Mike's_2nd_Gen

Ok so whatever. Let the flamming begin.

I am ripping the motor out of my N/A 89. Now I can either rebuild my N/A using factory cleaned up parts and replacing what is bad, or I can buy an S5 Tii motor. Both are about the same in cost. My only draw back is not having the chance to clean up the S5 so my bay is actually nice. But it will save time to buy the S5 and it will give me more horsepower in the end, so???

Which would you do?

GohtretFC

.................................................. ...............................tii.

RX-7Tunner86

TII is the way

RB_eater

iTrader: (1)

Buy a TII engine, rebuild it and you're off.

13b4me

I believe there's a certain budget involved.

What are your intentions for the car? If you drive the car daily, and just want a little more power, I would suggest rebuilding the N/A engine with a healthy streetport and a few tasteful mods. A TII swap is a money pit waiting to happen.

TitaniumTT

^^^+1 - add up all the little things needed for the swap and you'll find that they are no where near in cost.

capn

TII or V8

TII will most likely be more cost effective, but what is your budget?

Mike's_2nd_Gen

I have added up all the things I will need for the swap. And I have added up all the things I would do if I rebuilt the motor already in my car. I can buy a Tii complete motor, trans, ECU, and harness for $1700. Plus a new radiator, drive shaft, and rearend. And if I do all the work myself, I will actually come out cheaper then rebuilding my old motor.

If I rebuild my motor, Im gonna pay about a grand for a new seal kit. Another $1000 for new rotor housings. About $1200 for new rotors. I believe a port job is somewhere around $500. So theres about $4000 with just that little amount of work. So.....

But if I buy a Tii, I can rebuild it later. And then yes, it will be my money pit. lol.

But so far Im not too sure of my budget. Somewhere around $3000, maybe more. I just dont know the max yet. But the base is $3k.

melicha8

iTrader: (1)

Unless your rotors were damaged you could probably take that off the list and substitute it for some lapping on the plates. Mazda doesn't specify that as a consumable part like it does the rotor housings

Mike's_2nd_Gen

Well my rotors are good, but I was thinking about replacing them anyway, just to be on the safe side. As I have started pulling the motor, which is just about out now, I have found that most parts are original, such as the vacuum lines. Most of them have broken from being so brittle. Most of the hoses are bad. Gaskets and seals are shot. And all of this is only on the outside, so it worries me about whats on the inside.

But it has taken me two days to get the motor stripped down to the bare block, all except the pulley tower on the front drivers side. I cant figure out how to get it off. But most of the other parts are surprisingly in good condition. I mean other then some build up on the inside they are great. A little cleaner to the outside and everything has cleaned up nicely. So I may start selling stuff off, although I dont know if people would want to buy N/A parts.

But it has been alot easier then I thought it would be pulling this motor. Usually imports are a pain to take apart. But this has gone fairly easy.

capn

if the rotors are within spec theres no reason to replace them. Unless you are super paranoid that a 20 year old peice of metal has somehow become something other then metal.

Juiceh

iTrader: (4)

Your talking about a used Jspec engine aren't you? If so, keep in mind that the engine may need to be rebuilt before you put it in. Jspec engines tend to be about a 50/50 gamble. Some people get good engines that run for tens of thousands of miles, and some people get blown ones that need to be rebuilt before installation. If you get a blown one then there goes your budget. Alot of these engine importers don't give 2 ***** if they send you garbage engines either. There are quite a few people that have been thoroughly fucked by importers like OsakaJDM etc. and these importers have basically told them to **** off.

Good Luck!

Mike's_2nd_Gen

Well thats just it. Im worried about a piece of 20 year old metal.

The main reason Im leaning to the Tii swap instead of the rebuild is because of price, ease of restoration, and power (both stock and future). Plus the Tii only has about 25k on it. But I would rather bolt in an already built motor, then having to deal with ordering parts and then rebuilding the motor, then putting it all back together then reinstalling it.

So Im probably going with the Tii swap.

Edit: Juiceh, have you heard anything about JDM Engines Corp.? Thats the company I am thinking about, and most of my friends swaps have come from them and they havent had any problems. I just want to see about this company, cause now you have me a bit worried.

Juiceh

iTrader: (4)

Few more things to think about with JDM engines:

They will advertise "LOW MILEAGE" and say it only has 25K or so on it, but can they prove that? NO! Unless you actually get the front clip with the odometer there is no way to know what kind of mileage that engine truly has.


Jspec engines can sit in junkyards for YEARS before you buy them. Your worried about the 20 year old engine you have in your car? Guess what? The engine your buying may have sat in a junkyard for years as well.


Have your friends imported any rotary engines from these guys? Piston engines are more reliable from JDM importers because they might actually understand how those engines work and know what to look for in a good engine. From what I have gathered most importers probably don't know much about rotaries but will look at it and say "hey its an engine! Lets sell it anyway!" and sell you a gamble.

If you really want to do this right and not have to worry about the potential headaches that await, I would recommend contacting an experienced engine builder in the states(pineapple,A-spec,Banzai etc.) and have them build you an engine. Its gonna cost more, but you will have one hell of a solid engine to start with, and you'll never have to worry about the condition its in before you get it.

TehMonkay

iTrader: (-1)

I would'nt put a j-spec in anything without taking it apart first. One i had had bad coolant seals.

Buy a $292 o-ring and gasket kit, and rebuild the engine with soft seals, if it really is well taken care of and low mileage, this shouldn't be any issue, and you know that the unused rubber inside has dried up and cracked and that the irons arent rusted.