"MM54" (mm54mk2)
07/22/2017 at 19:50 • Filed to: RX-7
3
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"MM54" (mm54mk2)
07/22/2017 at 19:50 • Filed to: RX-7 | 3
| 2 |
Being home for the first time in a while, I took today to try and fix the profuse oil leak on the RX-7 from the oil cooler. Known as the “Beehive” cooler (ostensibly based on it looking like what you may think a beehive looks like if you’ve never seen a beehive), this is one of those jobs I’ve heard referred to as ‘difficult’ and I would agree - not because of a technical challenge, but because pretty much everything in the engine bay (hyperbole) is in the way.
Everything that can get in the way is indeed in the way. My hands are wrecked from being jammed between the firewall/brake lines/prop valve/engine/slave cylinder/oil cooler trying to loosen (and later tighten) hardware.
So after removing two nuts (one of which was removed 1/16 of a turn at a time because that’s all the more wrench room there was), a refreshingly easy bolt on top of the engine (which would later be a pain to get back in for some reason), and a banjo bolt which the factory service manual states to “never remove,” the cooler is free. It can then be disassembled by removing three more nuts, also in the “never remove” category for whatever reason.
No wonder it was leaking - those are not square-cut o-rings...
This should have a round profile, not rectangular
Half a can of brakleen and some elbow grease later it was all cleaned up, reassembled, and put back on the engine. I also replaced the o-rings between the aluminum part visible here and the engine, but I didn’t take pictures as those weren’t comically deformed.
After putting it together and topping the coolant back off, I went for a short drive and put some cardboard under the car. Hopefully it drips a lot less now (yes I put new crush washers on the “never remove” oil-feed banjo bolt). Total time was about 3 hours to get it off (including one run out for a 23mm wrench, which I guess I’ve never needed before) and 3 hours to clean it up, reinstall, etc.
BaconSandwich is tasty.
> MM54
07/22/2017 at 21:32 |
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If those bolts were supposed to never be removed, they should have been welded instead. Otherwise it is fair game.
pip bip - choose Corrour
> MM54
07/23/2017 at 04:12 |
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well done.