I was bored so I worked up a sample budget for the first time builder. I know it can be done cheaper, I have done so myself countless times. Take a look at the list an you will see this engine is built to last a while. Things like crush washers and injector o-rings are addressed. This is just a stock S5 NA motor, nothing more. Many guys will have some of the tool listing, most will not. This list is intended as a guide, not a bible. Hope this helps someone...

 

thanx it took me about 2500 for just tools for the engine and the overhaul , and rotor kits...that included most of teh toold required for the rebuild and a port job.

Took me another 2500 to replace every single coolant and heater hose, clamps, starter, alternator, vaccum lines, new radiator, and blah blah blah

 

WOW, 5k, what all did you replace??

 

$5000? Must be Canadian money

I spent around $1500 for a rebuild including a new clutch, water pump, hoses, belts, vacuum lines, and some rebuilt fuel injectors.

Check out my page at: http://chris.redmonkeygames.com/RX7/

Just click FIXES and then PRICE LIST and itll show you how much i paid for some of the parts and where to get them.

I also have a review of vendors I bought from.

 

i spent 1300 CDN on the build

 

I have spent $400 on the car made $425 back on that so the car was -25USD. Then I spent 1500USd on a j-spec with tranny harness and ECU. Then about 200 on seals, dont remember now. Think im going to upgrade the apex seals/springs and corner seals. Still need Diff and driveshaft... so Im looking at another $600ish. So hopefully it comes under 2500 with misc stuff.

 

5K american dollars...

OVERHAUL GASKET KIT
ROTOR KIT
( included all new apex seals, corner seals, springs, blah blah blah)
BOTH ATKINS ROTARY VIDEOS
Racing Beat Flywheel NUT bar/stopper
Torque Wrench
Rebuild/blueprinted/cleaned Fuel Injectors
Thermal pellet
Oil Pump Chain
a Used Rotor
Used E-shaft
Used Side Housing
Chemicals/cleaners
Hose Techniques silicone vacuum lines
Maxdatrix, hoses ( bypass heater and coolant hoses at 30-40 bucks each hose)
Clamps
new Starter
new alternator
new V belt and air pump belts
Used CAS
NEW RADIATOR
New radiator Hoses
New Thermostat
RADIATOR CAPS
STREET PORT small one
ENGINE STAND AND CHERRY PICKER ( rented for 30 bucks) used 2 days.. so 60 bucks..
Their is a lil more i just cant remmber but that should be about 5-6k and still spending... lets keep in mind this just makes the car run stock hp
eclutchmaster CLUTCH w/ throwout bearing
NEW SLAVE CYLINDER
NEW CLUTCH MASTER CYLINDER
Resurfaced flywheel

 

wow, you shoud have just bought a new chasis at that rate the cars gotta be mint now though, definetly takes decitation to put that much effort and money into a car you're probobly not gonna get it back out of in $'s at least.

 

lol, hell no i wont get crap back... i love the 7 i guess and also seeing the baller's faces in their civics is priceless... ( i bought the car for 1500) but i didnt know it had a broken coolant seal. i didnt want to give up so i got a couple credit cards and rebuild it myself... I cursed a lot durign this process and the car still ahs low compression like 90 on front 90 on rear

 

did mine with about 1300 or so. I had to buy/rent all the tools as well as new engine hardware. So, i think i did pretty well with what i have.

 

budget rebuild in our case :


new apex seals ~$300 USD for set from Mazda
all new o-rings and washers - around $50 total, all local
new corner seal rubber plugs ~$30
new viton inner water seals ~$40 for set

thats it, around $400 total...

 

thats the way to go.. crack it open, reuse everything possible. Change only the parts that NEED to be changed. budget building.

 

I agree but a budget build is only good if everything is in spec. Usually, there is a reason we are cracking the motor open.

 

if water passage failed, we weld it and have it machined

if apex seal will fail, we replace rotor and housing as necessary...

 

I'll end up spending about 3k.

 

Jesus... I've spent maybe 200 bucks on mine...
The most expensive part was the 4 coolant orings, the layers were delaminated, and I didn't want to re-use them- $100 for that.
I needed a new side seal, (It disintgrated from detonation) and a few corner springs and apex seal springs that were flattened out. All else was fine- lucky.
Another 20 bucks on 4 injector grommets, 20 bucks for the side seal, about 20 bucks for hylomar, ultra copper, emery paper, and kerosene.
Engine lift was borrowed from the lcoal gas station... I had to pay 20 bucks for the big *** socket for the flywheel nut (Sears, of all places)

 

yeah, it gets really pricey when things arent up to spec, especially housings ... at 400-500 a pop, it adds up for everything.

 

thus far I have been able to find real good housing. But the supply is nearly exhausted. They can be done cheap, but i wonder how long they will last. Most Apex I measure show considerable wear. I think its just a matter of time until they roll out (3 piece)

 

Great thread. I probably spent $800ish in my build. I acquired some nice used rotor housings, one used rotor, center plate, and Rotary Aviation's O ring kit plus their apex seals, used micrometer and telescoping gages, and Racing Beat's flywheel nut wrench. Plus a home-made hoist and my standard set of hand tools.

 

Dont forget the "mile" of sand paper you used to get those ports looking so sweet.

 

Okay I'm not a mechanic, but I'm okay with tools. I'm smart enough not to take my RX to the dealership. Seriously, I have NEVER really done any work on an engine before. I have diagnosed dome problems and fixed some electrical and cable problems in my RX but thats about it. Is a rebuild somthing that I could do if I got the right equiptment? How can I mess it up and how much needs to be removed to get the engine out?

thanks
-Max

 

You need to do some searching and reading here in the forum. My reccomondations:

1. Buy the engine rebuilding tape from Atkins Rotary
2. Buy the Haynes Manual
3. Get a copy of the FSM
4. WATCH, READ READ and Read some more.

The tools/equipment from my list in the is a must from my opinion for doing the job right. Some guys crack them open, replace 0-rings and apex seals and slap them back together without consideration to clearances and wear. I feel this is a 20K patch in most cases. Not worth the time to me.

At the end of the day your budget will drive your decision.

 

You all seem to reuse rotor housings. Assuming you don't knock, how does your mileage compare to that of say a Pineapple?

 

That might be a hard question unless someone has bought a pineapple and built their own. I have not, however, I do know I have several engines running with over 100K on the clock since rebuild. I have a friend who still runs around in the RX-4 I rebuilt in 1980. His miles are low (75K since rebuild) but it held the test of time (body looks like crapola)!

 

mine prolly like 700 including the porting template and bits.

over 15k and running strong