bcbjj

I was just wondering what the general consensus was on the difficulty of swapping a NA 13B with another. Could a reasonably mechanical person do this or is it just more trouble than its worth and just take it to the shop?

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

If you are mechanically inclined and can follow the directions in the Haynes or Factory Service Manual, you should have no trouble.

phoenix7

if you're going from an S4 NA to S4 TII or S5 NA to S5 TII the it will be plug and play (simpler, not easy) if you're changing series then you have to do wiring work which is a bitch and a half.

Having the right tools helps and having a friend help will come in handy also. I had never done any kind of mechanic work ( besides oil changes and lil things like that) and it was not hard. I kinda do like tearing things apart and putting them back together though so i guess I'm mechanically inclined.

ABCDEfb

+1 on the staying in series. I went s4 na to s5 TII and still have wires leading to nowhere. But alas... it does run.

apexFD

I helped my one buddy swap out a stock replacement engine, it wasnt bad at all. We pulled out the tranny with the blown engine still attached to it, then put the tranny on the new engine and put it all back in the car.

I would recomend labelling everything if you have never taken an engine apart.

-Ben

phoenix7

labels or very detailed pics are a must!

MidnightOwl

It's not very hard, few plugs, and 6 bolts. Few hoses too. Requires beer, however.

Soma

Get an engine hoist, a couple of friends, a few beers for your friends, a bunch of labels and go spend some quality time with your FC!

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

I did an Engine Swap,By Myself..in a driveway.If a "semi Paralyzed 46 year old" can do it..I think you can...I took the Wiring out from the passenger side..From the ECU,and Kept all of it on the engine.I disconnected the Other side,Pertaining to the Starter.coils,Fuel etc,and Marked them,.,it was pretty Easy,Over-all..If you have done a Piston engine swap,this car should NOT pose a problem to you..Just take your time,Be observant and things should Be Up and Running in no time..Good Luck..STYX!~

imloggedin

http://www.rotaryresurrection.com/2n...e_removal.html this will give u a decent idea.

bcbjj

thanks for the replies guys.

InsomniacFC

iTrader: (4)

I did 90% of the swap myself and had my pop and my buddy helping me out a bit and it took me a weekend and i'd never done anything close to an engine swap before. I think the most labor intensive thing i'd done (on the RX-7, or any car for that matter) was perhaps a brake change or tune-up. There's actually not a lot to do, it's just a pain to loosen all those bolts that have been in stasis for 20+ years (especially the powersteering pump). My advice is to read the engine removal section in the Haynes manual and the FSM a few times till you're familiar with what kind of job you have ahead of you.

Also, put the nuts and bolts you remove in some plastic baggies and label them accordingly (radiator, tranny, driveshaft, etc....) as it will save you some confusion when you put the motor back in. I did that with 50% of the bolts and was cursing myself later on.

Regarding the labeling, I got a sharpie and labled the plugs themselves and the plug I disconnected it from instead of using tape. It's probably not what everyone would do, but it worked for me.

Make sure you budget in new oil, oil filter, exhaust mani gasket, anti-freeze, tranny fluid, tranny seals, motor mounts, and perhaps a new clutch kit. This'll probably all set you back $300. You could probably re-use your old exhaust gasket, but it's probably rank and will fall apart when you take the mani off. Tranny fluid because it'll all come out the tail end when you remove the driveshaft if you take the tranny out with the motor. No one told me that bit o' information! Tranny seals because they're old and they're also cheap. If you have nasty black grease in your bellhousing replace them for sure. And a new clutch and motor mounts for obvious reasons.

Good luck with your swap!

Sindregutt

Its easy... Just have the FSM for both engines and you`ll be fine!

Romanator

iTrader: (13)

If you plan to swap your n/a for another n/a same series (s4 or s5 whatever you have) it`s basicaly plug and play. If going from n/a to a t2 then you got headaches and a money pit to deal with. Just remember to label are your sensors, your hoses and all that stuff. And all the best to you and your rotary.

My5ABaby

iTrader: (7)

I helped a friend do it and it's easy as long as you have the right tools.

jboze84

Stick to the same series... My swap has been a year and a half and still going... I guess not having enough money to cover replacing damn near everything on a car that's been unproperly stored for 10 years is the main thing keeping it from running at this point.

If I could do it all again w/ a car that just died and a new engine from the same series then maybe a weekend or two would do the trick. Definitely get a couple friends to lend you a hand and try to label everything like others said.