I'm going to be pulling my engine in the next few days and was wanting to know if anyone had any helpful tips. I have read Kevins writeup on rotaryresurrection.com so I pretty much know what to do but was wanting to know if there is anything else you have learned thats not in his writeup or in the threads I've read. BTW, I'm pulling it with the tranny attatched.
Also, do you need to pull the rad first? Kevin's writeup says to pull it but it doesn't look like its neccesary.

 

I would pull the rad, chances of hitting it are high.

 

Good point. It looks like its already been banged though, so I think I migh tbe getting one of the brass OEM replacememnt ones.

 

if your pulling engine with trany, then pulling the rad is basicly a must!

 

Do I need to pull the ac condensor thingy (whatever its called) too? Hell, I think I'm gonna pull it anyway. I have a bad compressor and I refuse to pay a bunch of money to fix it.

 

You probably don't need to pull out the AC condensor-core (thingy), it's not really in the way. If you do pull it, just get rid of everything entirely.

Pulling the motor isn't very difficult, just make sure you take your time, UNDERSTAND what's going on and get a mental image of the layout. Label everything very well and good organization is a MUST if you want things to go smoothly. Remember, PULLING the motor won't be your biggest challenge, putting it back IN will be.

Pulling the motor and tranny out obviously requires a little bit more work, but the actual removal isn't any more difficult. Just go over everything with a fine-tooth comb before you actually attach the hoist and begin 'hoisting'.

What are your plans after removal?

 

Yeah, I have already extinsively marked everything. As for after removal, I'm going to pull apart the motor to see what condition everything is in. Once I do that I'm going to figure out exactly what I need to get (I already have a list made but I'm sure it will have things changed on it.) Then, I am going to save up the money. My wife is about to start work as a massage therapist so we'll have money for the parts. I also know someone who's pulling his low milage s5 engine for a V-8 swap and he said I could have his engine. (yay for higher comp. rotors!)
My basic plan at the moment is to resurface the side housings, get new rotor housings, and use the s5 rotors with Mazda apex seals (I know people like others, but I trust Mazda on them. The originals lasted the car 215k with no problems and lots of hard driving.) I also plan on getting the rotating assembly rebalanced since I'm using non-original rotors. I'm doing other stuff too, but thats the main things.
I'm actually trying to get the damn driveshaft off at the moment. One of the bolts appears to be rusted on. I put on some pb blaster and now I just have to find my hammer. Any other suggestions, while I'm at it?
Edit:I'm about to finish enrolling in the team support program, so I'm going to be getting a lot of the stuff relatively cheap.

 

Got it off finally, it just needed some banging on. I couldn't find a hammer so I had to use the next best thing - a big vice grip. Now all I have left is the oil cooler hoses, and that can wait till tomorrow.

 

When removing the oil cooler lines your going to want to disconnect the top one (that goes to the front cover) from the cooler then split it at the connection where it meets the hard pipe. Reason for this is because the fitting at the front cover almost never wants to turn so you'll end up kinking the hard line.

Brent

 

Kevin's writeup said to put a wrench on the hard line and brace it on the rad or frame witha breakerbar to avoid damaging it. Ill look it over and see which looks easier.

 

also, take lots of pictures! I have a computer in my garage, so viewing them for referance is great! TAKE PICS!

Chris

 

Don't brace anything on your rad if you plan on keeping it. Hope it all goes well. It's like everything else, once you've done it a few times it's easy.LOL.

 

Well, the rad is already out, so I might brace it on the AC core, which i'm gonna pull and leave out. I actually have a really long breaker bar(aka spare pipe) so i think i can just brace it on the frame. And yes, I'm taking tons of pictures. And diagrams. And lots of masking tape cross-referenced to a sheet of paper and soon to be labled on the pictures. I fully expect it to be another 3 or 4 months before the project is finished, and it might even be until summer depending on how school goes.

 

I got the upper oil cooler hose off without any problems, but the lower one appears to be stuck on good. It looks like I'm about to tear the thing off its mounts if I pull too hard. Any suggestions? If I don't get it off soon I think I'm just gonna cut the line since I plan on replacing all the oil lines anyway.

 

dont cut it if you dont have to, just keep working it untill its out, mine came out kinda easy.
just eat your wheaties and use some elbow grease

 

2 Things:

Go to the supermarket and buy a box of Ziploc freezer bags and a sharpie. When a part comes off, put it in the bag with all the fastening hardware, and write on the bag what it is - even if it is obvious. This will save you time and headaches in the long run.


Second thing is (if you don't have one already) spend the $30 and rent a hoist. Forget using a rafter and a pulley, this make extraction and ESPECIALLY re-installation so much easier. Your chances of damaging things (or yourself) is way less, and it is a time saver. After pulling my last engine with one, I'll never go back to the block and tackle method!


Once the engine is out, take the time to clean the bay up properly - this is your best chance.

 

Already done it. I've got a whole box full of baggies with bolts and stuff.
Well, there are actually 2 people on my 1 block street that have engine hoists, so I'm just gonna borrow one of theirs. Sadly they are both in use right now, but one will be done with it tomorrow morning.
As for the oil cooler line, do you take off the big bolt on the bottom of the oil cooler? If so, I really am afraid I might damage something if I pull too much harder. It looks like its just attatched with these rubber bushing kinda things. As it is, its already rotating a good 15 degrees.
Thanks for the help, keep it coming.

 

Damn, I wish I had a woman who would work for the sole purpose of expanding the mod budget...

 

I have done this a million times and may trying doing it blindfolded next time.

1. Always leave the tranny hooked up.

2. Underneath, (a) unbolt the exhaust from the exhaust manifold. (b) You will have to unbolt the drive shaft from the rear diff now or later. (c) Prop the trann up with a floor jack and unbolt tranny mount bolts. (d) Unhook speedo cable. (e) unbolt engine mounts.

3. Inside, take of the shifter. Duh, but I forgot this once ("Why won't this damn thing come out? Pull harder"). Also, unhook the emissions harness from the ECU and the two plug ins on the side and feed through the hole into the engine bay.

4. Drain fluids and remove fan shroud, fan and radiator.

5. If your AC system is charged and you want to keep charged, unbolt the AC compressor and hang off to the side as far as possible. This is a pain in the *** but saves on the recharging.

6. Unbolt the oil lines from the motor.

7. Unhook the gas lines.

8. Unhook the throttle cable and cruise control cable.

9. Unhook the wires from the alternator and pull through to the side.

10. Unhook the other various emission hoses that need to be (Like to the pressure sensor, the charcoal canister, etc.

11. As you are pulling the drivetrain out with someone helping push the tranny down when coming out the tunnel and lifting up when swinging over the fender, unhook the wire harness from the starter and tranny as you pull out.

Did I forget anything guys? (That killed 10 minutes. Another 45 and I am outta here.)

Brian

 

By now I've actually done everything but get off the lower oil cooler hose. As for the AC, it isnt charged. I dont think its been used in at least 5 years due to a siezed compressor.

 

unbolting the driveshaft isnt necessary, it will slide out when you start pulling the engine forward. and for the motor mounts, only loosen them at first, once the engine is supported you can completely remove them, but the engine will want to fall back into the bay so be careful. Also, dont forget to drain the tranny fluid, or it will all leak out the back when it gets angled upward.

 

If you're gonna take the engine apart, I strongly suggest you bite the bullet and buy an engine stand (1000 pound or so) and a rotary engine adapter (from Pineapple Racing for example), if you don't already have one. I'm going my engine on my garage floor (with cardboard and newspaper... just remember that engines share a lot in common with babies and small animals..they like to **** everywhere...), and although I'm not done yet, having an adapter (plus the correct bolts) would have made it a LOT easier so far, especially when you're assembling the engine.

Also, take off the oil pan first if you're gonna set it on the ground, unless you're just swapping the engine out for a different one. If that's the case, I'd sit the old one in an old tire.

Also, get a bunch of rubber bands to hold the apex seals in place with their springs (unless you're doing a full rebuild)... When installing rotor housings over rotors that already have their seals and springs in place, you can just snap the band off once you've got the housing over the seals... much easier than putting the springs in after you put the housings on, like the manual suggests...

I don't know if doing it like that is bad or something, but it's worked for me so far... although I've started to run out of rubber bands since I've had to redo it so many times.

 

I went to Sears, took the the bolts for all the oil cooler lines with me and bought the correct size box wrenches. You will need them to tighten them down properly during assembly. I ended up buying a 21 and 23mm open/box wrenches and a 24/26mm double box end wrench. The 26mm fits the opr.

If you can break the lines off the motor, then leave then attached to the oil cooler until you take it out. The oil cooler should come out and be cleand any way if you are doing a rebuild. With the cooler on a bench, it's much easier to break the banjo bolts loose.

 

very good thread.

 

So what size is the one on the lower oil cooler line?
Edit: I don't have the money for the engine stand at the moment, but I definately will get one with the adapter (although I'm getting the mazdatrix one because it can rotate) before I start any assembly work. I have a workbench that I'm going to set it on to disassemble it so I can get it apart to see what I need.