Hello all. I've owned my 7 for about three years now, and have worked on it here and there, mostly aesthetic stuff. Now, I'm about to start my biggest project yet. The rebuild.

It overheated and fried the water seals, so I'm going to try and do an amazing job on this build. I hope to make the engine bay as clean as the rest of mt car. I'm going to try and get rid of as much as possible to simplify and really clean it up. I'm sure I'm going to need assitance on the reassembly, so I'll be looking to you guys.

It actually has been rebuilt before and was running good untill the thermostat went.

Anyway, here she is

Here's a good/clean pic



Dirty, neglected and not running



The problem...
Hopefully there is no warping



And here are some before pics





My plans aren't to bold. Just want to get it running right and looking clean. Maybe I'll consider a racing beat full exhaust, but I'll have to see how much the rebuild is going to cost. I'm sure I'll do a few small things along the way as well, and will post on here. This is my first rebuild so I may need help. I'm taking mass pictures too so I think that will help. Any advice would ba appreciated.

 

Here are some pics from my first day of stripping. Not much, but it's a start, and I only worked for a short while after work. All the intake is out, the intercooler and blow off valve, radiator fan and shroud, alternator, all the easy stuff. I'm bagging, grouping, and labeling everything as I go though. I'm trying to keep this organized. I want to do it right.

I'm planning on relocating the battery, getting an intake, and getting rid of the power steering all to simplify and make space. Thats nothing big but it makes the bay look much cleaner. But, how is the steering with a manual rack? What are some thoughts and opinions.





The turbo!

 

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. My car looks great, just lacks in the engine department :P My simplifying plans, for my 88 T2 was and are removal of AC (done), depowered steering rack (done and a lot easier than it sounds), removal of most of the rats nest, and an electric fan. I got lucky and got a full mazda oem seal kit for really cheap. Overall i estimate my cost with buying new rubber lines and the rest of the gaskets i might be touching $1200 on this rebuild, but that is with everything for the internals.

Getting the engine out is not hard at all. I bagged and labeled just like you, you should be fine. Taking everything off the engine and apart has been relatively easy, the only difficult part i expect is how to properly set the seals and clearance them to a specific size. I wish you luck, and as a first time rebuilder also, it's not a hard task to rebuild these engines

 

Your car is immaculate!!

 

yea im right there with you on the 88 rebuild except im poor and my body isnt very clean or un dented my ava is a good befor picture any hint or tips or problems you had ob the way would be most greatly appreated ohh and could you tell what kind of rims those are ive been looking for something like it cause i was planing on murdering my car (PITCH BLACK) and those rims would look very nice with my mental image

 

ohhh btw did that turbo have pre exsisting coolent in it or was that from stripping it ( from the pic it looks like coolent might have been gangreen lol)

 

It's been nearly a year since I converted from power to manual steering and I can't remember a single instance when I was sorry...and every time I pop the hood I appreciate the extra space/lack of clutter.
I deleted the AC at the same time, so the difference in the bay was quite noticeable.

 

That was from when I took off the upper radiator hose. I'm pretty sure some spilled into the open TID. Not much though, just a splash.

I have my first question. Inorder to take out the AC, it has to be depressurized. The car doesn't run, so does this mean I have to get someone to make a house call or can I get the tools to do it.

Edit:

They are actually a replica off ebay, I believe of an old motegi wheel. They are decent wheels. I'm considering getting different wheels soon anyway if you would be interested you could take them real cheap.

 

Anyone know on the A/C?

 

Why are you disconnecting the A/C? You don't need to, to pull the engine. I would try and avoid de pressurizing the a/c system unless you absolutely have to, especially if you still have R12 in there. Legally, and technically, you should have someone "reclaim" the R12, but realistically you can just open it up and vent it to atmosphere, just keep your body parts away from it and do it in a well ventilated area.
But, it's going to cost a lot of money to refill it. So, think twice before you dump it.

 

I see. Can I remove the pump without depressurizing the system? I really want the block stripped for cleaning and paint. Sorry if I sound like a newb, its my first rebuild.

 

You don't really have to remove the pump, just take it off the bracket and lay it on the side without disconnecting the hoses. You just need it out of the way to get the motor out. If you wanted to depressurize it it would recommend getting it towed to an a/c place and doing it there. The gas will fog your whole neighborhood if you do it at home as i've been told.

 

A shop would be glad to take that r12 off your hands lol. The stuff is valuable and hard to come by but anyways its easy enough to just let it go to the atmosphere nobody's gonna know. I seriously doubt it would fog up your neighborhood...

 

Well, I guess I'll update and put up some more pics. I've been working slow. I work full time and there are so many distractions on the weekends.. My dad has this lake house and I'm always down there, so most of my work has been brief after work. But, finally I stayed home and got some good work done with some friends. Considering the time I have put in it, its going easier than expected. I have stripped about everything. I probably didn't need too, but I have never pulled an engine and I don't want to somehow break something. If I can use my friends hoist, I'm going to get it out on sunday.









Here are the manifolds. They seem really built up. Could I send them off and have them polished or something? Is there anything I can do about it myself? Sorry the pictures are not the greatest, I only have a cheap camera...

 

Awesome TII man, it's so clean.

 

As far as the manifolds go, If you soak them and do some heavy duty scrubing they might look decent. Or you can get them media blasted and they'll look brand new. The shop that that ceramic coated my turbo manifold blasted it before hand.....actually u might wanna look into ceramic coating if you're going to send them out.

Also, is emissions removal an option for you?

 

it's a 20 year old cast iron turbo manifold. Just scrub the big junks of crap off of it, inspect for any warping or cracks, and move on to something else. You did say you want the car running by the end of the summer right? And you don't get that much time to work on it? Don't get sidetracked.

 

^ good point, I didn't even read that portion.

 

In Virginia there is no emission testing for inspection or anything. Not that I'm aware of. It probably wont be my daily anymore either. What other problems might I have ( with legality )?


The manifolds, I don't really want to send off, and cleaning probably will be sufficient. If anyone has any tips or anything. I'll try some engine cleaner/degreaser or something.

 

Got the engine out on Sunday. Oil and coolant spilled out of the housings when we were moving it. I doubt I have any of the soft seals left. No good. I couldn't get my hands on an engine lift. My friend who I was going to use was out of town, and any rental places were closed on sunday. So, I had to redneck it out. Not the best idea I know, but it went smoothly. Here are a few pictures I took right after. Nothing too interesting yet.






I'll be getting into it this week, getting to the problem, and ordering parts. I'm going on vacation when the parts will be in shipment too so that worked out nicely.

 

Where can I get the pilot bearing and dowlpin puller? Are they common tools?

 

I know for a fact you can rent the pilot bearing puller from autozone if you put down a refundable when returned deposit.

 

Well in that case, don't let not nan-one of them emissions components sneak its way back into your engine bay. Add some blockoff plates to your parts list (or trace the gaskets and cut your own out of some decent gauge aluminum). There's a good emissions removal writeup here http://www.rotaryresurrection.com/2ndgen/techmenu.html


There are also tips on engine breakdown/ cleaning proceedures on the aforelinkedto site.

 

^^
Helpful post, thanks. I remember seeing that emissions page back when I was searching about doing the rebuild. Its good, and I didn't save it when I came across it.


Also, what kind of PSI should I use on my impact wrench for the flywheel nut? I borrowed a tank and wrench from work. I think the tank is 125 PSI and the wrench maybe around 250 Ib. I don't think that will be enough. That sucker is on at like 300 Ib if I'm correct. I gave it a shot tonight with about 120 PSI and it didn't budge.

 

Well, this has turned out to be very slow. I was hoping to be done this week, or atleast getting the engine back in the car. I'm only like two weeks behind where I wanted to be though. And, that was mostly because of small snags here and there with tools or what not. Anyway, the parts are on their way and if they come early this week I should be able to get the block back together before I head back to school.

I bought a gassket kit and front/main seals from mazdatrix. Also I broke three side seals when plucking the rotors and a dowl pin I broke trying to pull. I'm getting those too. I need to know if the mazdatrix gasket kit comes with the rotor oil control ring "O" rings? I want to replace all the rubber seals/gaskets. I think I can reuse all my apex seals, springs and what not.





Here are the housings after a light cleaning. If anyone sees anything that looks bad let me know. I don't know what to look for like some of you guys. I need to get some precise measing tools to check for warping before I reassemble.











The rotors cleaned up nicely I thought.





Sorry to be making so many seemingly pointless posts. Figure you guys might catch something I wouldn't from the pictures. Say something if I'm doing something wrong.