Wow.. So I eventually got all those powder coated parts back on the car. Installed all new Energy Suspension bushes in the rear end. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures as I was in a rush!
I also installed a Mazdatrix watts link reinforcement thing as I had seen a few brackets which were broken/bent. Figured it'd be a good idea. Had to whack 1 of my studs back a few mm as it didn't line up with the new bit. Picture taken from Dereks build
Also got those Hel Performance brake & clutch hoses fitted. Happy as with them. Forgot I had zip tied the fronts to the strut
. Got some new clips but I was in a rush and they didn't want to clip on
Excuse the rust
. Made up new rear brake hardlines and clutch line.
I saw on Ausrotary about adding window relays to help speed them up and also stop the switch from burning out which seems fairly common
. I liked the idea so made some up using OEM connectors which I ordered from
http://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Elec_ ... ctors.html. Scroll down to Yazaki. They plug into the standard plugs and sit under the passengers seat. Here they are nearly finished
Plug & play
I timed my passengers window after I installed the relays (needed to adjust the driver side). Each was an average over 3 cycles and I used my phone stopwatch to time it. There is a noticeable difference
. Pretty happy with it and no worries of switches clogging up!
Before:
Down - 4.50
Up - 4.34
After:
Down - 3.62
Up - 3.87
I got home from work one day and noticed a puddle on the ground underneath where the pedals are. I thought it was a strange place for any water to be making its way down. Gave it a sniff - brake fluid. Damn! Brake master was leaking. Ordered a new one and installed it. Simple
A while ago Steve gave me a few of his old rotor parts he had leftover since he left the scene. I gave the series 5 alternator to James. Kept then FC oil cooler as I had been wanting to install one for a while as it means I could free up precious engine bay space by getting rid of the beehive
. I was going to mount it doing the usual exhaust clamps on the front tube but then noticed 2 brackets which looked like they were made for it?! I ordered some Vibrant Performance -10AN hose, fittings, adapters and fancy AN fitting holder thingy from BTN Performance. BTN were great to deal with and placed an order from the supplier in Canada I think it was. The fittings are very nice. Nice prices for quality AN fittings also.
Got the hose and fittings made up with the help of Steve and his lovely vice!
. Quickly and terribly welded up a little bracket for where I wanted to mount the cooler. It's strong and does the job. You can see where I had to slightly move the cooler over and drill some new holes and plug the old ones haha. The forged 90 degree AN fitting I got clears the chassis rail with only a few millimeters. Woo!
. Chopped some of the radiator shroud so the other fitting was allgood.
The front tube is slightly in front of the coolers lower half. But I will keep an eye on temps closely. If it needs more airflow I might try and make some sort of duct to help out. If not I can always move it. Speaking of temps - I ordered a Racing Beat adapter to go on the FC unit that Tool kindly gave me. Which allows me to install my genuine Defi temperature gauge I ordered from RHDJapan a while ago
. Much cheaper than buying from the UK. Pretty simple install. Mounted the gauge using the supplied base and double sided tape for now. Until I can sort a more permanent position. I can read it nicely. The blue matches my headunit
hah. Just need to install my other Defi temp gauge now for water
Okay. I've posted up a few sneaky pictures of my alternator modifications! It took a lot longer than expected due to a certain
Delivery company saying my
Parcel had been
Delivered when it hadn't. 2 day delivery turned in to 1 month
. They said they had left notes and also tried when I was stood at my car (by the door) all day. Obviously not. Ended up getting it delivered to my work. Rant over.
Upgrading to a Series 5 or FD alternator requires slight wiring mods for various reasons. The OEM cable is rated for the standard 55/60 amp alternator while the FD unit is rated at 100 amps. Here is an awesome thread on Ausrotary which shows diagrams
http://www.ausrotary.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=33676. KYPREO also posts an great explanation near the bottom of the 1st page on another reason why slight wiring mods are needed
. It's all pretty simple to do.
Ian also posted this nice cross reference alternator thread a while back
http://www.rx7fb.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=127
I won't go into too much detail as all the info is in the above links. Pretty happy with how it turned out. Also installed my gilmer pulleys from back home in NZ with a new Gates HTD round tooth belt. It's very sensitive to tightness. Stalled out originally as it seemed too tight
. Some people don't like them but I don't care. It's what I want - because Kiwi
. Made up a nice little adjuster as I had seen pictures online of similar ones. Pretty simple really. Steve helped me out (again!
) with the use of his pillar drill to get a centered hole in the aluminium hex. Gave it a polish. Sorted. Turns out the only decent picture I have of it is already posted haha. Here it is again! I used Oceanflex tinned cable
I hope you didn't think that was all!
Going back to that delivery which took a month to arrive.. Stalled progress of this. I ordered some 16t hydraulic crimpers off eBay for 23 odd British Pounds (my Kiwi keyboard isn't set up for Pound signs
), Oceanflex tinned 70mm2 cable, various terminals, PVC boots, adhesive heatshrink, circuit breaker and a battery through panel which isn't in the picture. Think that's it! The crimpers work surprisingly well considering they are typical cheapo eBay stuff. There was an 8t crimper with more appropriate sized dies. Yet again here is an awesome thread by Sim on Ausrotary
http://www.ausrotary.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=31504. My electrical stuff was mostly ordered from
http://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/. Subscribe to their newsletter as they often send out 10% off codes
. Couple of 90 degree terminals I got from a decent seller on eBay. I won't go in to too much detail again as I'll try to create a little write-up of how I done it aye.
Found a leak the other day in my passenger footwell
.. I checked under my windscreen wiper cowl and everything looked pretty solid. Also on the inside of my firewall. Roof drain seems fine also. Further investigation is needed. Probably wait til summer when I can take off the wing. Idle is also very lumpy - almost bridgeport like. Hoping it's nothing too serious and that a nice drive will clear everything up when I get it MOT'd. Just had a Cusco strut brace and SSR valves for the Longchamps arrive. The brace doesn't fit with the OEM airbox which I expected. Maybe if I give it a whack with a hammer it'll squeeze on
. See what happens. Think that's about it for now! If I remember anything else then I'll add to it hah. If anyone want's more detailed pictures on anything in particular - just let me know!
Congratulations on getting to the end of this post
You have certainly been busy, I like the adjusting arm on the Alternator & all the shiny alloy, are the window relays standard 4 pin?
