I'm going to be getting an FD with a blown motor soon and I'm going to need an engine to replace it with. I've heard very bad things about the Reman. engines and I was wondering if anyone sold engines that are more reliable. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys.

Brandon

 

If it actually *has* a motor, you can get it rebuilt. There are several places that do quality rebuild. If I had my pick, I would choose Pettit: http://www.pettitracing.com

Currently I'm using a reman. It's about 3 years old and have not had any problems with the engine itself.

 

Whats the difference between a remanufactured and a rebuilt engines? I know, dumb question, but I always thought of them as the same thing. What are the cost differences? I pretty much know about the rebuilds but been hearing a lot about the remanufactured ones.

 

Dont hold me to this but I think a reman is redone from mazda and a rebuild can be done at any number of rotary shops.

 

Technically, they are the same thing. Remans are just rebuilds done by Mazda, so they are shipped in from Japan. I don't believe Mazda has any place here in the US that does their rebuilds.

 

Actually MAZDA's reman facility for the North American market is in the US (somplace in the EAST) and was just recently sold to DELCO-REMY.

Also the Technical difference between Rebuild And REMANUFACTURE is that a rebuid generally reuses all parts thare are within maximum WEAR Spec's but REMAN replaces all parts to within MANUFACTURING specs.
My understanding is that MAZDA's REMAN procedure falls someware inbetween. Also some REBUILDERS will actually BLUEPRINT which is the higest build standard, ie all parts are as close as posible to the IDEAL spec's so a Rebuild could be BETTER or WORSE than a REMAN. but a REMAN SHOULD be as good as a new production line unit but has some used parts in it.

 

Why in hell would people be so savagly agianst Mazda dealers, yet take their car to get a rebuild from them. Even thought they ship it else where, I would think a rotary shop will be more inclined to do a better job as his business relies on it. After hearing this i will probably never take it to a mazda dealer for the engine. I would likley learn to do it myself or have a good rotary shop do it. I know theres a rebuild video and I want to get an early start on this knowledge, anybody know where I can buy the video?

 

MAZDA reman motors come from MAZDA North America - The DEALERS have NOTHING to do with the remanufacturing process - In fact MAZDA NA will NOT accept a core engine if it has been dissassembled. They don't want DEALERS and REBUILDERS scavenging useable parts and then trading in cores that are made completly from useless junk parts.

 

I think that in most cases it would be cheaper to get a REMAN engine then rebuilding your blown one. You can get a REMAN for around $2000+ core exchange. I've heard the REMAN's are now coming with new rotor housings. To rebuild your engine, it's about $1200 for all the new seals and gaskets, the labor to do it all, and the replacement of any other worn or damaged parts, like rotors or housings.

 

mazda rotary engines are rebuilt in jacksonville florida by delco remey. they replace all the seals and gaskets
(apex, side corner, oil, the water seals etc). the mazda remans also have new water pumps and thermostats, along with a resurfaced flywheel. mazda does not replace any other parts unless they run out of good used ones.

mike

 

Actually, the one I got was shipped from Japan. I know, I had to wait over a month for it.

 

you can buy the video on ebay from atkins rotary.

the rotary shop is a better choice as it is hand built and the guy as a reputation to build and/or keep, so more sweat would more than likely go into it. if you have confidence in doing it yourself then by all means try it. its worth it to know how to do this. im going to build mine. . . good luck to the both of us.

paul

 

I admire anyone who takes on the challenge of rebuilding their rotary - it really is a very simple engine to tackle. Probably the most important part of the process is to clean everything extremely well - the best way to describe it would be like detailing the interior of your engine. An EXTREMELY laborious and time consuming job. A spec or two of carbon under an apex seal can ruin the engine. Understanding basic things like clearances is very important as well as having high quality accurate tools to measure with. Good tools are expensive, and as always, you get what you pay for.
If you have experience rebuilding piston engines you can probably take on a rotary and come out with an excellent job. If not, you'll probably trash it. It is not a job for the inexperienced - the rotary will not suffer fools gladly.

I have rebuilt dozens of airplane, car and motorcyle engines and will not hesitate doing mine when the time comes........but I can gurarantee you I'll pay for professional advice from a true rotary mechanic before I bolt it all back together. There are tons of "little things" that can make the difference between a rock solid 100,000 mile rebuild and one that grenades in 10,000 miles. (like setting the end play correctly........)

Rebuilding your own engine is probably one of the most satisfying things in the world, the Atkins video is fun, but frankly it does not go into the kind of excrutiating detail neccessary for a quality rebuild. I think most owners would do right by buying a Mazduh reman and then having a trusted rotary mechanic break it open, inspect it and do any additional mods you want. You'll be saving a lot of money in labor and parts right off the top, and have an engine that is inspected twice before going back in your ride will let you sleep at night.

 

If you need a new engine anyways, do a pettit rebuild with street port, its the obvious way to do it, mine is a pettit custom super street port with the 3mm apex seals, huge difference!! might as well do it...do it....do it....do it..!!!!

 

does anyone know of a expert rotary shop near southern california? i am going to buy a FD when i have enough money and i was wondering if there was a rotary shop near me.