Hello everyone, this is my first post in the big boy section. About 3 weeks ago i picked up an 88 RX-7 for $700. i knew when buying it then engine was blown. the PO had swapped his n/a for a tii. after towing it to my house and breaking down and pulling the engine, i finally got to find out the extent of the damage. the rear rotor and housing are completely shot. after cleaning the front rotor, i discovered one corner to be chipped or dented, and a couple 2mm pits on the face of the rotor. i haven't gotten a chance to clean up the other irons.

i'm looking for some advice. my budget is about$1600, but if an emergency arises i could go higher to say $2500.(my girl friend might kill me if i do spend that much tho, haha) should i try and find some used rotors and housing? if the side irons are ok? or should i buy all new pieces and rebuild the engine? after reading about jdm engines it seems that if i want to go that route i'm most likely going to have to rebuild it to have it operable. or should i just be looking for a short block 13b turbo, and if so i junk yard is as good any place to start looking right?

i can post pictures of the exposed irons and rotors, just let me know. (i'd have to borrow my girl friends camera)

 

We ALWAYS want pictures.

A good rebuild kit will cost roughly $1000. That isn't counting the rotor housings that you need to replace.

 

Depends?

What do you have now Turbo or N/a? If you’re going from n/a to turbo then 2500 is more the realistic point. If you’re going from n/a to n/a 1000-1600.

You could also look at New or newer Engines to put in while your rebuild this one; Just a thought remember, like you just found out it’s not what it seams...

 

toss that engine and get a new one.

 

After reading your post I think you want to learn about rebuilding an S4 13BT ( 4 port ) engine. If you have access to car parts yards then I suggest you start searching for another S4 13BT engine block. Make a list of the parts that are bad in your engine. Hopefully you will find another block and be able to pick the best parts from each and assemble a decent engine. The engine building section on nopistons.com is a good resource. The FSM also has good information about mixing and matching engine parts.

 

Couple options:
1. JDM engine swap.
2. Find someone to rebuild your current engine for hopefully not too much money.
3. Fix the car up (except engine) and sell it for a small profit.

I wouldn't go and start spending all kinds of money trying to get the motor back into shape. For the amount of money you are thinking of spending you can find a decent TII S4 or S5 "need car gone fast" type deal for cheap. Thats what I did.

 

the girl friend is still out so i dont have any pictures of the 13b opened up, i can take some tonight.

here are some pictures that i have on hand though. i dont have contact with the PO so i cant ask him any questions, what i was told was after he blew his n/a engine he put a 13b turbo'd engine into it. he ran it about 50k miles and then blew that one too. an apex seal in the rear housing trashed the rotor and the housing for sure.

 

if you don't want to take the time to rebuild it then part it out and find another project you're more comfortable with...

 

well the time isnt the issue, its more the price for a new rotor, probably 2, and a housing, plus the gasket and seal kit. i'm looking into getting a jdm engine from japan2la at the moment.