Hey everyone...overheated my engine...need new coolant seals....these are my options....any other ideas?

Going to Tokyo in a week and I can bring a used J-spec back on my plane. Prob 50,000 miles, but includes all the accessores with will help ofset cost.
$2000

rebuild myself $1300

rebuild through a company $2500

Sell it at a loss........

well need your help on this one. How are the used japanese engines also by the way thanks Glenn

 

If you have the tools and the time, it's always better to do things yourself. However, if you don't have the tools and/or the time, there is anothe option of getting a reman from Mazda for $2000.

Buying a used engine is a crap shoot, IMO. Why risk your money?

 

thanks Mahjik......also on what you have seen what is the best deal on kits?? I looked at lots of sites...so far the kit from rotaryaviation seems like a pretty good deal...any advice on that?? Thanks

 

Oak Harbor...my home town growing up...

 

If you don't have the right tools it will be a damn hastle to go get some and all that crap....
if I were you I would leave it up to the pro's.
Trust me.... you will be more happy you spent the extra money.

 

I had the same thing happen to me. At first I wanted to pull the engine and buy a remanufactured Atkins engine because they are close and for the money it seemed like the route to go but, ended up meeting a great mech knowledgable w/ rotorarys in seattle. Going this route, I'm getting a great engine with the parts I want, and having the tech support to get back on the road. Plus I learned a lot from the mech and I'm already upgrading other performance options like the ECU and intercooler to V-mount. It's easier just to work the overtime and visit my car. I lucked out and found a polisher, painter, and tuning shop all on the same block. PM me for names and adresses.
Matt

 

The rotary aviation kits seem to be the best deal I have seen. We are about to do another rebuild on a 10AE with the kit. The seals are suppost to be some of the best on the market for the price.

 

I just talked to the local mazda dealer....they get the remans for 1800 and sell them to me for 2200 plus tax.....does anyone know any better deals....this one sound like a ok deal...

 

I don't have any experience with them, but RotaryResurrection.com only wants $1500 for a 3rd-gen rebuild.

 

Also I forgot to mention ....i believe this is the original engine at 150k on the speedometer.....do you think this would make a difference when consitering rebuilding it instead of buying a remanufactured??

 

I will be in the same boat as you soon. I have 120k on mine, and will probably get a Mazda Reman. I could go with Pineapple racing, but it will cost more to ship my core and pay for the shipping on the new block as well as the price on the block itself. Of course there are other shops as well. The one thing good about going through Mazda is that the offer a 12 month warranty. I know FWIW Pinapple ofers a warranty too, but there is the cost factor

 

150k original miles If I were you I would get the master rebuild kit from RA, 2 new housings, lap the irons for smoothness, rebuild it myself, and call it a day. This should cost you less than a reman(if they are even available.

Oh did the engine really overheat badly or did you shut the engine down before it got really bad?

 

I wouldn't worry so much about the warranties (on rebuilds or remans). They basically only cover "rebuild/manufacturing defects". If you get one of their motors, overheat it, they aren't going to replace it since it wasn't due to their fault.

 

Hey guys...I called up atkins and pineapple up here in WA.....I could not believe that Pineapple includes brand new housings standard with the rebuild and lapping of course.... I still need to research a few more places but they sure are sounding good!

 

I hate to talk **** but it aint all peachy over at pinapple. Do a search and you might change your mind on who you want to build your motor. I've seen some damn good motors come from there but their service blows a big one.

Your best bet, IMO, is to build the motor yourself. Order the master rebuild kit and the rebuild video from Rotary Aviation. Get new housings and send your Irons (Iron housings between and surrounding the rotor housings) out to any local shop to be lapped. This is very cheap. I was able to do this using their video and my motor has been running like a champ for quite some time now. I had no previous mechanical experience, other than changing oil. You dont even need that many tools. The video goes over everying you need in detail. Its much easier than you would think. Plus, you get an *** load of personal satisfaction. You can then join the "Im better than you cause I buildt my own motor club". Oh ya, its also the quickest way to get your motor back up and running as it only took me two weekends. It could be done it a day if you really were a bad ***. Sending your motor off to pinapple could take who knows how long. Not to mention that you could likly do a better job yourself.

 

Thanks for the opinion Bee....I will look into it...... my thoughts about rebuilding myself were this....master rebuilt kit $950 through aviation....new housings $1000, Lapping $20x4, Cleaning....probably ultrasonic if I was smart. $80. + the auto hobby shop up here (I have the tools, just No garage!) is charging $45 a week. +my time

I mean to be honest I dont see how it could be cheaper to do the job myself....Do I have my Math right???
Pinapple wants like $2045 for the whole job with the new housings!!
Atkins sounds Great too!
Dealer wants $2200 for a reman.

Hey guy with building your own....Please correct my math...I am not see the big picture I guess..>Thanks Glenn

 

By the way I did order the Rebuild video and the R+R yesterday ...hope it comes in soon.

 

The price quotes you are getting appears to be basic rebuilds. You need to understand the differance in what a basic rebuild actually is. The master rebuild kit from rotary aviation will give you all new seals(apex, side, corner, oil control rings, springs ect). In most cases with the above rebuild quotes, you will not get completely new internal parts. With the exception of apex seals, most of the time everything else is re-used. Sooooo in the end it makes more since to build an engine "yourself" with brand new parts for the same money than having a shop charge you the same amount to use re-used parts. It's all about labor cost. Thats the "Big Picture".

$2045 rebuild from pineapple w/new housings? I've never heard of it being that cheap before.

 

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...hreadid=268775

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...hreadid=270096

 

I have no faith in Mazda remans after I bought one, opened it up and it looked like it had 50K miles on it. The side housings were grooved and the rotor groove was chipped. I sent it back for a refund.

I recently opened up a reman from another car with about 20K miles on the motor. The owner had broken an apex seal. When I pulled it apart there was a stuck side seal. When I pulled it out of the rotor, the side seal was bent. It wasn't a gradual bend but more like a kink. I also noticed that more than a few corner seal springs were completely flat! The rubber inserts were also rock hard and even paritally deformed. I know these inserts get hard but I've seen motors with 20K miles and they were not nearly as bad as this motor.

I pretty much concluded the company that rebuilds these things for Mazda will pretty much use any old parts to fill the demand for these engines. I will never buy a Mazda reman again after seeing these two engines.

 

If it was me right now, I'd order a reman from Malloy and have some friends help me to do the R&R. If I had a little more experience and the right tools though, I'd consider rebuilding it myself.

Good luck, hope you get your car running again before the end of summer!

 

Just curious how much did it cost you?

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jetmech77
]I think your better off with atkins or pineapple since they are closer, so you cut the cost of shipping if you pick them up yourself and not only that but they seemed to be purty experienced, and you don't hear too many bad things about them

 

Here is the web site about the $2095 for pineapple

http://www.pineappleracing.com/PricelistSvcs.html

....and really I asked him twice, with suprise about the new housings...... But you are right probably not much else is changed out.....I am sure with I a reman U will probably get a new water pump for sure which is nice and a new oil pump too.

 

Thanks for the advice all....I am going to Japan for two weeks on Sat.. so once I get back I will be pulling the baby regardless of who I spend my dollars with...
Please Keep the comments comming..I am sure there are plenty others out there with the same delima.