GSL-SEX2

I bought the car on eBay in November in Minnesota. Picked it up in January. Found that it was leaking coolant from the water pump and had a bad "clunk" up front. Had the water pump and idler arm replaced, which fixed the problems. Then I drove it 2000 miles to San Diego.

The first thing I noticed on my voyage was the steering. It was windy driving through the Great Planes. I was being blown all over the highway. There is about 5 degrees of free play in the steering wheel before it actually begins to turn. It makes the steering suck.

HOW CAN I FIX THE STEERING?

I expected the handling to be awesome, but the steering really hurts it. At speed, it is difficult to make any changes in steering. Maybe it's the manual steering. For example, if I want to quickly lane change, it just doesn't "snap" like I am used to. My other car is a modified 5.0 Mustang, with lots of suspension mods.

Another problem with the handling is the rear end seems to have no grip. It wants to slide out when I'm in a sharp turn. My Stang turns corners better, and it has a horrible suspension geometry.

HOW DO I FIX THE REAR END?

The ride is pretty nice. Feels solid. Bumps are absorbed very well compared to the bone-jarring shopping cart feel and extremely high wind noise my Mustang Convertable has (with 600# front springs).

The shifting needs improvement. It feels soft and imprecise... just too soft. And the throw is entirely too long.

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO IMPROVE THE SHIFTING?

Finally, I believe my throwout bearing has recently bit the dust. I get screeching noises when the clutch is pushed in while I'm in gear. It's difficult to get into gear sometimes.

IS MY THROWOUT BEARING DONE? WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT TO PAY TO HAVE THIS DONE, OR CAN I FAIRLY EASILY DO IT MYSELF? I'm pretty mechanically capable and have access to tools, lifts, and a garage. If it's only $300 or so I'd rather just have a shop do it tho.

It almost seems like it doesn't matter what gear (RPM) I'm in; the car accelerates at the same rate. I mean, I can accelerate pretty well in 5th (maybe better than my 3.73 geared Stang), and downshifting to 4th or 3rd doesn't really seem to make much difference. Is this possibly a result of the linear torque output of the rotary?

I really dig the interior of the car. Except the driver's side floormat keeps bunching up and getting in the way of the pedals. Anyone else have this problem?

The light for the HEATER works intermittently. The other options (VENT, DEFROST, ETC) lamps work fine. Any ideas?

I had the windows tinted medium grade. They had like 0 tint before; I felt like I was in a plastic bubble or a greenhouse driving around.

I don't think my Air Conditioning works. It wasn't very cold. This takes the old style Freon, right? Expensive? What am I looking at to get it refilled?

Other than that the car is perfect and I enjoy it. Of course, it could be faster. RB exhaust is in the plans.

Kentetsu

Well, let's see here;

1. Steering slop, otherwise known as Wondersteer. The idler arm is the most prominent part of the suspension to fail, and easily replaced. Make sure you spend the extra few bucks for the Moog unit which can be found at www.rockauto.com Tie rod ends will also probably need replacement, which is a fairly simple job. If all of that has already been done, then see my post in this link for instructions on how to adjust the steering gear box:

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...steering+grind

2. These cars are known for "snap oversteer". This condition can be improved slightly by removing the rear sway bar. More improvement will be had by replacing all of the bushings to regain free movement. Traditional rubber bushings tend to bond to the metal, which restricts movement and causes binding. Also, make sure your tires are properly inflated. One tire low on the rear end can cause huge problems.

3. Throwout bearing sounds like a correct diagnosis. If the car was stored for a long time, it might improve with use. Otherwise, replacement is fairly simple once the tranny has been removed. Purchase a new tranny mount and install it at the same time (prone to wear).

As to the other questions, better wait for someone more familiar with the SE models. Good luck, and congrats on your purchase.

yetterben

Once running line it next to your fox body and be amazed at why you dont drive it anymore lol!

NoPis10

iTrader: (29)

Welcome to the wonderful world of "wonder steer"
Try and get a hold of the factory service manuel or do a search and you will see ways to improve it. Make sure all your tie rods and bushings are good as well as the idler arm.

As for the rear coming around, that is the normal tendancy of the 7. Lowering springs and sway bars should be effective in helping remedy that.

Short shifter for your shifting woes....

Power issue sounds like your 5th and 6th port actuators may not be opening. See factory manuel or Chiltons for solution.

Throw out bearing is easy enough to replace if you have done clutch replacements on your Stang. Do a complete clutch change as well as a lightweight flywheel and you will feel better.

Good luck in gettng it up to specs. Search button is your friend and it will help you a great deal as all of these questions have probably been covered several times over on this forum.


L8R

74RX4

iTrader: (10)

New shifter bushings may help or even a short shifter.

http://www.mazdatrix.com/faq/ssinstal.htm

rearviewmirror

I've had my GSL-SE for a month and when reading the OP's post I could have sworn I wrote it! I guess these are common traits among the SE.

My plan is completely replace all bearings/bushings/boots on the suspension and steering. Also I'm going to rebuild the brake calipers, change the rotors and pads, and also replace the struts/shocks/springs. Most likely new tie rods, idlers arm, and sway bars too. My plan is to build the SE in the best handling car it can be, I don't want to modify the engine at all.

Clutch/Trans work on these cars is simple, if you have access to a lift you can knock out a clutch job in less than 3 hours. Without a lift it takes a bit longer, make sure you've got some lifting help for the trans.

How many miles are on your SE? Being a MN car did it have a lot of rust?

no help on the HEAT light, but I'm sure it's just a small LED back there, should be an easy fix.

AsianImage

The only thing I can comment on is the dang FLOOR MAT!!!

Ugh...I swear it was just me...but good to hear it happens to others too! I have the original floor mats in decent shape and I want to keep em but yes...they bunch up constantly.

What I plan on doing is installing some heavy duty velcro to keep it from bunching up.

Otherwise my car is just fine...and several people have driven and ridden in my car and have noticed my steering is unusually crisp for a SE. I dont have crazy freeplay and my suspension bone stock feels ok. I am however going to have tokiko blues and springs installed shortly. I will post pictures of course.

jarath

I replaced every steering component on my SE with moog parts, all the bushings with poly and have the heavy duty moog idler. Run Tokiko Illumina's, Ground Control adjustable plates, Eibach springs on coilovers. It still has slop in the steering which can be improved with the fix above to the steering box. Basically... you don't have rack and pinion with the RX7 so it will never be like the Mustang entirely. You can buy a retrofit unit from Respeed if you really want that.

I replaced all the rear bushings with poly and ran a mod on it that drilled out the bushings (PB&J mod). Noticable improvement in snap oversteer. In the center (harder) part of the poly I ran a larger hole.

Can post picks of how to do this if desired.

rearviewmirror

Post the pics!

jarath

First get the old bushings out... this is always entertaining and horribly messy. Only real way I found that works is to grab a propane torch from your local auto parts store, and light er up... will have to relight few times but after enough time, the inner recess will get hot enough and seperate from the bushing... then grab it with a pair of needle nose pliers... pull it out... and the rest of the bushing burns up pretty easily. This is a great way to get to know neighbors...



In the end you end up with this after some sanding, drum sanding in a drill press, lots of Dawn dish soap... and lots of other ugly rubber melted messiness:



Next drill symmetrical holes around the new poly bushings. Be sure this is as accurate as you can get it. In the poly kit they come as 3 pieces... the outer 2 pieces are much softer than the inner piece... I drilled a larger hole on the inner piece... about 1/8". Outer ones I think I used 3/32".



Now please keep in mind, this works even better on rubber bushings since they are even more flexible. Problem is you can't buy the rubber bushings... you have to buy the entire arm. It is also not completely resolving the binding issue that plagues the rear end... need a tri-link/panhard for that. Anyways, this does help quite a bit and if you are doing the bushings... might as well do this as well since it doesn't hurt.

SIMPLESOUND

Racing beat for the short shifter.I have installed two in my GSLSE'S and love them.Most people find the shifting very tight at first.Took me a while to get used to the new throw however I shift now with my fingers since the throw is so much shorter.I believe the length is reduced about 30 percent compared to stock.As far as the the powerband goes....You should feel a burst of power somewhere around 3000 rpm to 4500 rpm.The sooner the better.Usually the actuators are not the culprit.It is the tubes inside the lower manifold that become gummed up which do not allow the actuators to work.If you are going to clean them it is worth the fifty dollars to buy the inserts from pineapple racing while you have this system torn down.You will get about 8 more horsepower and a crisper response.Check into them.Well worth the fifty to me.Some say the extra power of the sixth port feels kinda like a turbo kicking in.The power should be noticeable however not huge.Happy wrenching!

jarath

I suggest the ebay short shifter for the miata if your lower bushing isn't machined in place. For $32 you can't go wrong... feels exactly the same so long as you don't mind a little sanding to get the lower bushing to fit snug. There is a write-up in the archive on this.

bliffle

The floor mat bunches up because the wrong mat is on the driver side. Usually it's a passenger side mat misplaced. Driver side mat should have a notch on both sides and it is narrower. Pick up a spare at the pick 'n pull. the mats in my 3 7s work perfectly.

Sounds like some shifter linkage bushings are shot.

Personally, I don't like tinted glass and replaced with clear, both rollup windows with replacements from pick n pull and a new clear windshield. I always have sunglasses in the car for driving in bright daylight, and at night I'm not hindered by poor visibility. Plus, most tinted glass is hazy in bright sunlight.

Add 6-8 oz.of MMO to every tankfull and in a few months your engine will purr like a kitten. Replace spark wires and plugs (either NGK BR9EQ14s or autolite 2626).

Too bad you had to go to MN for an SE. I picked up a neglected 85SE up here for under a thousand that was destined for the crusher because it looked so horrible with sun-destroyed paint and sun-ragged interior and black stuff in radiator. ran poorly, too, Now it's a gem, and looks good, too, with new interior bits from PnP and a decent Maaco paint job in the original K3 silver.