Miata transmissions you will appreciate how relatively easy it is when there is no PPF to deal with.

On the other hand, if the nuclear grade heat shields are still under the car, which they have to be to be PR legal, you have my condolences.

I am torn between being upset because the whole virus thing leaves me unable to help for the time being, and somewhat relieved because this is YOUR project and I don't want to take it over from you, which would be kinda rude.

Today I finished removing everything holding the engine in. The engine mounts were a pain, they had through bolts that were entirely too long, both were loose but the bolts were rusty so the nuts didn't come off easily and one was bent. 

I borrowed my neighbor's engine hoist which has a much longer arm than mine so I was able to reach the engine. I only forgot one vacuum line that held it up while lifting the engine. 

Much pressure washing is in the future. 

I found a 90 convertible for $1500, seller says it runs great but needs a clutch. Need to focus on upgrading the tow rig and not get distracted...

I got some pressure washing done today. It is much better than it was, still more to go. I am going to strip down the engine bay more to clean it up and paint it. Very unlike how I usually work but there are some bare areas and surface rust under the brake/clutch master area and it will never be a better time than now to paint the engine bay a more fitting color for the future exterior paint color change. 

While I had it up in the air to pressure wash I un-seized the left rear caliper so it will roll a little easier. 

The underside has a lot of surface rust from the paint being gravel-blasted away. The pinch welds on the rockers are also very bent in most places. I want to get that straightened out before pressure washing the underside and painting with a rust converting primer. Any ideas on the best way to straighten pinch welds other than hammer and dolly?

I'll have to check the spare parts stash to see if there is a spare oil cooler, there are a lot of bent fins on the one in the car. 

Also, as highlighted in this picture, the right engine mount on the subframe has been wallowed out from the engine mount being loose. My first thought was to open up a slot in a washer to maintain the slot in the subframe and weld it on to reinforce the hole and move the engine mount back to the original location. 

Is that overkill and I should not worry about it or am I on the right track?

All FC subframes have that forward jog.  Not sure of its purpose.

The fact that you had to deal with allthread nightmares for the engine mounts suggests that SOMEONE was not PR compliant.  Ahem.

Although it is my staunch belief that no car that competes in RallyCross is class legal and everyone survives in security through obscurity.

Also, I am mad jelly of how clean you got your nonrunning red RX-7 clean in the engine bay in one weekend, in what I took a year-plus of fighting with a hammer store steam cleaner to try to get with mine.  And eventually gave up.

If you don't have a spare oil cooler, I think I have about five of them in a friend's basement, assuming the local recycling enthusiasts have not saved the earth and stimulated the economy by liberating me of their posession.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

All FC subframes have that forward jog.  Not sure of its purpose.

 

Weird, the Miata has the same configuration for engine mounts (slot on right, round hole on left) so I just assumed it was supposed to be like that instead of a crooked slot.

In reply to EvanB (Forum Supporter) :

From what I can see of your driveway it looks a lot less Swedish.

;-)

paranoid_android (Forum Enabler) said:

In reply to EvanB (Forum Supporter) :

From what I can see of your driveway it looks a lot less Swedish.

;-)

How about now? 

Lot less train-ish now!

wawazat said:

Lot less train-ish now!

Every time I got there, there is a train ideling right there. 

Professor_Brap (Forum Supporter) said:

wawazat said:

Lot less train-ish now!

Every time I got there, there is a train ideling right there. 

Lately they have been dropping the cars on the siding and coming to pick them up when they need them so they are only there running for 30 minutes or so while they hook up. I'm good with this method. 

Just placed an order with McMaster.

20' roll of 2mm buna-N: $6

20' roll of 2.4mm Viton: $27.80

This is two engines' worth.

Not much progress today. I wanted to get the left headlight out since the motor is not working. I tried to turn the manual actuator and it broke off. According to the internet I needed to remove the bumper to get the headlamp and motor off (not really true). The front bumper was only held on by 4 screws along the top between the headlights so it came off very easily. 

After a few more things are removed it will be time for another round with the pressure washer then prep for paint.