How much would it cost to rebuild a JDM 13b turbo 2 engine???

 

for a 1991 S5 rx-7

 

Hey, well the question you asked is soo broad.. you gotta specify what you want to do.

Replace Housings?
New seals all around?
paint the parts?
replace hoses?
broken parts?
porting?
do it yourself rebuild? or done by someone?

Like theres such a wide range. Give us some more information and we can better help ya out.

In Canada RPM Performance is a great source (Joe did mine)
In US Rotary Ressurection is a great source(Kevin)

They are not the only sources, but thats a starts. You can also do it yourself with a rebuild video, the FSM, and a chilton/haynes manual as well.

 

about 900 for new seals all around. more if you need to replace housings or rotors.

 

i was just about to make a thread about this as well... i can get an engine with no compression on the front rotor with turbo, engine and transmission for next to nothing but i need to know if it'd be worth it to wait for a good motor to come in from japan. i'm guessing since there's no compression on the front rotor all the apex seals are shot. the turbo seems fine but i don't know what else there would be involved in an apex seal blowout. (new to rotaries and just bought a 1990 GXL as a project).

oh and how hard is it to rebuild a rotary yourself? i'm not a mechanical idiot and have a few friends that have done full piston rebuilds themselves and one or two that know about rotaries. with all the videos/manuals how hard would it be to do over the course of a winter?

 

retro steve, i would honestly recommend the rebuild rather then wait for a good jspec. I mean it would be a bit more cash, however you FOR A FACT know that the engine is good because you rebuilt it. I mean most Jspecs are pretty good, but there still is some risk/chance in that.

I can post up a general rebuild cost so ppl can have an idea of how much it would cost, if that helps.

 

ya i'm not scared of the rebuild i just don't want it costing $2,000 to rebuild this "cheap" motor rather than paying $1,100 for one that's working with solid compression and low km's and since i'm a working student i only have a couple days per week where i can get to work on it so as long as it can be done over a winter for a good cost i'd do it

 

Even if you get a jspec, you should still rebuild it. It IS still over 15 years old after all. Doing a rebuild on a running engine will be about one thousand dollars. Like already stated you will KNOW for sure that it is good. And ready for another 15 years.

Don't rush a good engine. For a man who rushes an engine, is a man who pulls many engines on the same vehical. When it only needs to be done once, in good time.

 

well the cheap engine is half-running...no compression on the front rotor, but i'm getting the engine, turbo, ECU and tranny for $450. generally a working JDM engine and turbo alone sells for $1,100-$1,200 without ECU or tranny so i think even if i have to scrap the motor the ECU and tranny would be worth the $450

 

I think you should get the engine/tranny deal. If worst comes to worst, you will need a new housing and maybe rotor, but there are are periodically people that sell used but good condition housings. I personally would rather pay 2k for an engine I know is good and fresh (and comes with tranny) that 1k for one that supposedly has good compression, but probably old soft seals that could fail at anytime.
I am of the school of thought that even if a j-spec has good compression, its still a ticking time bomb because it could have been sitting there for 5+ years with the seals rotting.

 

has anyone here attempted a rebuild? on paper a rotary seems quite easy but i'm guessing that everything has to be built really tight with little/no room for error. i just need people to go to if i'm stuck on something during the process as i'm sure my piston friends can't help too much with fine details

oh and are the housings/rotors from the NA engine interchangable with the turbo? cause i'm sure i can pull some good parts off my NA motor if they can go on

 

iv done it

 

I have mine torn down, currently awaiting money for the seals. I'm hoping I get the money I need from parting out the car listed in my sig (shameless plug.)
I don't think it should be that hard. The hardest part seems like measuring out all of the parts to make sure they are in spec. They are very simple to assemble and dissasemble. Just make sure you label EVERYTHING and take detailed photographs.
As for the NA adn turbo housings, yes they are interchangable. The turbo's don't have the diffusers but they do have an extra coolant hole that needs to be plugged up.

 

ok i think this thread relates to me... i purchased a jdm turbo motor to replace the motor in my 86 gxl. it lasted about 2 weeks before i lost all comp in the rear rotor. i just recieved the master rebuild kit from atkins for 899. comes with everything. i had some good na housings that i had a machine shop punch out the exhaust baffle things out for 130. it was steep for what little work but its done. i have torn down many na motors and it took about 5 motors to get enough good matching parts to rebuild the na motor. your turbo will probably need a housing rotor and front and mid iron. i would plan on those just to be safe. i think if you do it yourself and need the parts listed then it will be about 1500 to do it yourself but remember even if you send your motor out to be rebuilt, you will still need to replace the pieces that are not usable. you have to take many many measurements on pretty much all the parts of the rotary to make sure that everything is in spec too. cant just tear it down, replace seals and re assemble. its tedious but not impossible.