mazdaverx7

After I drained and cleaned the tank and in tank filter, I replaced the fuel pump and filter and put about 3 gallons of fresh gas back in the tank. Either its not enough gas to register on the gauge or the sender is shot. I pulled the fuel level sender out and cleaned it but it just may be too worn to work properly.

The volt meter was working when the engine was not running. When the engine started, the volt meter flickered up and down and then just quit. Perhaps I have some work to do to the cluster.

I need to pull the cluster anyways to replace the dash lights bulbs, so maybe a check of the solder joints on the cluster is in order as well.

mel_t_vin

Nice!

Re: electrical system, it's probably the gauge. Though, it couldn't hurt to put a meter across the battery terminals while the engine was running...should see ~13.8v, +/- 0.3v.

Re: your dis-lodged front sway, what did the center brackets look like...were they bent?

mazdaverx7

I can post pics of the sway bar and brackets tomorrow. I've never seen a sway bar pop out like that.

On a down side the lower radiator hose burst tonight. I took the car up the road after changing the oil. When I parked it I noticed that coolant was gushing out of the right front underneath the car. Couldn't have happened at a better time as it happened with the engine off and the car parked in the driveway. Going to get a new hose on order first thing tomorrow.

The volt meter was working ok tonight but the speedometer was not. Got some digging to do there..

mel_t_vin

Is your PS system leaking? ATF, and/or oil, will degrade/swell/soften most of the front end rubber suspension components...also "makes 'em slipperier".

FWIW, skip just the one lower radiator hose...go to Paragon and order Jason's "Complete Water Hose Kit", all 8 hoses, including the three behind the block for the heater core, for less than $100, and call it a day...

mazdaverx7

I have no power steering leaks. It would be best to order the complete kit! I'll check that out!

mazdaverx7

Once I finish the top end on my 86 I will be back in full swing on this. Next step is to get a pair of working door handles..

mazdaverx7

Got the car registered and insured and have been driving it here and there. My son and I took the car for the day on Tuesday and it ran great. The idle was sticking around 2000 rpm but after driving it a bit the idle would slowly return to around 1000 rpm. I suspect the ISV is sticking or faulty.

mazdaverx7

Decided to look into the non working speedometer and after disassembling the unit, I found a fried resistor. Time to order the Arnnworx rebuild kit and a new odometer gear. Here's what I found:

mazdaverx7

Ordered the Arnnworx speedometer rebuild kit and a new odometer gear. Once those come in I can start getting things in the instrument cluster buttoned up.

mazdaverx7

Decided to try and repair one of my bumper pads that had fallen off. All of the studs pulled out of the bumper pad and were hanging in the bumper. I cleaned the area where the studs were molded into the rubber. I then used an epoxied in M8 bolts with a washer as a base. Once the epoxy was dry, I filled the surrounding areas with gorilla glue. I then bolted the bumper pad back on and while it doesn't sit entirely flush due to what I believe is a metal reinforcement expansion (due to rust), it still look ok and will serve the purpose until I can replace it with a new pad.

Here's the pad ready to go on:



What I started with on the bumper:



Bumper prepped for pad install:



Pad installed.Note the small gap in the second picture due to the rusty internals of the pad:

Jchiodi

I will do this on my 86 na. As soon as i get done with tb/wp and lower front end body panel!!!

V996

Thanks for those last few pics, my pad just fell off on rear driver side and I have to do the exact same thing.

mazdaverx7

The rear pad was my test run. I need to remove the right front and install a new stud and attach it back to the bumper. I will post the full method that I use when I do that.

Jorgen944

Glad to see it worked decently. I have a spare pad I picked up to put on in place of the missing on that was gone when I bought the car.

V996

I'm going to bolt on mine tomorrow. I just removed the old bolts, what a PITA. The nuts were rusted on the bolt I think... I clamped the head of the bolt and tried to ratchet the nuts but they refused to turn. So I squashed the head of the bolts instead and pushed them through the holes.

Not sure if I should mount anything other than washers inside the bumper. It had these square pieces but they are rusted to ****. Amazingly the rubber o-rings on the outside of the bumper are still intact so I might re-use those.