I have a 90 Convertible that has no compression in the rear rotor. I know that I will either have to rebuild or have the engine rebuilt. How hard is the rebuild? Where would be the best place to get the parts? Would I be better to find an engine for the car from a junk yard? Or should I get a remanufactured engine and drop that in?

 

If you have to ask, you are NOT qualified to do it yourself. I know some people have done it after watching a video, but it's a risky way of doing it IMHO. And, NO, don't get an engine from a junk yard: you have no way of knowing what condition it's in. The way I see it, your options are:

1. Drop in a JDM engine, may require tranny, ecu and other hardware
2. Find a used, running seven with good compression and use ITS engine in your seven
3. Have pros rebuild it for you--Atkins, RotaryResurrection, etc...

Rebuiding a rotary takes skill and knowledge, which you clearly lack. Save yourself money, time and headache/heartache--Let the pros do it.

 

man, that's a bit harsh don't you think? personally, i am of the opinion that anyone can learn (including myself), and that if a person has the time and patience, then doing your own rebuild would be a great/fun learning experience. just my 2 cents

 

if u have basic machanic skills.. then with instructions u should be able to do it yourself.. i do all my work myself, and all i use is a hanes or some eqivilant manual....just take determination and patience.. watch a rebuild video a few times to get fimiliar with everyhting then set a vcr up in your garage and start your rebuild..(rewind as needed and everyhting so u have a reference incase u need help) this is what ima do.. since ill be attepmting my first rotary rebuild soon...

i look at it as a chance to learn more about the rotary..

 

Looks like someone didn't follow instructions on his first rebuild...

Honestly, it's not as hard as it sounds. The key is to follow instructions and to take your time! If you don't have a good full weekend to give to the project, or possibly longer, then i'd advise not doing it.

 

The best thing to do is buy yourself a video/dvd, then watch it a few times. Then you can make the decision on wiether or not it is a project that you would like to do. If you decide that you do not want to do it, then you can at least talk intelligently to whoever is building the engine, since you will have a basic understanding of how it is done.

 

^^^^^^^^^best advice yet.........

spend the 20-30 bucks on the rebuild DVD or VHS and watch it...

ONE THING.... i don't have any experience with the DIY_RE dvd that's been advertized.. BUT if you get the Bruce T video.. there is NO WAY IN HELL you are going to get the nut off the back of the flywheel with a two foot breaker bar while the engine is sitting on the floor.. lemme repeat that.. NO WAY IN HELL..

If you don't have a 600lf-lb air gun.. then you need the flywheel holder tool and a three foot piece of conduit on the end of the breaker bar and you do it BEFORE you take the motor out of the car so that the motor mounts and the holder tool can help ya out...

 

Um... These are practically the same thing...

A JDM engine should be rebuilt before you drop it in, as would the engine you get from a junkyard. Most JDM engine importers do not give very much detail about their engines. You won't know how long that JDM engine has sat, could be 10 years.. You can get a perfect JDM engine but the chances of that are around 2/5 it would seem judging from forum members experiences.

 

I got the flywheel nut off while the engine was on the ground with a 3 foot wratchet with a 3/4" drive and a 5 foot pience of heavy pipe. I made my own flywheel holder, it was pretty basic, then got someone to stand on the engine while it sat on 2 by 4's so the oil pan didn't get crushed... lol. Once I got that 5 foot piece of pipe on there it was no problem!

The harder part that pissed me off was getting the flywheel itself off... the puller I used was useless. I just ended up putting a piece of wood infront of it and wailing it with a sledge a few times... just make sure the flywheel nut is still threaded on a bit so that the flywheel doesn't come flying off and kill you.

I say go for the rebuild....

 

Must of this has been covered in the Archives. I have a thread that goes through an engine build in detail, and there are several threads on which kits/seals/etc. are the "best".

Check out:
https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showthread.php?t=395019
https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showthread.php?t=374810
https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showthread.php?t=303299

 

yeah I think just getting some material and learning yourself would be the most economical way, plus you get the satisfaction of knowing exactly what's inside your engine. Being a mechanic, I always feel uneasy letting anyone else do work for me unless I'm there watching. No one's going to care about your engine as much as you do.