Yeah, I'm not a big fan of RTV, if Mazda would of design the crush washer correctly it would be in my opinion the best solution. Unfortunatly they never made it right and just eliminanted after 93. In the future I will find one that is a better fit than the OEM or have some made.

Dan

Added a bit at the end of the second post.

Dan

Get that thing painted Dan... before Kevin gets on your case... haha! Congrats on the win yesterday. You have a national next week, right? I'm very anxious to hear your feedback on the carputer and see it in person.

We have a ProSolo next weekend in Atlanta and then a Tour the week after that.

I feel pretty good about the way she was handling and running for her first event. She is detuned about 110hp off her target hp and I still managed to be the forth fastest car for the event. I really notice the lack of power in a few areas, but I think my biggest problem was my driving. I haven't raced since last November and that was in a totaling different car.

One thing I’m happy to report is the fuel starvation cover works!!! I had her down to less than a ¼ tank without fuel starvation. The course had two fairly fast left hand sweepers that would have starved her at ¾ a tank before. When we install the cover I notice that one of the internal tank baffles has detached itself so I’m going to take the opportunity to upgrade to a 95 tank.

Also my airpump delete pulley held up to its first real test so I’m pretty happy about that.

We still haven’t installed the 4.77 or Kaaz which I think will really make her come alive.

We are going to install the boost controller and pre control pill this week and crank up the boost to have her ready for the ProSolo. The 4.77 and Kaaz may go in the following week.

Awesome build! I am very jealous...

I just wanted to make one comment about this:

You probably already know this, but when you loosen or remove that front eccentric shaft bolt with the engine in the car it can cause the thrust bearing to drop out of place. After a while the bearing, spacer, and thrust plate will wear down and possibly get chewed up and spit into the oil pan. This can also cause vibration and the bolt might end up removing itself after the bearing is completely destroyed. When that happens you are in a world of trouble. Don't ask me how I know...

Just something to think about...

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

What? Dan, why were you not spending time with your mom on mothers day?
Keep me in the loop when running out at the speedway.
Chad

My mom is in Florida.

Local schedule is at http://www.trscca.org

Dan

We were aware of the possible problems and Andrew stayed in the car with his feet on the clutch and brake from the time just before the bolt was loosened until it was re-torqued. I feel confident that the trust bearings remained in place.

It was my understanding that because the FD has a pull-type clutch you cannot use the "foot on the clutch" method when replacing the front eccentric shaft bolt. Pushing the clutch in pulls the flywheel away from the engine... the opposite of what you really need.

Chances are that the engine is fine and the thrust bearing stayed in place... but it isn't pretty when that bearing fails completely. You can probably just check the end play to verify that everything is A-OK.


*edit* Here's what happens for anyone who is curious:

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/mattmck/rx7/oilstreak.jpg
http://www.carclubvt.com/photopost/u...9/DSCN0324.jpg
http://www.carclubvt.com/photopost/u...9/DSCN0335.jpg

After that bearing dropped into the pan there was enough endplay to allow the eccentric shaft to repeatedly smash into the trans input shaft and "mushroom" the splines out which trapped the clutch disk. Sitting in the engine bay for hours with a needle file was "fun". LOL

You may be right. Dan was instructing Andrew on what to do and I was removing and reinstalling the bolt, so what went on it the car is a mystery to me. Maybe Dan will chime back in.

I had Andrew put the car in gear and his foot on the brake. I held the front hub the whole time while Brian removed and installed the eccentric shaft bolt. If there was any movement in the shaft I would of felt it. A quick check of the shaft play confirmed everything was A-OK.

Dan

Good deal! :)

Awesome build. You FD guys make me jealous. One thing makes me curious though. Isn't that F-15 sitting on your trunk a little big for Auto-X?

I ran across a shot from last weekend's Pro Solo. Couldn't find any action shots unfortunately.
http://sktphoto.com/DX3/img_7335.jpg

When I remove the front bolt ,I put a pry bar on the fly wheel and chain it pushing foward ,remove the bolt .After tighting the bolt back you can check the step measurement between the hub and shaft to see if the bearing is in place ( 2.44 mm ) .