Rx7Forums.com

carnut1 · 12-24-2005, 02:50 AM

I just purchased a 1979 rx7 from a little old lady! White, black interior 5 speed with a/c. Very decent shape but she says she sold it because 3 shops could not get it to be smog compliant. My question is can the thermal reactor be found? I work for a Mazda franchise and it is no longer available. Whats the alternative? I'm having it looked at by my service dept lead mechanic with 20 yrs rotary experience. Could a cat. converter be retrofitted to bring it into compliance even though its not required on this year? Any pointers would be greatly appreciated, thanks, Bill

carnut1 · 12-26-2005, 07:37 PM

I hope everyone had a good holiday, still waiting for any help on my dilema! thanks.

TII · 03-09-2006, 07:20 PM

You can have a uneversal catalytic converter mounted in the exhaust system and it MIGHT fix the issue for a little time. But if its not running propper then it might clogg the cat and cause the exhaust system to overheat.

Do you know what work was done to the car to smog test it?
Have a look over the basics,
Timing
Spark
Fuel
Intake

If everything is running in top shape then you should not need a cat in there to get it to pass smog.
Also there are many products you can buy on the market that will help to lover the levels of immisions from the tail pipe.

If all else fails, welt a 90degree tube about a 1/4" diameter onto the exhaust pipe that is open to air. This will let fresh air in the exhaust system before the tail pipe and help to get the unburnt fuel burnt.

good luck with the car :P

carnut1 · 03-10-2006, 11:56 PM

Since my first post, I've replaced the spark plugs and added 1 gal denatured achohol . It passed just under the max for allowable Hc's. i'm going to remove the cat converter because after 20 min. driving, it gets red hot. I'm afraid it will melt and plug up. Thanks for the advice.

**black rocket** · 03-11-2006, 05:03 AM

Originally Posted by carnut1

... i'm going to remove the cat converter because after 20 min. driving, it gets red hot. I'm afraid it will melt and plug up. Thanks for the advice.

I think it's too late to worry about plugged up cat because it already is.

TII · 03-11-2006, 05:30 AM

A red hot cat..... thats not so good :P

My tubular manifold is the only part of my 7 that i ever want to see glowing red :P Rip that car out pronto, you can do serious damage to the motor if you leave that in there.