First time for everything...
05-15-12, 08:35 PM
#1
First time for everything...
Well for starters this is my first rotary powered car. It's also my first turbo charged car. It's my first car with leather. It's my first car with more than 150hp. It's my first rebuild and the first car I've absolutely fallen in love with. Like most rx7 stories it starts with someone's broken dream rotting away behind a warehouse, or a shop somewhere and a crazy ba***rd like me who thinks, "Yah why not I can do this." So I bought the car, convinced AAA to tow it to my house and the fun began.
05-15-12, 08:36 PM
#3
Well you gotta start somewhere right? First thing I did was jump on rx7 club and research the crap out of everything in the world. In two months I went from knowing the only thing about rotary's is that they had this, "Spinning Triangle of Doom." And yah, thats pretty much it. So after a lot of research it was time to do the deed. The car was blowing smoke out the rear like it was going out of style and i figured that a water seal had blown... little did I know tho...
05-15-12, 08:38 PM
#4
It took all of 6 hours to remove the engine, and with the help of a few friends it was stripped to the short block in no time. I brought the engine back to my house and set it up in my kitchen... mind you I live on the second story of an apartment complex so It was interesting getting it up here haha.
So I don't have any pictures of the dismantling process but I will tell you one thing. Those ba***rd tension bolts, when they rust in place, they really rust in. My block was stock together and only after I tilted it on it's side and the whole thing flopped out on my floor was I able to get the bolt out of the engine. And to my surprise this is what I found. My front iron had blown it's water jacket seal :0
After the dis assembly and the parts inspection I set about cleaning all the carbon deposits from the engine parts. Really a difficult task when all you have is a kitchen sink
like I've mentioned in other posts I'm jealous of you guys with garages and hurricane washers.
So when you have a broken iron... what better than to use it as an end table :d
So I don't have any pictures of the dismantling process but I will tell you one thing. Those ba***rd tension bolts, when they rust in place, they really rust in. My block was stock together and only after I tilted it on it's side and the whole thing flopped out on my floor was I able to get the bolt out of the engine. And to my surprise this is what I found. My front iron had blown it's water jacket seal :0
After the dis assembly and the parts inspection I set about cleaning all the carbon deposits from the engine parts. Really a difficult task when all you have is a kitchen sink
like I've mentioned in other posts I'm jealous of you guys with garages and hurricane washers.So when you have a broken iron... what better than to use it as an end table :d
05-15-12, 08:39 PM
#5
After that I started ordering all my parts and getting things machined. I had my flywheel resurfaced and a new clutch and pressure plate ready to install. As well as a backup set of turbos... which I learned later, both sets were pure crap.
Another thing I had done, was I had a pair of wastegate and prespool pills machined by a local machine shop to spec, and then finally received my rebuild kit from Atkins Rotary.
Another thing I had done, was I had a pair of wastegate and prespool pills machined by a local machine shop to spec, and then finally received my rebuild kit from Atkins Rotary.
05-15-12, 08:40 PM
#6
After this I began assembling the engine and ended up following the directions of Kyle Mohan from MazdaTrix and rx7 club's very own AaronCake. I owe all of my rebuild knowledge to these two gentlemen, so thanks guys!
After the block was assembled I added a few new things, like the SST oil metering lines, and obviously, all new vacuum hoses. What I wish I had've done in retrospect was buy a new or a gently used wiring harness prior to re-installation but that was then and this is now. 99% of my problems came from faulty wiring.
Finally carried the engine back down stairs and to the "shop" and started the final assembly and began the install process.
After the block was assembled I added a few new things, like the SST oil metering lines, and obviously, all new vacuum hoses. What I wish I had've done in retrospect was buy a new or a gently used wiring harness prior to re-installation but that was then and this is now. 99% of my problems came from faulty wiring.
Finally carried the engine back down stairs and to the "shop" and started the final assembly and began the install process.
05-15-12, 08:40 PM
#7
One thing to note, is where your harnesses were routed originally... because I didn't and my omp harness god shredded like a julian salad.
So I got the car running and a couple weeks later took it in to get the paint sanded and buffed out.
Since I finished it I've driven the car about 6,000 miles with no engine problems. My turbos failed and they're out at CompTurbo in San Dimas right now, I should have them back in a few days but the car runs like a champ and is way more fun than I could've ever immagined. I ran into a few problems along the way, mainly lack of car from the previous owner. Fried harness, due to multiple over heats, original suspension with 170k miles on them, original fuel system, with dried o-rings and a stuffed filter.
Then there's my latest purchase, a Turbo Tuf catback exhaust from a guy locally. I can't wait to get it on and fire the car up
Updates will come soon when I get the turbos back and have the exhaust put on. I'll post some before and after's with a sound clips.
Braap Braaaap Braap
So I got the car running and a couple weeks later took it in to get the paint sanded and buffed out.
Since I finished it I've driven the car about 6,000 miles with no engine problems. My turbos failed and they're out at CompTurbo in San Dimas right now, I should have them back in a few days but the car runs like a champ and is way more fun than I could've ever immagined. I ran into a few problems along the way, mainly lack of car from the previous owner. Fried harness, due to multiple over heats, original suspension with 170k miles on them, original fuel system, with dried o-rings and a stuffed filter.
Then there's my latest purchase, a Turbo Tuf catback exhaust from a guy locally. I can't wait to get it on and fire the car up
Updates will come soon when I get the turbos back and have the exhaust put on. I'll post some before and after's with a sound clips.Braap Braaaap Braap
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05-15-12, 10:25 PM
#10
@solve_et_coagula
Is it your first rotary? I freakin love how simple the engines are.
@Kiku
Thanks man, yah I know. It took me a while to find that my actuators had their wires grounded out and they weren't cycling the turbo's at all. Once I fixed the wiring tho... holy crap I wasn't ready for it, I literally almost blacked out hahaha
Is it your first rotary? I freakin love how simple the engines are.
@Kiku
Thanks man, yah I know. It took me a while to find that my actuators had their wires grounded out and they weren't cycling the turbo's at all. Once I fixed the wiring tho... holy crap I wasn't ready for it, I literally almost blacked out hahaha
05-16-12, 10:00 AM
#14
^^ Thats awesome, I think an FC is the way to go because everything is reasonable and you can actually find them at the wrecking yards. Fd's on the other hand... everyone hangs on to them no matter how broken they are because apparently they take a piece of your soul and... "One does not simply throw away their FD."
05-16-12, 11:57 AM
#15
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Nice build, 
it's nothing like rebuilding an engine in your dining room/ kitchen. No talking smack lol or hating , just man humor. That will be the day when the old lady shoes up at home and sees me in the kitchen rebuilding a engine lol. But come to think of it she might join in lol ...
Nice build dude...
it's nothing like rebuilding an engine in your dining room/ kitchen. No talking smack lol or hating , just man humor. That will be the day when the old lady shoes up at home and sees me in the kitchen rebuilding a engine lol. But come to think of it she might join in lol ... Nice build dude...
05-16-12, 02:14 PM
#17
haha it's a good thing i live on my own, otherwise this would've never gone down. I kept it pretty clean tho, it was so much nicer to have it right there with internet access and no places to drop and lose bolts, because we all know how much it sucks when something rolls off your workbench and disappears XD I'm just tryin to keep it together 'till these turbos come back, I'm so excited I almost can't stand it!
05-16-12, 03:08 PM
#19
4k... I'm glad I didn't pay a dollar more because it wasn't worth it. Most of the components on the car needed replacement, shocks, brakes, brake rotors, springs, clutch, engine, harness, turbos, and the interior had a lot of broken pieces and parts, also the stereo was blown and the rear buckets were cracked. The door handle on the drivers side was broken in half too haha. It didn't scare me away though. I knew it wasn't anything I haven't taken care of before, and these cars are worth enough that even if I invested 8k on top of what I have in it, I can still break even but I don't plan on getting rid of this car.
12-17-13, 01:39 PM
#20
Damn... nothing like reading your old posts. Soooo it turns out that there were a lot of problems with this car that I hadn't anticipated. Things I learned from this build? Buy a complete rebuild kit if you're going to do it, bearings, chains, and such. Don't try and save money on anything because this car doesn't like it. Make sure it works before it looks good. The oil pump chain was not the correct length and when driving the car it skipped and jumped off of the teeth on the oil pump sprocket until it wore the teeth off of it and starved the engine of oil. Also don't buy used harnesses. If you can buy a brand new one for 600 but someone has "a great harness for 300 used" Buy the new one. Who are you kidding? A used harness? Thats like going to the good will for underwear because it's not like they wore them that often. Also, make sure your OMP is primed before you drive the car. I didn't know that the SS lines took a while to prime themselves and that I wouldn't be running oil on my apex seals for a while. If you're going to send your turbos out to be rebuilt? Make sure it's at a place you trust, the turbo rebuilders I sent mine to were less than professional and their customer service was crap. They didn't honor the warranty on the turbos after they failed in less than a month. So I got the car working and drove it so San Francisco. I didn't make it home and everything went wrong in a hurry. I lost all power, my engine temp crept up, I rolled off the highway and lost all compression and the car wouldn't start. Then I locked myself our of the car with the windows up and the ignition on while I was waiting for the tow truck. Broke my door handle, cried a little, and finally was able to tow the car home, all 250 miles. I had no choice at this point but to sell it and focus on getting a working car. I ended up selling the 7 and moved up to SFO where I am now patiently waiting to get back into another rx.
12-18-13, 02:03 AM
#23
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Wow what a story! That sucks it all happened like that, but looks like you've gained a ton of experience with rotary's and know what to do on your next rx. Wish you luck on your next find, hopefully it's a gemstone from some old lady .
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