Does a rebuild last as long as an original engine?

[ramirez]

Hello gang,

I\'ve been reading a lot of posts about rebuilt engines, and from what i\'ve seen they seem to not last as long as a fresh brand new Mazda one.

With this in mind, does it really make sense getting an engine rebuilt if you just want stock performance with no plans to ever mod? A stock FD is fast enough for me. it also seems if you are getting all new housings, new rotors the price quickly rockets.

What are the thoughts on buying 2nd hand engines (with circa 20, 30k on them) and using them?

My reckoning is that if I only drive 2,000 miles a year, it\'s going to take 15 years before I get to 30,000 miles on it, and lets face it... it\'s unlikely the rest of the car will be in any fit state in 2024!

[jackaleks]

i think you\'d have to consider why someone would be selling a stock engine with low miles on it. there doesn\'t seem to be a big engine swap culture over here so it would be well worth checking everything as any original engine has probably been ragged; compression testing, pressure testing the coolant system, play in turbos, baked oil seals, e.t.c.

[Timmy]

The water seals could stil randomly fail and it also depends alot on who rebuilt it.

[dthebuk]

i was under the impression its the engines that have only had new seals that fail earlier. Is it that much more to have a completely new engine built? personally i\'d rather pay a bit more for a new engine, just for peace of mind more than anything else

[CharlieP]

Well i do know that Kash has a rebuilt single, running about 450 bhp, and he canes it big time, 3years old and 20,000miles (ish) and still going strong...a testament to a well built rotary!

[pdtaylor18]

Sometimes as in any rebuild the testiment will always be in the quality of parts used and just importantly the quality of the workmanship and tuning.  A lot of engines goes bang because people do silly stuff to them without tuning and they will go pop.
Sometimes mixing old with new parts work if the tolerances are measured correctly, if someone just chucks an engine together without all the meticulous cleaning, measuring and care in rebuilding then it will never last as long as a rebuilt Mazda lump.

Even original Mazda units can go at 30K so you can never tell, good history and plenty of spirited driving keeps these things alive.