pgtr

This is probably WAAAAAY to early to seriously worry about but I'm very curious just how easy this car will likely be to work on?

For example how easy/hard will it be to drop the tranny and replace the clutch. That's one wear item I can see myself going thru in short order. Are there any significant obstacles like cross members or exhaust taht will be difficult to remove or is this a straightforward job?

Is it a hydraulic actuated clutch?

How about the UJoints? Are they staked in or can they be replaced?

How about the rear end carrier? Does it carry sideloads or does the rear suspension componentry take care of that. Are the axle shafts CV or UJoints or what?

Are any of the suspension pieces greasable or are they all sealed as it typical these days?

How hard is it to gain access to the underside of the engine say to replace a lower hose or change the belt?

Is the fuse panel easily accessed?

How about the fuel injectors? (they used to be burried on the old 13Bs - had to remove at least the upper intake)

How about simple stuff like the oil filter - is it still designed to dump oil all over the engine (though accessible) like it was on the 12As and 13Bs?

How about reaching the plugs for changing? Plugs always needed regular changing on the old rotaries. Are these easy to get to? And are they expensive? Who makes them?

Is the thermostat accessible on top like it was? Do the radiator and engine block have water drain valves on them?

Any potential gotcha in doing a brake job? - the old ones embedded the races in the front rotors if I recall and that made a rotor swap a little messier.

Anything else?

mikeb

relax

tribal azn2

what the hell?

8th1der

LOL.....:D

Squidward

wow he's like machine gun... everybody duck...

dcfc3s

Many things are still unknown with maintenance on the '8. But, here's some projections from my many years of working on RX-7's -

Clutch job should be pretty easy, all things considered. It is a hydraulic clutch. The 3rd gen RX-7 was actually easier/quicker to do a clutch job on than a 2nd gen, and I don't think they're going backwards there . I've actually done a whole clutch job on a 2nd gen in 2-3 hours, but that was with a lift and air tools. My old roommate could do one in about that time on jackstands.

The driveshafts for the turbo 2nd gen RX-7 and the 3rd gen RX-7 have proven to be VERY reliable - I have NEVER seen one that had bad U-joints, and I've worked on a LOT of cars. Non-turbo 2nd gens are another story - that's a relatively common failure point. Starting with the 2nd gen, the U-joints have been non-replaceable - again, if they never wear out, that might not be an issue . It is very possible that Mazda made them removeable since it's a carbon fiber driveshaft - who knows.

The rear half shafts are probably CV joints. I have NEVER seen an RX-7 with bad half shafts - it just doesn't happen. I've seen them snapped from very high output cars when drag racing, though .

I don't understand what you're saying about races embedded in the rotors - 2nd and 3rd gens are VERY easy to change rotors on, remove caliper, remove rotor. Maybe that's a 1st gen and previous thing . Brake job looks to be VERY simple and straightforward on an '8.

That's at least a few "historical" comments. I'd keep watch to get a shop manual as soon as it comes out - sounds like you'll be wanting one (as do I!)

Dale

blizz81

Precisely Sound like the kind of guy that likes to settle down with a nice, cozy recreational read from Chiltons on a sunday afternoon.

pgtr

Thanks dcfc3s,

I reposted this in the tech garage section which is probably where I should have posted in the first place.

What I meant by races is that some cars (including Mazda) incorporate teh front rotors and hubs into a single piece. Change the rotors and you'll find that you'll need to pop out the old bearings and seals to move them over and might as well repack etc. It's been a long time and my memory may be in error but it seems like that's the way I recall it on some Mazdas as well. On other cars the front rotors pop off easily.

The first clutch job on old Rx7s could be a slight PITA because of the heatshields everwhere. Somehow many of those heatshields never seemed to be around for the later clutch jobs Still the way they crammed the engine and cabin close together in the '8, I'd be concerned about access compared to a previous '7.

BTW I've read some threads that aren't too flattering about Mazda shop manuals. My experience is quite the opposite. These can be extremely well done manuals, well written, well photographed and wiring diags that fold out and even include isometric views w/ 3D locations for all connectors etc... Poeple need to realize that there are Mazda original manuals and in the case of older Mazdas, REPRINTS done on crappy paper w/ crappy photocopies of photos. The content is still the same but the quality of the material in the reprints is poor. Not a problem w/ 'new' manuals like the one for the upcoming Rx8.

I haven't bought a Chilton's manual in 20 years - can't stand them. The FSMs are great but for folks starting out and basic DIYer types - the Haynes manuals can be quite good on a case by case basis. (though I noticed newer Haynes have gone super cheap on material too )

I think I also read that the new Rx8 FSMs, will have the electrical diags pulled out in a separate volume? If so that's disappointing. Back in the mid 80s Mazda incorporated those wiring diags back into the manuals and the manual prices didn't go up a penny. But those wiring diags, great though they were, were overpriced back when they were sold separately. I guess they must have figured out they could make a buck by returning to splitting them out again into a separate volume.

For me at least there is another potential maintenance issue and that is simply that it a car made by Mazda. At once both a curse and a blessing. If you haven't guessed by now - I don't care for Mazda dealers w/ respect to parts and service (well heck Mazda doesn't exert enough control over their dealership network in other areas as well). IMO Mazda dealers are notorious for having poorly stocked parts depts, mediocre hired hands, over priced parts(not that atypical for Japanese cars I suppose) and a poor parts wharehousing system on a national basis. Subaru might be worse but that isn't saying much - I'd still put Mazda on the bottom rung in this regard.

Rick

Poke a hole in the top of the oil filter and let the oil drain back to the pan.

pgtr

I think that's overrated, almost a myth. Yes I've tried it before - the results were inconclusive. Oil is not held in a spin on filter by vacuum and poking a hole in the top doesn't suddenly 'release' it. Some inverted filters on the old rotaries had anti-drainback and some didn't. Regardless of that or the presence of a 'hole' in the top, as they are spun off the threads, oil oozes out. Besides, most oil is likely to be held around the sides and not the center section so poking a hole on the top (depending on the brand a style of bypass spring/valve) wouldn't necessarily relieve this oil purportedly held in place by a 'vacuum'.

Wrap a couple of rags around it's base is still the best bet. (presuming the base area is accessible as it was on previous rotaries) On old 12As/13Bs, changing the filter was VERY easy but somewhat messy. Still the same layout on the Renesis and do they spec anti-drainback? Or by chance is it a canister style w/ replaceable element only?

Sputnik

Thank you. Closing...

---jps