Hey guys, I'm going to be getting my engine pulled in a few weeks, and I have a couple of questions. I've been hearing quite a few bad things about Remans lately. First, did you or your mechanic just drop it in as is? Or, did you have it torn down and built up in any way? And for either question, how happy are you with the performance thus far? Thanks in advance.

 

Just want to throw out - the remans are really of a good quality. Like I tell a lot of people, the engine isn't as much the tricky part as the 200 pounds of crap that bolt on to it - that's where people have problems.

People install an engine and it won't start due to MANY factors, and instantly blame the engine. Rotary engines are REALLY simple - if they make compression, they're doing their job.

Anyhow, I would have no qualms about purchasing a Mazda reman - it's a heckuva value for the money.

Dale

 

After much high anxiety, I purchased a MANA engine from RAY @Malloy Mazda. Good price, excellent service, easy to work with. As I have automatic, I can make all the HP I need to trash same...LOL..Best of luck to you, Cater

 

A bad reman was put in mine before I owned it and was immediatly removed and another was installed which has worked nicely. at 20k miles on it read almost 9.0's on front and back.

 

I installed a reman 5000+ miles ago. I had heard many of the same things you have, so to be sure, I sent the engine to Pineapple Racing to be torn down, inspected, and rebuilt using their O-rings and the oil system cryo mod (who knows?). They also give a 5-year warantee with the work. I went down and picked up the engine after a REALLY nice session with Rob (he taught my G/F rotaries...), took it home, and had the whole thing swapped in my garage in two weeks. It started right up, first time. And immediately leaked coolant from one of the hoses.

It runs stronger than the 67K I pulled out, starts EVERY time, purrs very nicely. The only issue Pineapple had was the rotor bearings appeared to be used. They might have worked, they might have failed. If you know a reputable shop to tear it down and inspect it, I'd do it for peace of mind. Cheap insurance in the long run, you know?

 

installed 2 remans from ray within the last 6 months in two different cars. they both run fine and are strong. since you are in virginia already i would just go and buy a reman from malloy and swap it in yourself. it is the best deal around. if you get it rebuilt by someone else everything will cost you 2x as much....which means you could practically get 2 engines put in yourself for the price of 1 from a mechanic.....

 

my reman was installed at the local Mazda dealership (a guy I know is a Master Tech there and did an exellent install) 2 years ago and about 10K miles.

The motor has been running at 300+whp the hole time, dynoed 336whp at 14psi. I run it hard on the freeway, dragstrip, autoX's, and just plain driving.

I think they are good motors. Sure there have to be some bad apples here and there. I think mine is good enough to support 400+whp and I'll be trying my luck here soon

This is the second reman I have had in my car. The first one I blew up in 11 months. I learned the hard way that 15lbs on a stock intercooler will not work very long! If I hadn't been ignorant, I'm sure I would still be on the first reman

 

I had a reman put in my FD about 2yrs ago by a local mazda dealer. I got a good deal on it bc my grandmother is a sales person there. They seamed to have done a pretty good job. It sill runs great and all of that stuff so far.

 

Funny about the used rotor bearing comment. I think Mazda recommends reusing rotor bearings if they aren't bad...

Anyway I've installed a few remans, all but one had new rotor housings.

Lots of people blame the engine for the problem when it is really either a cheap/poor install or some other problem with the car.

Putting a motor in a FD isn't just buying a $2K reman and stuffing it in. You need new gaskets, hoses, plugs, wires, clutch, etc. If you don't have it all done right (you do it yourself) you'll be doing it again more likely than not.

 

Alex, when are you going to update your site with all the hot tidbits about installing a reman or two??

Currious minds want to see!!!

 

soon now that i have new motivation! i'll let ya know.

 

Thanks guys. I really appreciate the help. KD is going to be tearing it down, street porting it, and doing the reliability mods. I'm also having a PFC put in and tuned for my mods. I guess it makes sense knowing how much stuff can go wrong with an FD, but most people blame the engine first. Thanks again.

 

Bought my reman from Malloy; new rotors and rotor housings. Even the oil pan was nicely sealed. Put it in 18 months ago and it now has 20K miles on it. No issues with the motor whatsoever and all I did was drop it in.

 

Yep. It's on Mazda Motorsports site in the Tech section.