Hey all, I'm an FC owner... streetported by Judge Ito and a bunch of other goodies, still NA though.

I am looking selling the FC and buying an FD with 87k miles on it. Oversize intercooler, stock engine, intake, exhaust


How long do you think this engine will last me for before it needs a rebuild? The car is dynoed at 266RWHP, or about 333HP at the crank.

Also, if in good condition, interior and all, with nice rims & tires, how much should I expect to pay? Disregarding the KBB and Edmunds resources that is.

Thanks! I appreciate your help...

EDIT: Also, if you could, tell me why it's supposedly SO much harder to work on compared to an FC and SO much more prone to problems also? Thanks again...

 

Thats a very generous flywheel number


How long will it last? That depends on what you do to it. If you just do some reliability mods (which the current owner apparently started for you), keep the boost stock, and engine cool, it'll last plenty long. But if you start modding it like crazy, and upping the boost, it'll shorten the lifespan.

FD's aren't all that dissimilar from TII's. Turbo rotaries are turbo rotaries, the FD is just more complicated due to the twins. Boost decreases the life expantancy of rotaries from the NA FC levels of 200k miles to about 100k if it stays stock, less in some cases. They're more prone to problems due to cost cutting from the factory, and the subsequent under-engineering of many components that are critical. Not that they can't be reliable, you just have to put a little work into them to make them reliable.

I'd expect anywhere in the $14-16K neighboorhood from your description, depending on if you're buying from a dealer, private seller, etc.

 

10-4 good buddy... how bout the other people? IF I can get it for 10K, that would rule... not saying I will, but I can hope, and then I can leave the leftovers for reliability/upkeep... I'm only 16

 

I've talked to him about it a bit on another forum, I think since I rushed to tell him the bad (so he knows what to look for) I sounded very discouraging.

They're harder to work on than N/A FCs by a lot I would think, but Turbo only harder because there's more to the turbo system in a FD, thanks to the twins. As far as reliability, not many FDs have lots of miles on the original motor, but the n/a FCs and FBs run forever. My FB is a great example of this at 216k and supposably the original motor. My FD has 101k miles and is on it's second motor, looks to be needing a rebuild sometime in the near future (Low vacuum at idle). Hope I shed some more light on my earlier comments.

About the mods, does it have Intercooler, intake and exhaust? Or intercooler with stock intake and stock exhaust? With all 3 upgraded I'd really suggest an aftermarket fuel computer or you're at a higher risk of leaning out.

 

Intercooler, Intake, and exhaust are ALL aftermarket...

I'll hopefully get a call from the guy tomorrow, thataway I can find out if the ECU has been changed

 

Good choice there.

Read up on reliability mods, you'll want to look into them.

I can honestly say, my car has only had one period where I could not drive it, and only a handful of times when I would not drive it. However, I've been driving with boost leaks for quite some time and really wish I could tear into it some weekend and be rid of my boost leak gremlins, unfortunately, until the FB is a reliable daily driver, I cannot do that.

 

Out of curiosity how much does a solid rebuild cost anyway?

 

well, I'd say like $3000 for a good rebuild by MarvelSpeed in Texas...

 

Which should be good for another 50k miles or so then?

 

That again comes back to how you treat it and whats been done to it. Ive seen stock motors go 100k+. A rebuild from a reputable company should last nearly as long. Though Mazda reman motors its kinda hit and miss, you never know what quality your getting.