Local engine builder or go elsewhere
 

So I picked up a single turbo FD with 2,000 miles on the engine and tranny.

Overhaul engine all parts are new
Engine gasket set, oil filder, motor oil, coolant, rotor housing, rotor housing, main bearings, apex seal, apex seal spring, 3mm corner seal, 3mm corner seal plug, oil control seal set, oil control small o-ring, oil control large o-ring, oil metering line, oil metering nozzle, oil pressure spring, left motor mount. Notes: overhauled engine, replaced main bearings, seals, orings, rotor housings. Resurfaced side housings. Set all clearances to factory minimum specs. Refilled fluids.

Street Port Engine
Street port and polish 4 intake and 2 exhaust ports

Machine rotors for 3mm apex seal
CNC machine rotors for 3mm apex seals. Re-balance rotors

The previous owner either didn't break the engine in correctly or something because it has hot start problems and low compression on one rotor. We are thinking he warped the seal so I am going to drive 500-1000 miles out of boost to see if things get fixed. If not I'm going to go into the engine.

My question is, the builder said it'd be $3500 for him to pull the motor, open it up, replace the seals and put it back into the car. Should I go to him (http://www.ricksrotary.com/) and have him do the work or should I have someone else build the engine and have them ship it to me? The engine in the car now, has basically brand new rotors and everything, just 2000 miles on it. Rick is a reputable builder in our area.

To me, Rick is one of the best and most honest out there. He is the only mechanic i trust with my car. Though many people say his prices are on the high side, his work is top notch and definately worth the money.

There are alot more reputable builders that are local to us in the bay. If you do not want to go back to Rick, why not try to find someone local first, before shipping through the states?

There is a lot to be said with going with a good, knowledgeable, reliable, local source.

Its not going to get too much cheaper than $3500.00 including pull/install. He is local, built the engine the last time, I say go with them again.

^+1

I know Rick is a very good mechanic. I've only dealt with Rick and Paul (from Rotorsport) and they both were great to work with, but I do prefer Rick even though he's a little bit farther and his prices are higher, you get what you pay for.

The reason why I am asking is because Rick did build the current motor, it has 2000 miles on it and it needs a rebuild already. I'm not saying Rick is to blame nor do we really know what's wrong with the car, but I just don't want to drop the $3500 and get the seals replaced knowing that 2000 miles later, the engine busted again. I'm really hoping that the previous owner just broke the engine in incorrectly and the fault wasn't due to Rick's build.

Is the car still running a OMP? Did the previous owner run premix? A warped seal can be from unsufficient lubrication to the 3mm seals. If it's not a bad tune, the only way to find out is to open up the engine and start over. Once the engine is open, i'm pretty sure Rick will be able to tell you the cause of the hot start issues and advise you on what to do to avoid this situation again.

Rick told me that he didn't need to premix because the OMP does it's job. Here is what he said to my reply to my email about the car.

Congratulations on getting the car. I think your idea of running the car for a thousand miles or so before doing anything else is a good idea. I use Redline 2 stroke oil in the gas - one pint per full tank of gas when needed. Otherwise for normal street driving I do not use premix at all. Only for dyno work and racing.

Steve Kan tuned the car conservatively so I trust Rick and Steven as they are well known guys for what they do. My guess is that the previous owner just didn't break in the engine. I mean the motor only has 2000 miles on it and he's already been running it and tuning it doing dyno runs.

How much boost is your car capable of producing?

I don't quite know what the car is capable of producing. I only boosted the car 3-4 times and then once people said that I should drive 500-1000 miles without boosting to see if the seals will correct themselves I haven't boosted since.

Car is tuned at a conservative 13psi and the car boosted fine when I WOT in 3rd gear a few times.

Knew a guy a few years ago who owned a 3rd gen. He had a Pettit ECU I think it was. Would do 14 PSI if memory serves. Blew the motor & had it rebuilt by Atkins. Put in the 2nd motor & I don`t think he had it but a week, maybe two when he blew the engine again. I would say with fairly good certainty, he didn`t & never made it to 1000 miles on the new motor. His friend told me that he was wearing it out on the way back home from the guys place who installed the engine. Guess he didn`t think he needed to break in the motor. May be what happened to yours. Something to ponder.

That sounds more like a tuning or neglect issue to me. I for one have boosted a motor that I just rebuilt with maybe 50? or so miles on it. There are also many people who rebuild motors at the track then throw 30psi um and go back and race.

I would strongly urge you to premix despite the omp working or not. Idemitsu is a popular favorite and is made with the rotary engine in mind.


https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ghlight=premix

I also am a big proponent of premixing on high-hp cars (as most are aware based on my plethora of posts :lol:).

I'd be very careful of dismissing the engine problems as 'improper breakin.' The chances of that happening aren't common in my experience. As mentioned above, beating on a car that isn't tuned is much more plausible. Maybe the previous owner ran it low on oil? Hell, maybe the OMP isn't working correctly? Time to put your Sherlock Holmes hat on.

I'd keep a very close eye on vacuum readings at idle once the car is warmed up, and also check compression again after some easy miles.

I definitely think a good tune is a MUST for any engine. I would also think that anyone who builds motors on a regular basis & has a good reputation to uphold, isn`t going to make junk & sell it to someone. Like has been stated before, neglect or other issues may have caused the engine to do what it is doing now. Don`t think you will really know much until the engine is opened & someone knowledgeable has had a chance to look it over.

Rick doesn't tune the cars as he only does work in which he knows how to do best. I'm sure he could tune, but he will leave that to the likes of Steve Kan and some other well known tuners.

Do you guys think I should use the 2-stroke oil starting now or just wait until I get a rebuild? Is the Redline 2-stroke oil and measurement that Rick says he uses fine?

Rich: When the car is warm and running at idle, the boost gauge is reading vaccum between 9 and 12 I believe, I cannot completely remember but I will check it the next time I drive it.

Right now my PFC has the Steve Kan tune on it. If I get the car rebuilt, do you guys think I should wipe the map to stock PFC setting? I don't know of any local tuners that I'd trust around here, nor do I know when Steven Kan would be making it back over here.

Ok, I'm seeing a lot of solutions but no evidence of what the problem really is... The reason I bring this up is that if Rick opens up that engine and the housing is damaged, that's going to increase that $3500 price. You don't know what's going on inside that engine right now, so that price is a "best case scenario" price.

As far as the tune, forget that for now. You need to figure out why the engine has low compression on one of the rotors. Once you figure that out, you can then figure out what needs to be done to fix it and then what can keep it from happening again (at least again so soon).

Do you think I should just skip the "drive 500-1000 miles out of boost" and see if compression/seals correct themself and just bring it in to Rick ASAP or try out the 500-1000 miles and see what the compression is again after that.

Hopefully it's just the apex springs or seals need replacing and the housings haven't been damaged. Housings are around how much $750 a piece?

As mentioned in your other thread, if it's low its doubtful that just driving around is going to make things better. If it happens to be a apex spring, it's not going to get any stronger. I suppose it's possible that the spring could not be seated properly, and that it could work itself into place but I would bet on that not being the issue.

Did you get the whole set of compression test numbers or just the low point (i.e. did you get all 3 compression ratings for the rotor or just one number)? If you have low compression on all three faces, that means something all three share in common is damaged (i.e. the housing). If you have uneven pulses, that means you have a seal issue (which may still have some housing damage).

However all this is just guessing without opening up the motor. You run the risk of possibly causing more damage (money) to the engine parts *if* there is a problem and you drive with it. In the end, it's your dime. You could spend $3500 for Rick to tear it apart and not find a thing wrong with it. Considering you know there is low compression on one rotor, I'm sure Rick will find something as there is a reason for the low compression.

New housings are close to the $800 range. You can typically find good used ones for half that amount.

$800.00 A piece these days ;) A set of new housings will run someone around $1300.00, with how weak the dollar is becoming they are getting more expensive by the day.

Cuddlebear, I havent seen a pair of rotorhousings any cheaper than $1500 for the pair, if you know of a cheaper place please either post here or PM me :)

I think parts.com has them for $740 apiece - don't know if they're actually in stock. http://www.parts.com/oemcatalog/inde...layCatalogid=0

Cuddlebear????? You two have something goin` on that you would like to share with the rest of the group???:lol:

DJ and I have a special relationship :lol:

We may be competitors, but every DGRR event we drink beers and BS deep into the night. That's it, I swear :squint:

I was thinking that you might!!!!:lol:
The persecution..errr prosecution rests!:biggrin: