motor disassembled, dreams crushed
 

okay guys, i pulled my gsl se motor apart last night to find a chip out of a coolant passage on the rear cover and a gouge in of the very bottom and outer edge of the rear housing. pissed off now. i do have a 90 motor sitting around, can i use that rear housing and or rear cover i need help ASAP

the motors out of a 90 n/a 13b 6 port

Sorry to hear. You are pretty much out of luck with parts from the '90. Starting with the 2nd gens, Mazda moved the coolant o-rings from the rotor housings to the irons. So if you tried to use the '90 rotor housing with the rest of the GSL-SE engine, you would have no place for the coolant o-rings. If you were going the other way (GSL-SE rotor hosings in '90 engine, then the o-ring channel would be too deep. You could, however, fill one side if this was the case.

What condition is the '90 engine in? You could put the guts of the SE engine in the '90 or do some other kind of combination depending on what you have available. Another option is to get a good/used part to replace your damaged one.

the 90 motor is good, the downside is i have a master rebuild kit for my se motor

couldn't you just use the front cover from the GSLSE engine and the rest of the 90?

i could yeah, but you have to keep in mind i bought a master rebuild for the se motor

Post some pics. Members here have rebuilt many engines.
I'm sure some have used parts or even runniing engines. Post a WTB thread in the classifieds when you decide what you need.

At least 3) GSLSE engines have been listed on ebay in the past month. All were offered as running engines. $500-$800 for under 100k engine in my experiences.

heres the housing

and the rear plate

can't you use the your SE internals with the s5 housings and plates? that way you can use the rebuild kit?

im asking you guys what you think, how bad do those housings look

I personally wouldn't use them. The chip on the rear iron looks like it wouldn't properly hold the coolant o-ring. You would probably get it fired up and then coolant would start going into the combustion chamber.

thats why i pulled the motor to begin with, thinking it was coolant seals but it probably was that chip, so im going to have to find either good used housings or a motor?

If you are not using the '90 for anything, I would go ahead and break it down and check it out. If the housings/irons are good on the '90, you could use them with the SE internals. Another option (if all parts of the '90 engine are in good shape) would be to trade your new 3mm GSL-SE apex seals for some new 2mm 2nd gen apex seals. Or you can machine the slots in the 2nd gen rotors to accept the 3mm apex seals.

Lots of options, but you need to first find what you have to work with. If the '90 is shot, then you'll just have to find a good GSL-SE rear iron and rotor housing.

im looking to keep it fairly simple right now, can i retain the se ignition system with the 90 motor, what would i keep from the se motor and what would i keep from the 2nd gen motor

I must say this thread title pretty much sums up many FD owner's experiences over the years :D

Nice chip. In a pinch I suppose you could drill a tiny hole in it and JB weld. Only in a pinch though.

im not in that big of a pinch, i would like to be driving the car, i havent even gotten to feel the new suspension bushings i got in it along with ball joint tie rods brakes. now the motors holding me back

You have my sympathies; one of the downsides of the simplicity of the rotary is that a failure usually involves at least one large and expensive part, since each major piece is a large percentage of the whole.

Just statistics, sadly. Fewer parts makes for simpler, but not cheaper, servicing.

well 2 rotor housings and the rebuild set are about the same as buying pistons and doing all the machine work on even a honda engine.

our last honda engine for the race car was $1600 and it was just rings, rod bearings and a valve job....

so what can i create with the combintation of the two motors while keeping it simple?

as stated above. us the gsl-se ecentric shaft and rotors, with the 90 irons and rotor housings.

the distributor is a drop in procedure. so you can retain stock ignition, and you can use the the stock SE computer for fuel, although down the road you might want to upgrade to get the most out of the engine

I would do what Addict suggested. Use the 3mm rotors/eshaft and use those in the 1990 motor. Return the rebuild kit if possible. Get a rotor kit and new seals for the housings/irons.

Use the GSL-SE Eshaft, rotors, and covers, and use the 90' housings and irons. Call up Atkins and see what they'll do for you on the rebuild kit.

OP - sent you a PM on your SE rebuild kit if it helps you out. Good luck,