I'm about to pull the 12a outta my "parts car" and was wondering if there's anything I need to take note of when tearing it down i.e. should I mark which rotors and housing are front and rear? Any info is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Joe

 

I would,
I mean, why not? I'm also running different year housings front and rear..
Mark you rotors too. Mark everything possible for that matter whether it's obvious or not.

 

Don't lose the apex seal corner pieces

 

Umm... watch out for snakes

Really... label everything and take tons of pics. Pull it apart on a nice clean table or at least a clear floor. Somewhere that you won't have pieces falling through cracks or wandering off. And try to keep things organized. Those basics will save you a lot of trouble.

 

its a good practice to mark it F and R so you COULD put it together back the way it was.

 

Well to be honest I'm not sure if I'm ready to rebuild it myself. The plan is to tear it all down, clean it all up, make sure everything is worth reusing and send it down to the rotary doc for a half bridge and reassembly. I may paint it too but haven't decided yet.

 

^ I'd do the bridging yourself as long as your not notching the housings. It'd be good experience.
But I can't steer you away from Kyle(The Rotary Doctor)
He is the best..

 

If you're going to tear it down, port and rebuild.... take the time and few dollars to paint it and make it look good! You won't be sorry.

 

Be sure you have access to a high torque impact gun to pull the flywheel nut and the bolt at the front of the e-shaft. They're both ******.

 

Are you implying it takes a lot of impact to get ****** to cooperate?

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

 

everything that's being re-used goes back where it originally came from.

 

Rxtasy.... Thanks that's sounds like pretty good advice lol.
Crispen- I'll let the doc do this one and I'll give it a go on the next one cuz I just really don't feel like I'm ready and I'm afraid I'd get stuck somewhere and not be able to complete it for some reason after spending all the money on parts.

 

If you plan to re-use any of the original hard seals/springs off the rotors, they must go back in the same slots/holes they came out of. As the seals wear, they match into their slots/holes & develop specific wear patterns. Not to mention that side seals are actually cut to length to match their install positions.

So you need to know later which seal came from which slot on which rotor. Mazda used to make a fancy wood box for sorting them out during disassembly. I use plastic partition boxes like they sell for fishing tackle.

The rotors are generally marked "F" and "R" from the factory, with a stamping in the combustion pit. The sides of the rotors also have markings that let you keep track of which seal goes where, though they can be hard to see until the rotors are cleaned up.

It's really smart to read through the FSM before cracking the keg. Among other things, you want to de-torque the tension bolts in proper sequence, so you don't warp the housings.

It's not a job to just work out as you go, if you want to make a motor that will last when you're done.

 

Thank you sir! That is the kinda stuff I'm looking for! I think I'm gonna use all new seals but I'll keep track anyway. Thanks again.

 

Joe, Let me know when you go down there then. I'll go with you.

 

Yeah I'll def let ya know. It'll be a lil while though cuz I gotta wait for my bank accnt to get on board lol. I may not have the funds till next tax season but I wanna go ahead and get it all cleaned up while it's warm out. Though I wanna come down there sometime between now and then for a 417 meet and talk to the doc about it.

 

^Don't forget the drive's next month. Everyone who wants to make it out from the midwest is welcome.

 

Yeah I wanna go to that bad! Unfortunately I have my military drill that weekend, I'm not sure I'll have the money to go and I'm not sure I can trust my rad to get me there and back. It's not losing any fluid at all right now but this time next week I'll probably have to top it off twice a day lol. Sucks

 

Like a previous poster stated. If your not notching the housings you should do it yourself. Take your time tearing it down, label, clean and inspect. Porting is fun and if you come across any snags everyone here is willing to help. Good Luck

 

I just tore down my 12A this past weekend... I didn't know about warping issued until today as i went to put it back together... My first experience is a complete fail... any way to fix that before I go buy new housings?

 

if ur not going to build it, let the person that is tear it apart. that's something i'd hate to have to do is put and engine together someone else tore apart.

 

That makes sense I just figured it would further familiarize me with the engine and save me some money on the rebuild. Guess I better give the rotary doc a call before I crack it open and see what he says.