i just got my 86 FC for 400 bucks with a blown coolant seal.(yes i know im in the first gen section i own an 85 SE and 85 GS i feel more at home here). anway i ordered the bast soft seal rebuid kid with all the soft gaskets and seals. i havnt got the engine apart yet but im fearing the worse and that its going to have poopy compression. so the question is an i get away with apex seals and springs, side seals, corner seals and springs?

 

do you have chrome flaking or step wear on the side housings? are the water jackets in decent shape? is anything within spec.....?

all important questions, tear it apart and report back

 

Before you tear it down, you might want to check out my thread on coolant seal repair. You could always give it a shot, then decide if the motor is in good shape otherwise. If you end up having low compression or something, then rebuild...

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-archive-71/engine-coolant-seal-repair-maybe-750774/


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i got the engine to move after a seafoam treatment the rotors have rust on them as did the plugs. Kentetsu i have considered that route but after finding rust i wasnt sure if i would damage the housings and irons. what do you think? djessence i am waiting to get a socket for the flywheel nut it will be a while b4 i get it tho. thx for the replies guys. also the engine ran but the guy that had it had not started it in a while. after pooring seafoam in after only a few mins i could move the flywheel so im thinkin that it wasnt that bad.

 

in that case def let it sit for a bit with seafoam

turn is over etc. could just be that the seals are slightly stuck.

 

bare min rebuild? side seals are cheap geez the springs are only 70 something cents.. the pricest part are the apex seals @ only 48.00 a peice i mean if u dont have that than your money should be saved and spent on something else.

 

If you are going to rebuild, might as well use as much as new parts as you need.

 

RX7 allnight i was just wondering what are the vital parts aside from what i listed above? the engine moves freely now. think i should put her back in and fire her up?

 

besides the gaskets the only thing is the rotor set. (springs and seals)

u can reuse or get new solid corner seals.

reuse the side seals if possible too.

if u dont wanna waste time installing than reinstalling (if its bad)
go buy yourself a coolant pressure tester (can be found on atkins) and test ur coolant seals urself..

if u think its fairly clean inside and ur seals are ok try it out.. check dubble check everything

 

basically the whole engine, rotor housings, bearings, side irons (fcs LOVE to break).

unfortunately there is no good way to inspect most of this stuff without pulling it apart

 

Budget rebuilds or bare minimum rebuilds cost more in the end. Why is there never enough time or money to do it right the first time but always enough to do it again? When it comes to rebuilds there are only 2 ways to do it. Properly and improperly. Price does not come into the picture at all and is irrelevant. It costs wherever it costs to do it properly. Otherwise it wasn't done very well.

Replacing an engine with a used but running engine is cheaper than even a budget rebuild. You won't get tons of life out of it but you won't from a cheap rebuild either so you may as well save yourself the effort of taking it apart and putting it back together wrong. Porting "while it's apart" is also not a good excuse to do a budget rebuild as I have only seen 3 or 4 people on this entire forum who can port worth a damn. At least good enough that I'd consider putting it in a car. Most port jobs quite frankly suck but they typically reflect the entire build as a whole. Properly or improperly. That's it.

I'm not trying to be negative or flame you in any way. I'm merely stating facts and they sometimes hurt. If you are on a tight budget, find a used but running engine. Otherwise get ready to spend some money.