Hey guys.

so i ended up with a Rx7 fd touring model with the engine already blown/bad/whatever.

I got the car suddenly and wasnt expecting to start a project.
The guy before me took the car to a local Mazda dealership and they diagnosed the problemS... none of which i understood at all.. ahahhahah
bad turbos, cracked something, etc.. Rotaries are pretty foreign to me.

so my question is:

Ive seen a few threads on here about blown motors and swaps.

Im not trying to spend a small fortune to get the car back on the road but if i can avoid having to swap an engine over and over again(which might not be a frequent thing)
by putting in a piston engine then i would consider that if its HAS to be an option.

I know that the LS-whatever swap is costly around here at some 15-20K for the swap at this local shop here called Mazcare.

but i dont know what cost is like to put in a reman Rotary stock motor back in and buttoned up.. or a budget place to take it here in the Atlanta area.

I do know my way around motors slightly but no place to work on this car if i did, so having it done is the only option as of now..


so i know this is probably a common question that a newb noob neub would ask and searching only got me so far.


what should i do to get it on the road quicker and easier?

thanks guys!

 

Do you have the complete long block?
If you do the fastest way to get it running is get a pre-built block and swap over the good parts from the old motor to the new motor.
And replace watever is bad like the turbo you said.
Its also a good time to replace all your vacuum lines also or just remove the emmision system.

 

If you don't want to do the work your self check out this website.
http://www.rotaryshops.com/index.php/site/state_list/GA

 

so the cheapest way is to fix the current engine in the car or to put in a remaned motor?

normally what are you guys paying for a new motor to be put in?.. whats a relatively average price?

 

Bring the car up to SC, Ernst at RX-7 World has been building rotaries for about 20 years, he can rebuild your engine no matter how bad it is, and does excellent work. He did my 3 mm ported motor which is still running strong as ever after four years of thrashing.

http://rx7world.net/component/option...,264/Itemid,1/

 

I think 4k, including the price of putting the engine back in. idk though, that's just a rough guess. I do think your best choice would be for you to just get a long block and stick that in rather than doing a swap though. Twinturbo rotaries are pretty reliable if you take care of them.

 

Call Kevin at RotaryResurrection: http://www.rotaryresurrection.com/

That car will decimate all, after you put about 10-15 grand in it... maybe overnight parts from Japan.

 

rebuild + single turbo = reliability

If you are swapping the engine and spending the time and money then there is no reason to not fix and replace all of the little things as well. FD's in stock form are a nightmare....

Do some research on reliability mods, and eliminate most of the BS that kills 99% of FD's... including the twins.

These cars are not cheap.... accept it, build it right, and enjoy it.

 

I agree with XLR8 110%. Go to with DJSeven's RotaryRez rebuild service and eliminate the twins. RotaryRez is just outside Knoxville, so it's about a 4-5 hour trip up from Atlanta. Throw that engine up on a pick-up truck and haul it up there (cheaper than shipping - MAYBE).

 

On a constructive note, I agree with the rebuild and single suggestion

 

rebuild the rotary ,go single turbo, and start researching auxiliary injection. water, meth, water/meth 50/50 mix, will do wonders to improve reliability and longetivity for the car.

 

what i was saying on the "i know the LS motor is this much" comment is that i did some small research here in ATL about what to do with the motor..

a friend said "dude call Mazcare and throw in an LS motor"

so i called.. and got "its about 15-20k"

then i kinda lost steam after that... so i picked UP steam and asked the good folks on here what type of money i would spend on just fixing it or putting another stocker..

so.. nah it wasnt "i dont want to spend a small fortune but ill spend 20gs on a Ls motor" comment..

it was just the extent of the local research..

 

^ Just get a block from djseven and drop it in

 

Going to an LS motor is quite a bit of work and money. It can be done affordably, or sky is the limit. Not to say that any modding isnt like this.

If your are trying to just get the car back on the road, I would just buy a rebuilt, low mileage short block that was built by a reputable shop on the for sale section. They come and go frequently.

If you are interested in throwing some money into the car while you have it apart I would look into picking up a street ported rebuild. Now is the time to get the porting done and I can almost guarantee that you will end up wanting it at some point.

If you have more in your budget and are looking for more power, the most cost effective way is to just add what people commonly refer to as "all the bolt on's". Basically an upgraded intake, intercooler, exhaust, fuel system (pump and injectors), ecu (pre-mapped or stand alone), and ignition system. You will want all of the "reliability mods" in addition to the power upgrades. These are upgrades in things like the cooling systems.

 

I'm pretty sure Mazcare will also do rotary rebuilds.

 

Gotcha, I was pretty confused there for a minute! lol

 

*Notice that while there are multiple suggestions for shops to take your car to, NONE are dealerships. These cars have complicated systems but havn't been sold for 15+ years, so most Mazda techs have absolutely NO experience with them. Typically dealerships have higher flat rates and you end up paying for THEIR mistakes. If you take nothing else away from this thread, that's important.
Seek out a couple of rotary specialty shops in your area. Have them do a diagnosis and get some estimates. Guesses on amounts will be just that.

 

Mazmart is in Atlanta, Ga. This is the company founded by Rick Engman the builder of the Mazda 4 rotor race engines. Hope that helps.

http://www.mazmart.com/home.html

 

ive had expierence with them and have good and bad things to say..... i went to them for a remans for my rx8 back in 05? then sent me the remans and KDR performance installed the engine.. 1000 miles later the block was cracked.. antifreeze/coolant mix together= not good. called them up, warrentied the engine... second reman got to kdr about a month or two later... kdr installed it again, this time rear rotor had low/no compression THIRD warrenty motor a few weeks later, finally got it right...... (kdr installed again)

Although they warrentied all the defected motors, i was still left with kdrs bill of installing and removing an engine THREE TIMES. i paid for the first engine in full before these problems.... then when i came back with the bad engines it was about $2xxx more..... mazmart DID however pay half that cost which is pretty nice of the shop to do, but at the same time they never would have had to do that if they got it right the first time........

^^story of how my rx8 was on its 4th engine when i sold it.... yet i still came back to the rotaries? idk,......

 

I would just throw in another rotary in there. As far as the LSx option is concerned, you can send a roller to hinson and in about 6+ months, you will have an LSx car for about 15k+. If you hunt around, you can find shops that will do it for less. You can also bring your car to defined autoworks. 3-rotor N/A and LSx swaps there were surprisingly affordable there. If I were you, I would just drop a 2-rotor back in there and be done with it. Maybe later on you can decide what you really want.

 

A DIY LS swap can be done for ~$7k and not cut too many corners. Still much more expensive than a rotary in the short run, and if you're going to flip it, the rotary is the better choice.

If it's a keeper.... well... The LS might just save you money in the long run.

FWIW, I just went 11.6@122mph in my LS1 FD on 19" street tires and pump gas in full weight trim. It gets 22mpg mixed, 30+ highway mpg and makes 350ft/lbs at the wheels at 2500rpm and weighs 29lbs more than when it had a rotary.

Just food for thought.

 

If you are considering getting rid of it I am in Atlanta and looking for an FD project. I would also be willing to help though my mechanical experience is with old Porsche's and NA Rotaries.

I would swap in a rotary short block and fix all the "issues"/reliability mods while you are in there. There are usually some used blocks available from trust worthy folks for even a bit cheaper.

 

Pics of said Rx7.. and nah im not looking to get rid of it yet.. being that i just got it.

 

Looks like a good driver and track day car.

If you want to bring it out to my place and have a used short block delivered we can drop it in. And you buy me a new jack. No guarantees :-) but I bet we can figure it out.

One issue that you may run into is other things that need to be replaced, solenoids are expensive, turbos, clutch, wiring harness, injectors etc. If you mod at all you really should (or will have to) go with a PFC and add some guages $$ I dont know how much of this kinda thing you have done but you could easily spend another $2-3K in parts before it runs well if the turbos are weak.

Do you know some history? Any reciepts for big repairs in the past?

 

If you have the patience and time but no money yet, just do the rebuild little at a time.

Or if you are mechanically inclined and you want to do a rebuild and be done and are thinking about going the LSx route, you can do it yourself if you do your online research. It will save you alot of money but you are really doing alot of work.

Sometimes it pays for the convenience of having it done. You drop off your car and in a couple of weeks (i dont think a swap can take months, unless you're on a waiting list), then you pick it up and its all done. You drive home happy.

I like doing some mechanic work but big jobs like that, i rather pay to have it done.

Its more money but its also more convenient and you keep people who do this to feed their family, in business.