I have a blown apex seal. I had the car checked out at a few different places and I ended up at the Mazda dealer where they told me the engine was simply worn out. cylinder one had very little compression and cylinder two was flat lined. The dealership told me they could fix it, but it would cost me approx $5,600 They said they couldn't find a rebuilt engine, so they would have to order one from Mazda. I love this little car so I can't simply give up on it, so I came up with a new plan of action. I had Zippy(That's the name of my car) put on a flatbed, and towed back to my house. Now I'm looking for a rebuilt engine to get Zippy back to good. I can do the swap work myself, however I've never dealt with a rotary before, so I'm not comfortable with rebuilding it myself. If anyone had any suggestions on where I can get a rebuilt engine, or knows enough about the rotary to rebuild this one please let me know. Zippy is a 1986 n/a 13B.

 

well the parts alone for a rebuild run more than $1,000.
While it was probably ok to take the car to mazda to get them to figure out what was wrong, I definitly wouldnt leave it up to them to fix it. for 5600 you could have a damn strong running TII swap
Which is what you may want to consider. or look around the forums here for a reputable rebuilder. a rebuilt rotary shouldnt cost more than $2500-$3000 and its prime time for a streetport as well if you want to go that rout.

on a side note, i really hope mazda didn't tell you that your cylinders were bad. the only cylinders/pistons to be found in the car are in the brakes

 

I blew a seal on my back rotor about 2 months ago, got a used shortblock off the forums here for $600 or so after shipping. Swapped everything over (turbo, manifolds, etc.) and dropped it back in the car. Only took about a week after gettign the engine to have it back up and running.

 

Visit your local regional forum (link off main page) and find a local shop. They can assist you with a rebuild for a lot less then a Mazda reman.

The Mazda dealers don't care or know how to rebuild the rotary, and they wouldn't want to either.

 

I would reccomend Prather Racing in Wakarusa, Kansas( just south of Topeka) for a rebuild. They do great work and are very honest. You can find their website at www.pratherracing.com. They can do the porting and balance it as well. In any case, a rebuild is the way to go.

 

If Mazda said this, I would be worried about having them building a rotary engine.

 

I can pull, rebuild, and reinstall your engine for somewhere in the $22-2500 range most of the time, depending on condition of the core, including an 18 month warranty. I have a car from new york here right now and an FD got dropped off from SC earlier today. You're not that far away, I am about 4.5 hours from Cincinnati and 3.5 from Lexington. Let me know if I can help.

 

damn yea my engine is up at banzai and they just ripped it apart and both rotors and housing screwed..adding 600 for new ones plus the 1500 for rebuild..im thinking twice about this street port too. i go to school and work at super target..money not that great right now..hope it works out for ya though

 

I guess you mean used rotors/housings, as I'd love to know where to get ahold of new ones at that price.

 

What part of indiana are you in?

I am in louisville ky, i can build engines. There are also various other people who can as well.

I knwo jacob cartmill on the boards will build you an engine for about $200, after you get the parts and clean everything yourself, he is in bowling green ky right now

Chris ludwig (floyd ***** indiana), will build you an engine for close to $1200 inluding the new seals.

My friend jamie in palmyra can build engines, i dont know what he'd charge though.

If the corner seals, side seals, are still in good condition and all of the hard parts are re-useable you can order what you need from atkins for about $555.

If you are in need of housings for the engine, i have good used S4 NA housings i can sell for a good price.

Also i know jamie/jacob can port the engine for not too much extra money, and ludwig can too, but for more money, but he does fantastic work.

If you could bring the shortblock to cartmill, i'm sure he'd like to build the engine, he could always use some extra money, hustling on the streets isnt cutting it for him anymore. You could probably get yourself a re-built short block with a street port for less than $900. Then take into account, new fluids, clutch maybe, new fuel/vacuum lines, new injector o-rings/grommets, injector cleaning, new engine/transmission mounts. Not all are needed, but you should definately take them into consideration, and at least use new clamps on everything.

Also, if you are willing to wait a while, i am going to be doing a T2 swap on my GXL soon, and my na engine currently has only 73k on the clock, would be a good candidate to just swap into your car with new vacuum lines and intake and oil gaskets. Though i'm not sure when that will be happening so you may want to do something before then. Wouldn't want too much money for it either.

 

Those are used and within spec., new housings are around $500ea., new rotors are around $600ea. Just let me know asap, if you do not want it ported otherwise there will be no turning back.


Battmonkey1- Where are you In IN? Our price for removal, rebuild, install on an N/A is around $2400, that includes all the gaskets, fluids, etc.. Comes with a warranty as well.

 

Needless to say are you in northern or southern indiana?

 

I live in Noblesville, that's about 15 miles N/E of indianapolis.

I think the dealer thought I was completely ignorant about the rotary, and he was trying to explain the problem to me in terms he thought I would understand. I wanted to see how he was going to justify a $5600 repair estimate so I didn't correct him.

 

you are 137 miles from louisville, where im at, you could always bring it here.

 

Thanks for the mention but please don't quote a price for us again. I'd be happy to talk to BATTMONKEY1 about putting and engine together. Give us a call or drop me and email.

 

Actually after talking to a Mazda Master Mechanic he stated that they arent allowed to do "rotary engine rebuilds" once the motor is shot. They are required to remove and return the blown motor and a new (re manufactured) motor is what they replace it with. Call it "Mazda politics" he said.

 

The mazda assoc. I spoke to said " we can rebuild your engine, but the labor cost would be higher than simply purchasing a new(rebuilt) engine from mazda".
He wasn't one of the mechanics. He was the quote guy, and man was he trying with all he had to get me to spend $5600 to fix a $2000 car.

 

So, with all the offers you've been given in this thread, why are you still discussing mazda?