Hi there guys,

I just bought an 89 GTUs that was running rough, and sure enough like myself and the PO thought the engine is blown. I pulled a plug from each housing and cranked it, the front is very strong, but the rear has nothing so I'm thinking it threw a seal.

Anyway I just wanted to know what you all thought about a Reman VS. a rebuild.
I'll probably need a new rear housing, rotor and side irons So I was thinking a reman would be my best bet, and I have a friend who knows a mechanic at a mazda dealer who may be able to get me an S5 Shortblock For 1800 plus tax after my core credit.

I know with a rebuild I can get a nice Streetport, but feel like having no streetport will be more reliable.

I plan on just using this car for autocross as I have a DD, and I will be installing the engine myself. I also don't have the tools or space to rebuild the motor myself.

Please help me decide,

Thanks,

-Ian

 

No streetport will be more reliable, but you'll have streetports that break 100k miles, so I don't know how much reliability you're going for.

My advice: take this to a trusted motor rebuilder. Have them tear the engine apart and inspect the housings, rotors, etc. That way, you'll know if you really have to replace parts or not.

For one person, I would speak to Kevin Landers/Rotary Resurrection. He can judge pretty well if housings that look worn can actually still be reused. You may not make as much power as you would have if you had a new housing, but it would be a lot cheaper.

A caveat to porting for autocross: Engine mods will raise you a bunch of classes in SCCA, so if you plan to run with them, you may want to reconsider porting. NASA Auto-x's have a much more port friendly classing structure.

The GTUs is probably most suited to STS2 class in SCCA autocross (READ: Stock engine). It'll give you a decent amount of mods while keeping the budget under control. I've posted a good mod list elsewhere in this form re: suggested mods for STS2.

 

Mazda reman specs are extremely loose. You would probably be better off finding a recently rebuilt motor on here and using that.

 

Care to elaborate?

A reman is the easiest thing for me to get, thats why I ask.

 

you can get a budget rebuild for cheaper than that, especially if you decide to keep the engine stock.

 

Be careful about "budget". Replacing only what needs to be replaced is one thing, but using cheap parts and a questionable builder is just asking to pay for another engine later.

This thread has some good info on Mazda remans and deciding whether to rebuild or go reman:
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...rebuilt+engine
Basically your current motor has to be pretty bad to want to go that way.

 

Take it to Kevin Landers. Just as good if not better than any reman, and cheaper. Not to mention, remans really don't do anything different than a quality rebuild provides. If your housings are shot, Kevin has an ample stock of quality replacements.

 

yes but his replacements are free!
still tho i would go with kevin, if you have to place the housing for 1800 you can get a rebuild plus street port and still not be over 1800 .
trust me he built my engine.

 

Brian at BDC motorsports!