My Mazda RX-7GSL-SE build log with the occasional balsa inclusion

Fuel pump/fuel filter ready for install. New replacement fuel pump with the original harness transferred, using the fully flushed and cleaned original filter for now, but have an OEM replacement. Don't want to risk the new filter to any trash still in the tank.






Anybody know where I can find a 3.6V nicad battery pack? ebay is no help.

Perhaps this one works:

https://www.batterymart.com/p-custom-317-black-and-decker-5102057-00-battery.html

Levent Suberk wrote:Perhaps this one works:

https://www.batterymart.com/p-custom-317-black-and-decker-5102057-00-battery.html

Thanks Levent, looks like it would work, or be made to work.  Down side, the price unshipped is about what I paid for it's Walmart replacement. But it's been with me for 20+ years and has served well. loads of torque and switchable over to manual mode.

Are the batteries Ni-Cd from an old drill battery type, sub-c? I know here we have a place that will make up a battery pack for you in whatever size you need. Maybe there is a business nearby that does it? I know some people buy their own small battery spot welders and use them with great success. It has crossed my mind, but I have just not done it yet as I really do not need a battery pack. But when I do, I will not have what I need to make one.

I think that battery pack work with your 9074 first version cordless screwdriver. Suggestion of New222 is best. Perhaps you can find a small business nearby.

Diagram and parts here, however battery pack part no. not shown:

https://www.ereplacementparts.com/black-and-decker-9074-type-volt-screwdriver-parts-c-4167_4290_10851.html

Thanks Chancey and Levent. That's a thought, I'll check in with the local Battery Mart.

That B&D is built like a tank. Perfect fit and finish and it's sealed well as evidenced by the clean interior. I thought it neat that B&D included an anti-theft strip (picture above) inside the case. It's still useful in the manual mode, and due to it's heft you can get a lot of torque with it.

Flushing the RX-7's fuel tank again today. Ordered new rear shocks and have fresh media coming for the sandblast cabinet. It's going to be Spring before I can drop the rear axle and detail under the car. Outside job that I'm not messing up my attached garage to do.

But first I have got to get it running and moving. I have no idea what the clutch is like, the universal joints, the A/C, etc. etc.. "Ran when parked" covers a lot of ills.

Bob

Big day today, Mark over so we got some work done.  Got the solenoid for the fuel door installed and working perfectly.  A big deal if you want to gas the car up.  

Also installed the fuel pump and filter.  Mark brought over his video inspection probe and light.  Found the interior of the fuel tank rather rusty. Going to have to pull it and have it boiled and sealed.  

New rear shocks arrived today, ordered new master clutch and brake cylinders and a rebuild kit for the slave.  I was hoping that we could save the originals, but that ain't gonna happen.  Mark complained about me putting it up on four jack stands, said he couldn't sleep at night thinking me crushed under the thing.    So I sat it back down on all four wheels....... f-o-r  - n-o-w.........

Purdy ain't it.................. Excellent shocks KYB's

Hi Bob,
I like the part,
When you said, 'Not sure when the clutch will work, but...' !
I have seen early Wankels go...
I bet that thing will go like snot. (snot is run great, around here, Detroit language a bit more rude. )
Thanks for sharing the ride,
With us,
Dave

I reckon go like snot is pretty universal. Lol.
Can you put a turbo on a wankel? or is that just dumb. Lol. I mean, you gotta make the clutch work first. but.... Lol.

Yabby

""Goes like snot".............universal - yes!  

Yes, there is a turbo RX-7.

Clutch master cylinder is toast the slave probably too.  But the bigger problem is, I think the clutch/pressure plate is rusted to the flywheel.  I might be able to free it by putting it in second or third and rocking the body and/or..........things that are not discussed in polite company. Fixes from the old days.  

New clutch and brake master cylinders/slave coming from PartsGeek Inc.  Good place to do business.  Promp refund on returned parts and fast shipping.  

Why do I think the clutch is frozen.........we got it bled when the clutch pedal just stopped half way, would not go to the floor and release.  Increased pressure caused the master cylinder to bleed past the seals.  

This GSL-SE 13B engine is fuel injected unlike the carbureted 12A.  So, unlike our model engines I can't pour fuel down the intake to get it started. I'm an old carburetor guy so I'm a lost puppy with this thing.  If it had a carb I would have it running already.  Anyone know how to prime a fuel injected engine, clue me in.  

Hi Bob,
I used to pit in amateur racing.
The rules were, in order:
-engine
-everything else (most of pit/shop time)
-tires

Snotted out 2liter 4 cylinders...
This is why I am confused.
How can a Wankel even run?

Thanks for sharing this great project with us,
Dave
P.S. If you want hp/road. Tires are it. Drivers make all the mistakes...

A good question for Felix Dave.

An irregular shaped "cylinder", two triangular clunks rotating around a couple of gears turning a shaft that resembles a tortured noodle. A mystery to me.

UniRoyal "Tiger Paws" came on it, great tread but the sidewalls are suspect.

Hi rsv1cox,
If you take one apart ?
How do you get it back together ?
This is what 'wankels' me.
How do you adjust the needle valve?
It is,
Up to better people than me,
And why I pit.
Dave

P.S. UniTigerPaws have met CanadianTires, still disputed....

Bob,
I love Tiger Paws. First experience was on the 944 back in 1996. I've put them on everything the 944 to the TR6, a Windstar, a Sienna, and both Foci. They wear well, stick well, and give great, predictable performance in the rain. The last set of tires in the Sienna were Nexens...sorely over-taxed on that heavy barge of a mini-van.

944_Jim wrote:Bob,
I love Tiger Paws. First experience was on the 944 back in 1996. I've put them on everything the 944 to the TR6, a Windstar, a Sienna, and both Foci. They wear well, stick well, and give great, predictable performance in the rain. The last set of tires in the Sienna were Nexens...sorely over-taxed on that heavy barge of a mini-van.

They do have great tread and I will use them as run-arounds until this thing gets serious.  Spare was never on the ground like so many others.




BF Goodrich's came on my MG which sat on them in a watery garage for years.  Tread also great but the sidewalls were trashed with the bias showing.  Still, reckless me I ran them up and down over the hills and curves of West Virginia.  Never had a problem..

Cleaned them up a little though.  Armor-all cure.  




Hi rsv1cox,
If you take one apart ?
How do you get it back together ?

Very carefully.........

Hi All,
I find it funny,
That we are all biased...
On tires...
Dave

[quote="rsv1cox"]""Goes like snot".............universal - yes!  


This GSL-SE 13B engine is fuel injected unlike the carbureted 12A.  So, unlike our model engines I can't pour fuel down the intake to get it started. I'm an old carburetor guy so I'm a lost puppy with this thing.  If it had a carb I would have it running already.  Anyone know how to prime a fuel injected engine, clue me in.  

Bob, I'm not familiar with the fuel injection system on that particular engine, but.... the principle is still the same, assuming the intake is drawing in air, a squirt of gas in the intake (assuming it will stay there) should be drawn into the engine and produce some sort of reaction. The electric fuel pump should be delivering fuel to the injection system, but the injector(s) may be plugged with goo or rust. Another way to get a reaction is to spray some starting fluid in the intake while cranking, assuming you have spark, something should happen. Please be careful though, fires are no fun! If you don't have starting fluid spray handy, try brakeclean, it's not as good as starting fluid, but it should work, it is very flammable, again, use caution!

       Don

Regardless multiport FI or single throttle body injection, it should have one air filter.
Dribble gas in the air filter and crank the engine...either the car draws the fuel past the filter, and hopefully stumbles/fires up briefly, or the engine backfires out the exhaust.
Wankles don't suck, squeeze, bang, blow through valves, so they are less likely to backfire into the intake system...that is because the intake charge is swept past an intake port to the initial compression area before the intake charge meets a sparkplug.

If this one were in my driveway, I'd be trying to jumper the fuel pump on (bypass the computer) so I could check for fuel pressure and cycle some fresh fuel from tank to fuel rail/throttle body, and let it return to the tank. This flushes old fuel out of the engine bay. A quick check of the wiring diagram may indicate a possibility of just jumpering the fuel pump relay on, this turning on the pump. If the relay is a standard four blade relay two poles control on/off, another one is hot via key on, and the other takes that hot (switched on via the computer-controlled two poles) and sends the hot to the pump. In short, removing the relay may allow for battery hot to be sent down that last pole bypassing the above, thus turning the pump on.

This is also a good time to check the condition of the fuel pressure regulator. If the regulator has a vacuum line going to it, check with a MityVac to ensure the regulator will hold a vacuum. If not, the regulator diaphragm may leak fuel directly into the intake via the vacuum line.

Pull the fuel pump relay and sparkplugs, then ground the plugs, amd connect a timing light to check for base timing without drowning the engine/plugs in unspent fuel. Wrap a slip of paper around the balancer to measure circumference, and divide the paper by folding it to get firing marks other than the "TDC" for adjacent spark timing...it is a Wankel, so that TDC is a funny thing with two (or three) lobes. Those marks may be oddly spaced. Again, a decent shop manual may be useful. In fact,.I may have an antique Chilton's Foreign manual that may cover this little guy...I'll read back to find Bob's year, then check the Chilton's. I think the Chilton's is late 70s to early 80s.

Bob, I may have your email...of I find anything in the Chilton's regarding the above, I can scan or take pictures of relevant pages and send it your way if you like.

ADave/2..."biased"-too funny! You are treading on my humor button!

Hi All,
Just put my sliderule down...
Turns out,
Going to need 1.734 Tesla's just to get that 'wankel' to turn over.
Weird part is...
'How do you turn over a Wankel?'
How many weeks till the Indy500?

Pit stopped,
Dave

P.S.

Thanks guys, I have a Haynes manual for the '84/'85 that came with the car. Also have a diagram of the relay showing how to jumper it, but my relay is different so we didn't attempt it.

Didn't need to, just pulled a battery from the riding lawn mower and jumped the connector. Fuel pump works fine. The problem is in the line or the fuel tanks pick-up. Something is blocking the fuel getting to the engine. The Rx-7 uses a two line system, a feed line and a return line back to the tank. We used the brake bleeder vacuum pump to pull the (really nasty) fuel out of the lines hopefully clearing them but still got no joy spinning the engine over with the starter and pump running.

Right now I have the spark plugs out of the engine. I'm going to replace them this morning and hook up the fuel lines again and see what I get. Maybe draw from the engine will help.

The air box was a mess. The air filters gasket around the edge had turned to a sticky tar. Cleaned up now and the edge painted, but it wasn't nice. I'll try a little starting fluid and see what happens.

Bob,
If you couldn't pull fuel from the tank via the vehicle pump, then I wouldn't try to pull it through the fuel system. There just isn't enough engine vacuum to augment the electric pump.

My 944 sat for several years. I replaced the pump, filter and injectors. I dumped several gallons of fresh fuel into the nearly empty tank, and ran the engine...just as you are attempting to do. The engine ran well...for a couple of days. Then it stopped having good, strong, fast rpms operation. A quick check of the pump showed an imploded/damaged pickup screen. A check of the filter showed fuel-choking debris. I haven't reverse-flushed the injectors yet, so I hope the filter did it's job. But I'm not betting the farm on it.

This spring I am supposed to replace the clutch, and will drop/flush the tank, replace all lines (even the expensive steel lines) and filter, flush the two pressure regulators and benchtest/check output for debris, and reverse-flush the injectors. If the engine successfully runs, I will be replacing the fuel filter every 200 miles, and cutting each one open to inspect-for at least three cycles. If all.looks good at that point, I'll feel comfortable.

My recommendations:
Can you remove the fuel lines/sending until out of a service hatch? If so, take a hard, serious look inside...well lit, with mirrors and fingers. Otherwise, drop the tank and proceed as above.
Your injectors, pump and rotor-tip seals will thank you.

have you considered a 'remote' tank for testing?

remove the fuel line form tank to motor

have fuel line from 2 gallon fuel can with good gas

just a thought?

Bob, How many rotors does the engine have?…. At first I thought it was just one but I’m reading multiple spark plugs, injectors, etc…. Just curious… Have never been around one…