just blew up my rebuilt engine!!

[sadgoth]

I don\'t think the rotary pre-se is unreliable, compared to a big block pushrod Chevy which revs to 6k and last 100000000miles, yes, but compared to more modern technology - VTEC, RB26, etc these engines are stressed and as such require more looking after. I think in this country a lot of it is down to how we use them. There are a number of FDs in the US that have gone 100k on one engine, these engines do not like heavy traffic = heat build up, or roads are prone to a lot of traffic and if used daily in town the engine life is bound to suffer. I still maintan that a full rotary rebuild is a lot less than a full RB26 rebuild, and although the RB26 is supposed to be bulletproof just look on the GTR OC and see how many owners have had to fork out £10k + for engine rebuilds!

[rx7veilside]

gandy itotally agree i let my heart rule my head and have been paying out ever since..wish i had bought a supra/evo or another scooby,hell even my 3 door 21yr old cossie never had these issues.in the states people got so fed up with rebuilding rotaries that loads have now gone the v8 route and i will have to keep mine as i refuse to sell it for 10000 as i have spent that much on mods.i will over the next few years seriously consider putting a bit aside here and there to pay for a v8 transplant they can be run off the standard gm ecu and will happily run 400bhp and about the same torque and do 25mpg and not destroy the ozone layer every time u start it

[AndyGen3]

lets get together and import 600 ls1/t56 v8 combos and then we could kiss goodbye to rebuilds.i have never known any engine to be so prone to going pop as the rotary.no wonder they never sold in great numbers in this country
can anyone hand on heart saythe rotary is a reliable engine.i love the look of the car but we all seem to be just waiting for our engine to go pop.i know there will be plenty who say it is reliable but do the maths at just how many have gone pop.they seem so fragile that the slightest thing and POP mine has had 2 rebuilds one before i got it and one since and was only running 1 bar when it popped and spat 2 seals out.
the problem in this particular case is one company built it and one mapped it so although both have a good rep who is going to want to bite the bullet
if a company builds and maps ur car and offers a warranty then that warranty will be binding unless specifically worded about what is not covered
otherwise said warranty isnt worth the paper it is written on
all the while we have boost controllers there is an element of mistrust as on a ecu controlled boost pattern people cant have a little tweak
the first post was a liitle vague abouth the circumstances of the engines demise and i think a more accurate breakdown of how the failure occured was needed
as i stated my secondary injector was bad flowing and fpr vac pipe had a hole and ran lean causing det to occur
if i had the dosh i would plop a nice 400bhp/400ft lb ls1 in my car and then relax knowing that it wasnt going to pop with the first problem
a lot of the pleasure of these cars is lost due to reliability issues

I love when people say this... U think an LS1 wont give u problems?? Snap out of it man any engine can give u problems...

Ive had my Fd to the ring, many trackdays and drift/drag events since i bought it and its never missed a beat... Never dropped abit of water and doesnt even burn that much oil... Only thing is i bent the AC pulley but thats comin out the weekend anyway!! Im headin to the pod for USC and im very confident that my car will make it there and back no bother and i drive it everyday!! Its 400bhp at the mo too...

[Ricco_04]

I think a lot can be gained for having an ecu which can protect the car.  For example the standard ECU can not only monitor situations but as said above can force the car into limp mode and adjust the advance if it detects det but the ECU of choice can only warn us and wait for us to react.

Anyway, going off topic slightly!  I hope you get your car sorted with as little hassle as possable and back on the road ASAP :yes

[antnicuk]

1. lets get together and import 600 ls1/t56 v8 combos and then we could kiss goodbye to rebuilds.    

2.   if i had the dosh i would plop a nice 400bhp/400ft lb ls1 in my car and then relax knowing that it wasnt going to pop with the first problem

3. a lot of the pleasure of these cars is lost due to reliability issues

agreed on all 3 of the above points!  And i rebuild my own!

[Kash_]

What we need is a COMPLETE list of reliability mods/ parts for every single issue that could arise, no matter how small.. fuelling, cooling, ignition, sparks, etc... with a complete list people will know where they stand and can make future plans on what to get...

[rx7veilside]

i dont mean to upset die hard rotary owners but the 2001-2002 corvette ls1 engines are pretty much bulletproof at 400bhp and ft pound torque and will last forever..good emmissions and not as tempramental as a rotary.check out the us forums where the scene is a lot bigger whatever the reason far too many engines are going pop

[mullins]

Mine is on it\'s second rebuild. I had it rebuilt this year and the previous owned had it rebuilt less than 500 miles ago before that. It\'s only a bog standard 10A.

Is there something in the water here as the failure rates seem extremely high?!

[M@r]{]

mmm, this really worried me but after the post above stating if you\'ve had it mapped it should of picked up a problem i\'ve relaxed....a little.  

What bothers me is this lack of warranty business!  I had a bill for over £6k for my rebuild etc.  Obviously I was told I would have a warranty.  The car is modified - but it was modified before it had the rebuild - so if they are not going to give a warranty because it is modified shouldnt it be advised before they take your cash?  After all, they know it was modified before they carried out the work??

Apart from that - at the time of the rebuild I had a street port and a PFC fitted and then obviously mapped.  So the rebuilder themselves have done the modifying and have set the car to run \'safe\'  Could they realistically turn down a warranty claim based on the fact I have the car modified when they modified it before the rebuild and before offering a warranty, and they mapped it?

[AndyGen3]

i dont mean to upset die hard rotary owners but the 2001-2002 corvette ls1 engines are pretty much bulletproof at 400bhp and ft pound torque and will last forever..good emmissions and not as tempramental as a rotary.check out the us forums where the scene is a lot bigger whatever the reason far too many engines are going pop

Everybody knows when they buy a Rotary what their buyin... Sell ur FD and buy a corvette if u want an LS1...

I knew when i was buyin mine what i was gettin into... And i still dont mind... For the amount of abuse that ive given her and will give her till shes goes bang i wont mind gettin it rebuilt again to do the same... Small engine and big power plus great handling = :Laugh

But u do sacrifice reliability... :Hammer

[AndyGen3]

Does any1 know if say GtArt give a warranty with a rebuild on a highly modified skyline?? And what are the stipulations??

[antnicuk]

And i still dont mind... For the amount of abuse that ive given her and will give her till shes goes bang i wont mind gettin it rebuilt again to do the same...

you may feel a little more miffed if you have it rebuilt and it only lasts 500 miles after run in before you need to speand another £3k.  

I agree though,  they do take abuse very well. :burnout
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[AndyGen3]

you may feel a little more miffed if you have it rebuilt and it only lasts 500 miles after run in before you need to speand another £3k.  

I agree though,  they do take abuse very well. :burnout
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But thats the same with any highly modifed engine and i knew this b4 i bought and im prepared to pay out if it does... Now im not goin to like it tho:Laugh
But id have to say i will be doing it myself... So it will save me packets compared to most...

[shaunwil]

after speaking with reworx now, they have said it is likely to be my alarm !!! aparently mazda use 4mm wire for the ignition, and the installers generally use 1mm wire, this can fook up the coil packs and make them run lean because of not enough current. they have said this has happened to 2 cars of theirs in the last 2 months and this is the reason why. This will be seen though when i take the engine out as ill get tim to inspect the coils. Ill also have the injectors tested too.

Sorry this made mew ask the question related to alarms.

Shaun

[rx7veilside]

my point is it is poss to have
rx7 looks-cool
rx7 handling great
rx7 weight dist-great
rx7 suspension-great
rx7 brakes-need upgrading
all the car needs is a v8ls1
i dont want a lhd corvette i want a right hand drive car that isnt going to pop at the first sign of trouble
the combo of all of the above  is poss all u need is the v8 to complete the picture.the ls1 is a very very reliable engine plus u get all the good bits of the rx7 as the v8 weighs the same and weight dist is the same
a lot of people me included buy the rx7 thinking once rebuilt they have a reliable engine and if people read about engines going pop for whatever reason and there is no definative answer then the rotary will never be a popular choice
havnt heard of any v8s going pop running on the street in the us only good reports and thay have been doing them a long time now