Hello everybody, how are you?
I just recently picked up a 1980 RX7. Pretty much stock with the exception of 2.5" straight exhaust from engine back to muffler. A guy in my apartment complex was hurting for money so he sold me the car for $800, only has 90,000 miles and in pretty decent shape. Differential needs replaced but i have the replacement one and something wrong with the wiring. He has a toggle switch ran to the coils so I cant start the without it. Other than that it runs great. Any info or tips would be great. Thanks



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doesn't look too bad for the price. i'd sandblast and polish those wheels back to original and fix the hokey coil switch setup thats rigged in place.. why do you assume the differential needs replaced? first hing to do is check the rear brakes and them inspect the axle bearings and then move onto the differential and those bearings..

 

Ya - Dave (mazdaverx713b) is the go-to- guy about diffs -
Other than that I would, if you haven't already, pump the prev owner for service history. Otherwise a complete front-to-back fluid change, filters (esp fuel filter!!!). I'd pull and get the rad flushed on the old girl if this hasn't been done in the past 5yrs. Then some new hoses would be sweet.
ALERT:
driver-side heater hose (runs from fwall UNDER oil filter tower) gets damaged over yrs of exposure to oil spill and these can fail with catastrophic cooling-loss!!

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

i lost an engine two years ago to that little hose under the oil filter. it was on an 85 GSL with the beehive though but regardless your 80 has the long hose that runs from the fitting in the side of the rear iron under the oil filter pedestal to the heater core. if the hose is hard or abnormally soft, replace it right away!

 

Thanks for the tips. I have already done an oil change, sea foamed, replaced fuel filter and checked the brakes. I know its the rear dif because the previous owner had a problem with the differential and bought a used one to put in, the guy that put it in told him it wasnt the right one and would make noise but he said do it anyways. He than ordered the correct one which is what I have. It makes extremely loud horrible noise on deceleration and when on a lift the driveshaft has so much play. I have the haynes manual I just need to find time to replace it. Its weird because the a/c and wipers work even without the key in it.

 

play in the driveshaft? i'm assuming you are saying that the backlash is much greater than spec. this would indicate a badly worn ring or pinion gear or both..or a terribly misaligned unit which would cause accelerated wear and ruin the ring and pinion.. if the u-joints are worn and causing play in the driveshaft at each yolk, you can buy replacements fairly cheaply.

 

Congrats!

Make sure you use some quality lube in the rear and that you have no leaks. If the fill or drain bolt is over torqued it can crack the housing, leak oil, run loud, and eventually cause the whole unit to lock up (ask me how I know).

 

Yeah I plan on doing it right. The unit I have is barely used in great condition so I figure i might as well replace it.