Advice on Engine Replacement
 

I'm looking for a little advice.

I have a 1994 RX-7. My engine overheated and will need to be replaced. I am in Houston and will have the car at Maz-Max later today. They quoted me over the phone a worst case scenario price of around $4200 for complete stock Mazda engine bolt in. That price includes all miscellaneous parts, tax...the whole kit and caboodle. $1200 for labor. The engine is around $2500, plus miscellaneous parts and tax. Total = @ $4200.

My questions are...

1. Does this sound like a reasonable price? I like the idea of an actual Mazda stock engine over a tricked out ported street engine from some guy who "works on Mazdas".
2. Does anyone have any experience with an engine replacement from Maz-Max?
3. Do I have any other options?

Any advice, comments, or opinions from anyone would be most appreciated.

Thanks.

FYI: be prepared to wait on that Reman from Mazda.

And yes the prices seem about right.
Although Labor will vary in each city.l

I picked up a Mazda reman locally (LA) about 6 months ago and the housing looked new (don't know about the rotors) but vacuum readings are high 19hg and doesn't leak a drop of oil. If you suspect there is some damage internally to your motor, it's probably the cheapest way to go. If you have it rebuilt at a shop and you have one bad housing or rotor, the cost start adding up,...although you can get the porting done. Prices are about right. Do it yourself and save $1200!! Good Luck

Re: Advice on Engine Replacement
 

Freaky Dog,

First note, there are a lot of reputable vendors around on this forum. I haven't heard of Maz-Max.l I'm not sure if they are a mazda dealer, an authorized dealer or what. I'm also not bad mouthing them in any sense.

This forum is filled of very knowledgable individuals who have been working with/on RX-7's since the third gen's inception.

Reputable vendors include Gotham Racing (my personal favorite in Fort Worth, TX) RX7store.net (they hose this forum), pettit racing, KD Rotary and many others.

You don't have to have a "tricked out" port. You can do stock ports from any of these vendors. In fact, the best vendor will talk through your application and make a recommendation base on how you drive the car.

All agree here, never take your car to a mazda dealership.

Your prices seemed accurate.

What's the deal with this? I heard Mazda is temporarily stopping the production of remans... :eek: Anyone know how long until they start distributing them again?

I suggest giving Gotham Racing a call to at least get another opinion from a local and reputable shop before deciding. Search here on "reman" to see the various good and bad stories about buying a reman from Mazda.

Your prices are close. Remans generally run $2k. You can also get one from Mally Mazda - Ray Crowe. he gives us all discounts on parts.

While you are replacing the motor, I would suggest new fuel lines, new injector seals, new fuel pulsation dampener and maybe replace silicon vacuum hoses. Its cheaper to do this while the motor is apart than go back in 6-12 months and pay labor to do it again. To insure the longevity of your new motor in TX heat, I would also suggest a better radiator - Fluidyne or Koyo. You may also want to consider a downpipe to replace the factory pre-cat which is probably one of the factors that caused your motor to get so hot to begin with. Search for more info on that.

The price you've been quoted seems fair to me as well.

I dont think they are stopping Remans

i wounld go through mazda for a remain, send it to gotham racing...steve is a very respectable rebuilder/tuner that wont rip you off adn you know thta it will be done right the first time. he'll rebuild the motor for you and you might even want to get it street ported for more air flow, less heat.

brandon

Thanks for all the advice, guys.

I've got the car at Maz-Max now. They inducated yesterday that the engine seems fine, no loss of compression. I made the mistake of taking the car to Jeff Hass Mazda (dealership) first. BIG MISTAKE!! Maz-Max is saying that it looks like it's just a sensor. I'll keep you posted as to what happens.

Thanks again

I heard about the halt on mazda remans also. dont know how true that is though. doesn't seem too intelligent to me but its possible. mazda would still have to produce the engine parts for ~9 years. I think its 10 years after the last production vehicle rolls off the assembly line, dont quote me on that tho.

Compare their hourly rate to 2 days of work... I had mine out, partially rebuilt, and back in within a day w/ 1 other person helping. It would have taken less time if it didn't require any porting. i.e. I could have your motor pulled replaced w/ a crate motor before the end of the afternoon. but the price seems right for what it usually runs...

look up some information about remans on the forum you will see that they are a crapshoot, only parts that they think need to be replaced will be brand new, sometimes u are lucky and sometimes you arent... I'd get a good rebuild from a reputable shop, its what I chose to do (but of course there are horror stories about rebuilds gone bad as well, but I havent had that PERSONAL experience with the 3 motors I've helped install from Pineapple).

maybe its just me but no way in hell would i go through 3 shop built motors. my first FD rebuild I'm doing myself I wouldnt go past 1 shop built motor even if i wasn't doing it myself. If you do it yourself you learn the motor better and it'll be easier to understand why ur motors keep goin bad in the first place. True not everyone is mechanically inclined but it just seems like a waste of money to me especially since the whole job can be done in one night (well atleast the 2 FC rebuilds i've done only took a few hours). o well

I know what you mean, people talk about the rotary rebuild like its rocket science. I promise, its far easier than a piston engine. Buy the rebuild video, get the FSM, and have at it.

there is no way you can rebuild an engine in one night (tear down, clean and put back together) unless you are doing a bad job. cleaning and specing the engine takes hours if you do a quality job.

that seems like a kick ass deal. i spent 5k and did the work with some help in my garage. the 5k included reman and miscellaneous parts. i would definately say you are getting a good deal.

Ok, one night is a little stretched. It was one day from 7am to a little after midnight.

The rotors, front and all side housings were reused. The rear housing was replaced and otherwise used one of Atkins 2nd gen rebuild kits. There are very few parts to have to work with to put a rotary together. 1 e-shaft, 12 side seals and springs, 12 corner seals, and 6 apex seals, 2 rotor housings, 3 side housings. Soak carboned parts in gasoline, finish the clean up and have at it. Not attacking your integrity or anything so remain calm but it can be done right in one day, I've done it twice and know of others (mainly people that work at rotary shop but they still count) who have.

The longest part of the whole process was getting the motor in and out of the car without the right tools.

Thanks again for all information.

FYI, here's what happened with my car. I took it to Maz-Max to have them do a complete engine diagnostic. They found nothing wrong with the engine, aside from a bad 0-ring that I already knew about and was no big deal. At any rate, the problem ended up being a bad thermal fan switch. The car ran fine with the AC on, but leaked coolant with the AC off.

The moral of the story, Jeff Hass, and probalby all dealers for that matter, are idiots!

Thanks again