E-shaft damage (just some rambling)
12-30-02, 03:19 PM
#1
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E-shaft damage (just some rambling)
A couple of months ago I purchased a '91 RX from South Florida. I originally saw it on Ebay and had bid around $1800 for it. It was advertised to be very straight and clean but with a blown motor. I was winning the auction when the seller pulled it from ebay a few days early. I assumed the seller had found a local buyer, a legitimate reason for stopping the auction.
I didn't think much of it until a few days later the seller contacted me and said he was in a bind and HAD to sell the car that week. We haggled over the price a bit and I got a few quotes for having the car towed from West Palm Beach, FL to Birmingham, AL. My final price was $1000 for the car (he was VERY desperate to sell it) and $525.00 for driveway delivery.
When I got the car the entire engine bay was COVERED in oil. I don't just mean it was dirty.. EVERYTHING was dripping fresh oil. The battery was dead and it had some awful looking lighted windshield washer nozzles. The interior was near perfect. The best looking interior of an FC I have ever owned. My only complaint for the interior was that the radio had been removed along with all 4 speakers. The body was not as advertised, I was told it had no dents, some door dings and a few chips in the paint. There is a spot of surface rust in front of the sunroof and a softball size dent with badly chipped paint on the passenger rear corner. All in all I still think I got a deal for $1525 total.
During the negotiation the seller sent me the paperwork from when he took the car to his dealership. According to the paperwork the motor started making loud squeaking noises and was running fine other than that. The dealership found that the main pulley on the e-shaft had "wobble" damage from the front pulley being loose. They recommended a remanufactured engine from Mazda at the tune of $4500.00.
Because of the race car and the renovations on my house I just did not have the time to try and fix the car and I felt it was too nice to part out. So I called Charlie at MazCare in Atlanta. He said that pulley damage to the crank is fairly common on other Mazda engines (maita, trucks, etc.) but he could not recall ever seeing it happen to the e-shaft of a rotary.
Because I have not found a rotary mechanic I trust here in central Alabama I decided to take it to MazCare to take a look at.
This past weekend I made the 180 mile tow and dropped the car off. If the damage is minimal then I could have the car back by this weekend. But if the damage is terminal I may have to tow the car back and let it sit until I can afford a new motor.
Has anybody else seen the main pulley on a rotary damage the e-shaft?
I didn't think much of it until a few days later the seller contacted me and said he was in a bind and HAD to sell the car that week. We haggled over the price a bit and I got a few quotes for having the car towed from West Palm Beach, FL to Birmingham, AL. My final price was $1000 for the car (he was VERY desperate to sell it) and $525.00 for driveway delivery.
When I got the car the entire engine bay was COVERED in oil. I don't just mean it was dirty.. EVERYTHING was dripping fresh oil. The battery was dead and it had some awful looking lighted windshield washer nozzles. The interior was near perfect. The best looking interior of an FC I have ever owned. My only complaint for the interior was that the radio had been removed along with all 4 speakers. The body was not as advertised, I was told it had no dents, some door dings and a few chips in the paint. There is a spot of surface rust in front of the sunroof and a softball size dent with badly chipped paint on the passenger rear corner. All in all I still think I got a deal for $1525 total.
During the negotiation the seller sent me the paperwork from when he took the car to his dealership. According to the paperwork the motor started making loud squeaking noises and was running fine other than that. The dealership found that the main pulley on the e-shaft had "wobble" damage from the front pulley being loose. They recommended a remanufactured engine from Mazda at the tune of $4500.00.
Because of the race car and the renovations on my house I just did not have the time to try and fix the car and I felt it was too nice to part out. So I called Charlie at MazCare in Atlanta. He said that pulley damage to the crank is fairly common on other Mazda engines (maita, trucks, etc.) but he could not recall ever seeing it happen to the e-shaft of a rotary.
Because I have not found a rotary mechanic I trust here in central Alabama I decided to take it to MazCare to take a look at.
This past weekend I made the 180 mile tow and dropped the car off. If the damage is minimal then I could have the car back by this weekend. But if the damage is terminal I may have to tow the car back and let it sit until I can afford a new motor.
Has anybody else seen the main pulley on a rotary damage the e-shaft?
Last edited by CarmonColvin; 12-30-02 at 03:35 PM.
12-30-02, 04:19 PM
#2
Former Moderator. RIP Icemark.
Not the E-shaft, but it is not uncommon to see, if the pulley was removed, and the clutch wasn't kept in while that was happening, the front thrust bearing can slip down out of alignment.
If the car was run with the bearing out of alignment, it pretty much eats up the bearing.
The solution is to remove the front cover (and everything associated with it), replace the bearing and re-assemble. It shouldn't have damaged the E-shaft however.
If the car was run with the bearing out of alignment, it pretty much eats up the bearing.
The solution is to remove the front cover (and everything associated with it), replace the bearing and re-assemble. It shouldn't have damaged the E-shaft however.
01-07-03, 11:00 AM
#4
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Bad News
Just an update on my motor.
After some looking around Mazcare determined that the main bolt came off the e-shaft and it was driven that way for some period of time (thus the fresh oil all over the engine). With the bolt gone the front pulley walked around and probably damged the e-shaft inside the front cover before slinging off.
The only way to really tell if the e-shaft was damaged was to pull the front cover off. To do this the oil pan, water pump, A/C, power steering, etc, etc. should be removed and that takes a few hours of work.
They suggested it would not be worth the expense and I should try to find a different motor (new, used, rebuilt, whaterver) and not waste hours of labor on this motor just to try and fix it when it has also had the possibility of being driven low of oil.
It looks like I will just go and get it later this week and let it sit until I can afford to rebuild the motor myself.
After some looking around Mazcare determined that the main bolt came off the e-shaft and it was driven that way for some period of time (thus the fresh oil all over the engine). With the bolt gone the front pulley walked around and probably damged the e-shaft inside the front cover before slinging off.
The only way to really tell if the e-shaft was damaged was to pull the front cover off. To do this the oil pan, water pump, A/C, power steering, etc, etc. should be removed and that takes a few hours of work.
They suggested it would not be worth the expense and I should try to find a different motor (new, used, rebuilt, whaterver) and not waste hours of labor on this motor just to try and fix it when it has also had the possibility of being driven low of oil.
It looks like I will just go and get it later this week and let it sit until I can afford to rebuild the motor myself.
01-07-03, 11:39 AM
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Re: Bad News
Originally posted by ThePartsTrader
The only way to really tell if the e-shaft was damaged was to pull the front cover off. To do this the oil pan, water pump, A/C, power steering, etc, etc. should be removed and that takes a few hours of work.
The only way to really tell if the e-shaft was damaged was to pull the front cover off. To do this the oil pan, water pump, A/C, power steering, etc, etc. should be removed and that takes a few hours of work.
01-07-03, 12:15 PM
#6
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A reputable shop pulling a motor or just stripping it down to get the front cover off is going to take longer than what you would. I would expect nothing less from them.
What has to be removed and how long it takes is not the issue. The problem is that the time spent could be just to find out that the e-shaft is bad and that still does not answer tell us if the motor had been run low of oil.
I could do it myself and will probably end up pulling the motor to rebuid it. Weather it takes me 2 hours or 10 hours... I just don't have the time to do it right now and don't know when it will get done.
What has to be removed and how long it takes is not the issue. The problem is that the time spent could be just to find out that the e-shaft is bad and that still does not answer tell us if the motor had been run low of oil.
I could do it myself and will probably end up pulling the motor to rebuid it. Weather it takes me 2 hours or 10 hours... I just don't have the time to do it right now and don't know when it will get done.
01-07-03, 12:50 PM
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i have seen a few engines loose the front cover bolt 86-90, they actually have a thing on the 91+ that keeps the front pulley bolt from moving. they gave you the correct advice not to tear it down btw, because the chances of it needing an engine is pretty high and its silly to pay them for all the labor to tell you it needs a motor again. if you had the time and pulled it apart yourself its a different ballgame. its too bad you are having to tow it all over the place to do that though
mike
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