Bye bye engine... Now what?
 

Well, today went to start my TII and low and behold it sounded like shit. Did the ghetto compression test and it revealed no compression on the front rotor. :( Looks like the rebuild is coming a little sooner than expected... So with that being said I am trying to work out a parts list/ game plan for the car(this is going to be my very first rotary build) . My HP goals are around 300hp with a little room for growth. I plan on staying stock intake ports for simplicity reasons, but making my exhaust ports bigger. There is a huge option for apex seals, (yes I have searched on reviews) and I am not really sure what to go with. I am leaning towards the goopy oversized 2mm seals because I have heard good things. Does anyone have any reviews on other seals they are running? On top of those seals I was going to get a rebuild kit from atkins (not sure which one yet, going to wait until after tear down), is there any place to get a quality rebuild kit for cheaper? Lastly is power. I think Im going to run rtek 1.8, with an upgraded bnr stage 2 turbo, maybe vmic but probably fmic. Will that get me anywhere near 300hp? What other equipment would I need? (besides fuel and cooling I have that figured in) Thanks

I think you should wait and open your engine up first and see what you have to work with before going all bananas and ordering stuff that you may not need.

I like the expression , don't go bananas :P
Just get that engine running again
Just that is a lot of work

First order of business in ANY engine rebuild, is teardown, cleaning, and inspection. Then, and only then, is it worth even thinking about parts and upgrades. You may find you need some irons or housings, and your budget can get eaten up pretty quick. Rock stock could start sounding pretty good at that point.

i have found that if you pull the engine apart, and measure everything, this tells you what to replace, and it takes forever to do all the measuring. it is the least expensive way, and you will know that everything in there is good.

Lol you're gonna scare the guy (and others reading)...it's not _that_ bad. :lol:

lol, ok it adds several hours to the engine build, so instead of 6 hours of cleaning, and 45 minutes of assembling, its like 6 hours of cleaning, 3-4 hours of measuring, and fitting, and then 45 minutes of assembling.

It's really not bad when you plop in front of the TV with a tasty beverage and good lighting on a coffee table. Really helps pass the time.

Anybody have experience with the rebuild DVDs?

I think they help , but the essential you can find on YouTube , even Hayne's Manual is decent

Watch aaroncake's rebuild videos on YouTube. They cover everything.

3-4 hrs measuring.. EVERYTHING?? like for real, i usually just measure all the rotor parts, but skip the housing/bearings, unless they show signs of significant wear... and that takes an hour maybe. 20+ engines later i haven't had to go back behind myself..

Thanks for all input. Is getting the housings lapped really worth it?

Whats going to scare him is the cost of the rebuild parts. MAn 20% discount last summer the side seals were $22 plus tax each!!

Not sure I would keep using your "discount"...
https://www.mazdatrix.com/getprice.asp?partnum=11-C110-N3Y1

Just don't use mazdatrix for FD side seal springs lol

I live in Canada. By the time I get that $18 part in the states. Pay for exchange, duty, shipping, brokerage it would be $30 a side seal!!

yeah, there is a specs page in the back of the manual, and i kind of just go down the list, its dumb, but no brains no headaches

Is it 1978? No? Then lapping isn't worth it.

u fkn wot m8

Rebuilding isn't nearly as bad as some people make it out to be. Plus once you're done you know where everything goes in your engine bay and future repairs will go very quick. What I did was took Thursday and Friday off from work so it gave me a 4 day uninterrupted window to pull the motor out and tear down. Then you want to clean very well with scotch brites, picks, degreaser, etc. Inspect everything thoroughly, the rebuild videos will show you what to look for and are very helpful. Once you inspect everything, then place you order for replacement parts. When rebuilding my FD I found a oddly cracked oil control ring and of course a snapped coolant seal but my apex seals, corner seals, and side seals all fell within specs. So you just never know until you get in there for yourself. Good luck! Crack open a beer, put on some tunes, and enjoy it!