I am at the point of buying an engine stand and ready to pull the engine. Does anyone have any suggestions for the best way to do this. I mean is there a engine pull thread or any literature I can follow. After that I want to rebuild it, who has the best literature or video for that. Sorry, going to be asking a lot of questions, not a noob to the cars but definitely a noob to doing my own work.

 

Do you have the Haynes manual? It's pretty good and will walk you through an engine pull, step by step. I used it to pull the engine out of my old '85 GSL as a complete mechanical newbie back in 2000 and it was just what I needed.

As far as an engine stand, visit your local Harbor Freight and pick up the one with the two castering front wheels for ~$80. There's a cheaper one with a single castering front wheel but I wouldn't trust it to be stable.

You'll need an engine hoist an a length of chain too. They fold up for transport and you can rent them from your local rental place for a nominal daily rate.

Good luck! Rotaries really are very light and easy to pull. All the bellhousing bolts are easily accessible too. You shouldn't have any problems.

 

There are several threads with the steps on what people do to remove the engine. There are two basic ways people do it. With or without that transmission attached. Search the First Gen forum. You'll find the answer.

 

I would recommend a load leveler if you decide to remove it with the transmission; it makes maneuvering the engine-trans assembly out of the engine bay much easier. It's not strictly necessary when just removing the engine alone, although it does make lining up the input shaft easier when reinstalling. Just a thought.

 

Might sound a little crazy but I've removed engines with a come along and few 2x4's on my rafters. You have to move the car once the motor out but it works. I found the most help from the factory service manuals. I believe you can download them here. http://foxed.ca/index.php?page=rx7manual . One thing I needed more than anything was a clutch alignment tool.

 

Harbor Freight has a 2-ton hoist (about $200), extended out its 1/2 ton, but I believe the 12a is under 300lb.

Lifted from the side, left the hood on, and rolled it out. (I do not have a ready assistant.)

 

I have the same hoist and had to remove the bumper to get the motor back in, it was fine to remove it but not quite deep enough to get it back in. Maybe you have a little more skill than me but I tried from the side but couldn't get it to line up for the life of me.

 

^ Has been a lifesaver on more than one occasion when aligning things.

 

I got it out, but it took some effort & re-trys to adjust the length of each chain for balance and angle. Lots of fine adjustments in the height and position of the hoist. I have not yet installed the engine. A load-leveler may be worth more than it costs.

 

You can take the tire off too. I have a love hate relationship with harbor freight. The stuff is so cheap it's disposable.

 

I like to take the engine and trans out as a unit. It requires getting the car as high as it can go on GOOD jack stand. Not the cheap ones. Once you remove the drive shaft, make sure to plug the output of the trans so it doesn't leak all the fluid once it's angled.

I also remove the radiator and fan to give more room.

 

I rented an >>>engine hoist<<< from a local equipment rental place. The engine weighs 200 pounds. So wrapping a 1/4 inch nylon rope (tensile strength 60 pounds) so that 6 strands of rope were holding the engine (strength = 360 pounds in theory) Lifted the engine safely.

Take lots of pictures as you remove stuff like the carburetor before you actually remove the engine. Also remember these cars are 30 years old. When I was putting the thermostat in, I heard a small >>>ping<<<. The water pump housing cracked at the bolt hole for the thermostat cover. It took me 2 weeks to find another water pump housing. Other FU's were that I lost the timing mark.

Good time to get the radiator rodded out, and the beehive flushed out. And I wish I treated the firewall rust while I had the engine out. And why not renew the master cylinder and clutch hydraulics while you have easy access. My local auto parts franchises had just as good of prices for the master brake cylinders, clutch master cylinder, and clutch slave cylinders as did e-bay.

 

How can you loose the timing marks when they are embedded on the pulley

 

I would never trust the strength of a nylon rope to hold an engine above my car. Nylon rope does go bad. The first time an engine comes crashing down and dents a fender the extra effort the use a chain would be worth it.

If the rental place did not supply a chain for the hoist then their not a very good rental place. Some parts store will let you borrow lifts.

 

I had to remove the pulley to paint the timing marks. I'm giving a heads up on possible f* ups. We are here to share info that's helps each other.

 

make sense. You painted the pulley and installed it incorrectly.

 

Nylon rope is smooth, and using it allows you to adjust the angle of the engine when you are installing it. It's is standard procedure to over spec load bearing members three times. Or use three times as much as is theoretically calculated.

1/4 inch nylon rope has a minimum breaking strength of 1486 lb. Seems very high.
Nylon Rope - Strength

If you disagree with what has worked for me, then don't do it.

 

Yeah, with that much rope you could pick up the entire car. Nothing makes chain better in my opinion, so long as your tensile ratings are there and you are not abrading the line. A good block and tackle could easily lift the engine so long as you don't mind moving the car out from it. Still, I wouldn't want the rope near anything sharp on the engine and I'm not really sure where you are attaching the line.

 

Videos: Mazdatrix DVD is best $30 you will spend on the rebuild. Its on the 13b but the build is virtually identical. Loaded with tips and trix (pun!) that no manual will ever tell you...

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

Yes the Mazdatrix DVD is excellent. I have a small portable DVD player setup next to the engine for dis-assembly.

The video does cover lapping (resurfacing of the faces on your irons). There are many recommendations in threads here not to resurface.

When you get stuck or not sure, search the forum.

 

Mazdatrix recommends resurfacing because they have the machine and can get more money out of you, and you will be a repeat customer because your engine doesn't last very long after it's resurfaced. This practice is obsolete and best avoided on any 1979 or newer engine, like yours.

 

When I pulled the engine out my car for the rebuild I had both the DVD and Haynes manual. I only pulled the engine just wiring the transmission to the firewall. Taking the hood off and using an engine hoist worked the best for me. I didn't have a stand but a 5 gallon bucket worked perfectly. The nut that held on the flywheel was the only thing that really gave me any trouble.

 

engen,

how did you remove the flywheel nut? Five Gallon Bucket, now that's my style!