Well...

With enough money and mechanical resources/knowledge/experience/time, you can put anything in anything else. The question is will the swap be worth your time (but mostly money), and are the expected differences realistic.

There isn't anything particularly unreliable about the 13B-REW (3rd gen engine) if taken care of properly (as with any engine, rotary or piston). All rotary engines are particularly robust in design as they have nearly no moving parts (relative to piston engines with their valves, cams, rods, etc).

The rotary's biggest weakness is heat. Due to the materials used (almost always aluminum any more, and iron for some engines' apex seals) the engines are heat sensitive. This is especially an issue because of the unusually high level of heat generated by normal rotary operation. That's also why you'll see oil coolers on most (all?) second gens (I don't know if third gens have them but I'm pretty sure they do).

There really is a lot that can be said on the topic but I'll get distracted if I say too much more. Suffice it to say that you could probably stick a 13B or 20B or Chevy 350 or whatever you wanted in your 3rd gen, but why? The point and the glory of RX-7s and third gens is that with 1.3 liters, you get (in 3rd gens at least) 255HP. Pull that out of your *** with a piston engine.

The swap is not only unnecessary, but pointless, in my opinion. You'd have less power (assuming your 2nd gen 13B is stock, even if T2). What owner of a rotary vehicle (or anything else for that matter) wants less power?

Brian

 

Your going about this *** backwards....

3rd gens are a 'hassle' becuase of the retarded vacum based sequential turbos. Do the reliability mods, goto non-sequential turbos and the 3rd gen wont be that bad-

 

Im sorry, but that would be gay. The only reason that 2nd gen engines last longer is because they aren't producing as much boost. NA engines last the longest (no boost), and a 165hp or so 3rd gen would be the sorriest thing on the road. Stick with the 3rd gen engine.

 

I'd have to agree with Dyre on this one. If you like the 3rd gen style better (weirdo... ) then do what is necessary to make the 3rd gen as reliable as you want it to be. And keep in mind that most all mods that gain you serious power increases also seriously deteriorate your daily driver reliability unless you do other stuff to make the rest of the car handle the new power/suspension/whatever...

 

if you dont crave speed, get rid of the turbos all together in a 3rd gen and run custome exhaust piping.. i dunno how that would work but im sure it would.

scott

 

It would be a waste of time and money. The engines are, to a point, all the same basically. The 3rd gen engine are beefier inside, but run at higher boost. If you run a 2nd gen engine with the same higher boost you have the same problem.

Another big problem would be the engine mounts. On a TII engine the mounts are located on the Middle iron side housing. On a 3rd gen they are located on the rear iron housing. YOu will waste more money trying to put in a the engine in and trying to modify it to make it sit safely in the engine bay. And that's only one problem.

The reason 3rd gen look unreliable is the vacumm tube mess that control the turbos and few other stuff. If one tube pops off, it will cause problem, like low boost. If you want to make them more reliablable, people either run the twin turbos non sequentia or upgrade to a single turbo for simpler operation.

Just my 2 cents
C

 

How reliable is a 2nd gen TII running higher boost (as well as all the other standard goodies to do it safely like intercooler and fuel upgrades)?

I'm thinking of buying a TII for a fun weekend car to do some light drag/road racing in, but if its going to be a maintenance nightmare....

 

Just get a third gen and go single turbo. It's really easy, and if you have the money to correctly retrofit an FD with a TII's 13B then you have enough money for the HKS or GReddy single turbo upgrades.

Not only will this make it more reliable, but faster, which as far as I can tell, is always a good combination.

Hmmm... I'm pretty sure you should just go out and get a 3rd gen right now. =)

 

All 3rd gens have at least one oil cooler, on the driver's side. The R1/R2s have a pair of them, driver/passenger.

To make a 3rd gen reliable (relatively speaking) keep it close to stock, perform all maintenance, and run stock boost.

 

so lets get this straight. you are poor, and you want to buy a third gen (at least a rolling chasis) then go through the expense of swapping in a weaker motor. cus you think it will ton only be cheaper, but also more reliable. mmmmmmkay.

that would be AT LEAST 2 times as expensive (assuming you get a completely gutted fd, which are still pricey for a good chasis) than just buying a nice n/a fc.

i mean what do you have against an fc? sure they may not have the cachet of an FD but if you're not made of money its as good as its gona get.

listen. rx7s ARE reliable if well maintained; however one should never realy be REALIED UPON as a daily driver. these cars just arent toyota corolas, and if you try to make them into ones, not only are you wasting your time and money, but you will be sorely dissapointed.