I've cracked open a few of the 'new' mazda remans for portwork/oil&coolant mods/upgraded apex seals etc since they started assembling them in VA alongside the RX-8 blocks.

Cons:

*Typical loose (but in spec) side seal clearance
*Nasty rust in lower coolant passages from being run with water and left to sit

Pros:

*So far, majority of parts (and all iron/alum housings) have been brand-spankin' new

In general, they're an absolute killer deal.... a pair of rotor housings new cost about half as much as the current reman prices from Ray Crowe at Malloy

 

I have an extra Mazda Reman sitting in storage that I need to pull apart. Anything I should look out for?

 

hmmm i cant see 3rd gen remans on my account.

it shows rx8 remans at 2500. but nothing for the 13b.

part number for both was 23-800

 

Just to confirm... You are saying that the "new" ones are half the price of the remans when both are ordered from Ray at Malloy?

And these are the "new" ones you are showing us ?

 

I am not 100% sure what you're asking, but I think Rich is saying that you get a screaming deal if you buy a reman from Ray Crowe. Rich's example being that you can get the entire engine (which is constructed with all new parts) for just double what you'd spend on only the rotor housings.

i.e. if each housing costs you $700 + shipping, than you get the brand new housings, brand new irons (at approx $485 each if bought separate), a brand new e-shaft, new rotors, new seals, new oil pan, etc., etc., etc. for SIGNIFICANTLY less than what you would spend if you tried to piece together a new engine.



I spoke with Ray Crowe about this exact thing last fall. Essentially the "new" reman engines that he is getting are being put together with all new parts since none of the cores being turned into Mazda have usable parts. Mazda cannot/will not reuse a part if it has been ported or if the wear is out of spec. Since virtually ALL the engines turned back in to mazda had porting or significant wear, Mazda fell back on using (mostly) all new parts in their reman engines.

Mazda is no longer selling brand new 13B-REW engines (I purchased the last one from Ray ) and the remans, with the new parts being used in them, are now a viable option for people who want to renew their tired engines

 

It's a good deal if you plan on opening it up to port...then you are looking at an additional cost to replace the o rings and port etc

 

Oh ok. It makes sense now. For some reason I thought he was comparing reman housings to "new" housings that were actually still reman.

It is reman engine vs new housing. Makes sense. Not sure how I didn't make sense of it before. Sorry

Thanks for sharing. That is a killer deal for all those new parts.

 

lets say I bought a reman and cracked it open myself, sent the housings/plates out to get ported and then I put it back together with new soft seals, how much extra expense would that be?

 

IRP Porting charges are $450 to $650 depending on what you want done, and a 'closeup' kit is about $175.

 

Does the $450-$650 include the cost of breaking down and rebuilding the engine?

 

Read the question above his post

 

Porting costs don't usually include disassembly, that is normally a separate fee.

 

Did someone mention porting ?

 

New housings

 

+ i have a "reman" engine in the garage as well, although it hasnt (nor will it) be opened, it looks brand spanking new. ive never seen a brand new engine but this is what id imagine it'd look like. everything is so crispy and all the irons/housing edges are sharp and clean cut

 

what's the current price at ray for a reman?
Thinking of buying one and store it for "bad times"

 

I want to say it's $2,800 plus a $1,000 core charge (so $2,800 with an engine exchange, or $3,800 without) but don't quote me on that just yet.

 

2800 plus your core .. 3800 without core..just emailed ray week or so ago...
Would it be worth it and in my best interest if I bought a reman to tear it down to check and clean out everything

 

Yes, it would be a worthwhile purchase. If you plan on porting it and changing the seals thsn def break down and rebuild. If you plan on keeping stock ports/seals than I'd say just flush it out real well and plug it in.

 

you can easily spot new parts. the freeze plugs in the irons will be new, and have excellent gold cad plating, as will the dipstick tube, all the studs will be new as well, and the gasket surfaces will be shiny and unmarked. new parts are not pained, so if there is paint, or overspray its not new.

the rotor housings are also easy, like the irons they will have new studs, exhaust sleeves will be shiny.

an engine assembled in japan will have the brown japanese tape over all the port openings. the US plant will use those round red plugs

 

Goodfella for those of us that might buy the reman engines to replace our own, how do we go about removing all that rust without dissasembling the engine?

Alex

 

Glad i bought my engine from ray when he had new japanese ones!

 

I can vouch for Richs comments on the rust inside. I flushed a reman from Ray and the coolant was still dirty after running for the first time. Also had a new radiator.

Jeff

 

The new Japanese ones have the same problem for the same reasons. I've torn down many.

Alex, we take them apart for port work etc which makes cleaning easier. I don't have any crazy idea for flushing a built block that you haven't thought of.

Jeff, appreciate the vouch bud

 

mine was also brand new (NOT REMAN) and there was quite some rust.

Ihor and Rich took care of it though