I got my engine running today , for about 30 seconds. I adjusted the dizzy , went to crank the motor and it sputtered and came to life. After about 30 seconds of running , it died and was extremely hard to turn over. I pulled the plugs on the front rotor and everything looked alright , got to the second rotor , pulled the trailing plug nothing . Finally , I pulled the leading plug #2 and the housing started bleeding flourecent green. It seems that one of my coolant seals has blown. Is there any way to tell if it is one of the intake o rings or a water jacket? If I squeze the upper radiator hose it forces water out easily , and also when I turn it over. I have put over 3000 into this project and cant give up on it . I am looking into another engine as we speak , but is there any hope for this one?

Depressed in South Georgia

peace

 

just rebuild it....sorry to hear that...

time to port!!!

 

Three points: 1) $180.00 for a Fel-Pro gasket set. 2)You're lucky, you didnt toss an apex seal. 3) For another $9.83 you can get a 12pack of Henry's to get friends over to help you!

There is ALWAYS Hope!

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence peeps. Im all in line for replacement engine while I rebuild (and port) my current engine which has bled to death.

peace

 

Man that sucks, well anyways if its coming outta the spark plug hole then there is no doubt that it is only the coolant seal and not the intake O rings.. Well getting to think about it, it could be possible the intake O rings and the intake gasket are bad, and its just leaking coolant straight into the intake ports... That would be sweet if that was it, only way to tell is to pull the intake manifold and look

Anyways, I got a line on viton o rings for the oil pedestal/cooler and the dowells.. You can buy the whole mazda kit and they come with them but Viton is way way better...

But anyways, since you didnt toss an apex its sortta a blessing in disguise...

Too bad you werent closer, Im sure jermey and I would help ya

 

Thank mike, I wish yall were closer too. (never had one of these open before , other than the front cover) Any words of wisdom (warnings) for this unknowledgeable attempt of rebuild . Im planning on buying mazdatrix rebuild kit for 90 and front and rear seals, should I order anything else (bearings, rotor oil seals, etc)?

peace

 

Id replace it ALL Then you got a fresh motor...

Only words of wisdom I can give you is, assembly is reverse of disassembly And may the force be with you

Its easy man, only thing hard is keeping the apex corners from flinging out, and putting the rear rotor in (you have to pull up on the E shaft and kinda fiddle with the rear rotor to get it in there) w/o the apex corners going PING and flying out or worse falling into the coolant areas of the housings.. word of advice super glue the corners to the apex and get a couple tubes of Hylomar selant and use the **** outta it on every rubber gasket and O ring minus the ones on the rotors dont use sealant on them Big coolant O rings the teflon white strip goes in the area of the spark plugs, the teflon goes toward the inside of the block Follow the Haynes manual or better yet the FSM...

 

he makes it sound like a walk in the park doesn't he. "oh just twist this little bolt, squirt in some oil and your good to go."

 

Haha, yeah. Hey Mike, been there a few times? I was thinking that after I get my beast on the road again, Im gonna look into a new (rebuilt) ported engine, or a 13BT swap...Or custom 12AT swap...I like turbos, I want one . That way, Ill have my "new" engine ready to drop in when my current one pops .

~T.J.

 

It shouldn't be that bad. Just take your time, "measure twice, cut once".

 

$180 for a Fel-Pro set???? Try HALF of that for a genuine Mazda set from Mazdatrix!

 

Thanks guys ,much apprecieated. As far as replacing the rotor seals and springs, I have three motors. I was going to replace all the rubber and springs and reuse all the steel (too broke to afford the $800 rotor rebuild kit) unless its excessively worn and out of spec. I was going to replace the bearings as well unless they are still in spec and show minimal wear.

peace

 

Really? I've been ripped off!! Had no idea the original stuff could be that cheap... oh well, live and learn.

 

It happens... I paid $220 for a Simpson helmet from Summit, a week later I saw that the same exact helmet was at Racer Wholesale for $120!

I just keep telling myself that if I bought it from RW, I would have had to pay shipping and wait a week or two, but buying it from Summit I just had to drive for a half hour and pick it up myself...

 

you could probably just get a gasket set and be good, those aren't that expensive. Be glad you don't have to replace all the seals and housings and what not.

 

Yea , I always thought that I would throw the apex with my style of driving . Again thanks for all the help (and please watch for more questions from me , Ill probably have plenty)

peace

 

I think you need to check www.revolutionrotary.com they have a nice rebuild kit for $560 I think

Theres a few things they dont include that mazdatrix does and vice versa... But anyways, check em out Also call them dont email them, they are bad about returning email

 

Oops 580, but heres there kit...

By the way notice they dont include side seals, or oil control steel rings for the rotors...

But they include rotor bearings (bottom left)... Everyones kit is a little different, but you be Ok usually with specing out the exisiting side seals, or oil control steel rings for the rotors. But definately replace the rubber rings inside them and the apex's

 

You dont think I could reuse the apex as long as they are within spec? I am definitely going to replace side springs, apex springs, oil control springs, all rubber seals, gaskets , corner springs and rubber inserts , and the end piece of the apex (little triangle). Also , the end plates and center plate have grooves worn into them (about 1/32"-1/16" deep) are they still reusable?

peace

 

The side housings will need to be lapped.. And for goodness sake do it right the first time, less hassle and problems