Engine Rebuild help!? - newbie :-(

antrosser · May 16, 2006, 11:09:55 PM

Hi everyone, just looking at the site and its really helpful and informative.#

A question for you though, is there anyone out there that totally rebuilds the RX7 (1994) 13B twin turbo rotary engines in their spare time? i am looking for a cheap solution out of this as i am only a student. It is kind of my project car ready for when i leave uni, therefore have a year to play around with it!

Any help would be much appreciated, thanks guys

Ant

McCARTHY · May 16, 2006, 11:38:35 PM

hey dude and welcome to the club.

I understand the whole lack of cash student thing but to be honest in the long run paying for some like re:worx or RX Motors would save you in the long run. Reason for why if someone (not a garage, or lack of experience with rotary) builds it and fails you have paid for all the parts poss some cash labour time as a thank you you have nothing to fall back on.... if it dies you have to pay to do it again.... however if you get a \'proper\' builder to do the job you have much less chance of it letting go and if it does then the warrenty, in most cases, is there as a safe guard against workmanship.

There are members on here who have done there own engines and are running fine (as far as i am aware).

Good luck with it buddy

RobbieRX-7 · May 17, 2006, 12:06:13 AM

You can buy rebuild dvd\'s that show you how to rebuild the engine.It is still gonna cost around Â£1500 though even if you do it yourself. I have just sold a rebuild dvd on ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=210000133420&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESO%3AIT&rd=1

If you want more info mate, drop me an email at robbie.bezzaford@gmail.com

antrosser · May 17, 2006, 01:52:58 AM

i am watching your spoiler on ebay actually! it looks lush! what is your buy it now on it?

Is a rotary engine really easy to strip down and re build? i wouldnt mind having a go at it myself, that way it would be more a project for me, but im just worried that i will get it all wrong. it doesnt start anymore, or is very hesitant! god only knows what wrong with it, ive only had it for about 4 days! managed to drive it back from London tho, so could have been worse!

i understand the concept of getting someone professional to do it under warranty, and will probably have to go down that road, just thought it would be more fun to undergo the repairs myself as a bit of a learning curve so i could get stuck into it under the guidance of a professional! lol. that way if it goes again, i can maybe keep doing the repairs myself instead of paying harsh garage fees!

Also, what could i do when rebuilding the engine to give it more horsepower? is porting and polishing cheap and easy?

Thanks

RobbieRX-7 · May 17, 2006, 02:09:18 AM

From what i have read, it is just the same as taking the engine out of a normal car, but dont forget that these rotarys only have 3 main moving parts, so it is gonna be much easier to strip and rebuild. With the guidance of a professional dvd/video, and some decent tools anyone can do it. It just a case of wether your bollocks are big enough :Laugh Just have a go yourself and do a high quality job. A few folks on here have done it themselves. It is definitly worth getting the parts checked by a pro to see if they are re- usable. Are you sure it needs rebuilding though?? Get it compression tested and that will tell you if a tip has gone or not. You can compression test it yourself with a regular tester, but there are a few trick you need to do. Do a search of the forum and get more info. The search button is your friend :god

http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23880&highlight=rebuild+thread

antrosser · May 17, 2006, 02:15:19 AM

true, i might just give it a go myself, what is the worst that could happen!? its already f**ked! lol. it isnt running anywhere near fast, think it could only be running on one rotor, and it doesnt start at all at the moment! the coolant light and beeping is always on, topped it up with coolant but didnt do any good at all. no idea\'s but im guessing a good re build is just what it needs!

RobbieRX-7 · May 17, 2006, 02:21:20 AM

with these engines, even a slight overheat will **** them up, was the add coolant light/buzzer on when you drove from london? If it has over heated, the price starts to go up quite quickly for new parts such as rotor housings,endplates, maybe more. How did it go on the motorway from london?

antrosser · May 17, 2006, 02:24:26 AM

to be fair it went fine all the way home, no dramatics. it did like to stall alot tho when stopping and starting, but the coolant light wasnt on at all, temp seemed quite steady at about half way. it hasnt been driven far at all with the coolant light on, but its even on when you have just started the engine up from cold! very wierd! which is why i wasnt too bothered about driving it as i knew it wasnt likely to be hot! faulty sensor maybe?!

RobbieRX-7 · May 17, 2006, 02:33:04 AM

My best advice would be to switch the engine off as soon as you hear the add coolant buzzer/light. I reckon you have a leak on the engine..pin hole in a pipe/corroded pipe etc..easy fix but also you could posibbly have an internal leak which is not good news. All i can say for now is add some water, start it up,let it run for 5 mins,switch it off and leave it overnight,next morning check the coolant level in the middle cap ,take the spark plugs out without starting it and see if they are wet with water. If they are, then you have a coolant seal failure which means rebuild

antrosser · May 17, 2006, 02:38:53 AM

i will try that on my next day off and see what happens. i think its about time (67,000miles) for a re build anyway. all fun tho! are your dvd\'s copied or originals?

RobbieRX-7 · May 17, 2006, 02:44:59 AM

lol..original mate. It cost me over Â£50 and i did create a back up copy so there is no point in keeping the original.Somene was selling copies a few months ago on ebay, but not seen them since. He prob got arrested or fined :evillaugh

antrosser · May 17, 2006, 02:51:40 AM

oh dear, lol. i might try limewire or something and see whether i can source a copy from somewhere. always worth a go i spose! ur up late anyway, no work 2morow?

RobbieRX-7 · May 17, 2006, 02:54:31 AM

im full time unemployed at the mo :Giggle just had a quick blast on bf2. Trouble is when unemployed, your sleeping pattern reverses :Snoring

antrosser · May 17, 2006, 02:56:26 AM

lol, true. i cant say much i spose, but i know im knackered now, so gonna head to bed me thinks! cheers for your help tho :-)

RobbieRX-7 · May 17, 2006, 02:59:40 AM

no probs mate..most folks on here will fall over to help each other