Everyone,

I'm wondering what to do. I have a 94 with 84K on the stock motor and
have done the reliablity mods. She runs strong with no oil or coolant loss.

Now I have my tax return and am torn between seeing just how far the stock
motor will last and taking her in for a rebuild/street port now.

How many miles should she go given, good condition, reliablity mods, proteck fuel lube and driven like and adult...130..150???

I've seen allot of 100k is the realistic limit posts.

If I rebuild her now I'll have the piece of mind that she is good to go anytime and as hard as I wish.. but 5k for something I dont really HAVE to do now is tough given so many other items on my wish list.


Suggestions welcome
Thx
7zoom

p.s. I live in Orlando and was thinking of making the trip to Pettit for the rebuild but not sure since they stood me up when I went down for my twice confirmed appointment last labor day

 

If you're not leaking coolant and it's pulling fine.....why not just stick it out?

You have the money, just save it up for that rebuild in the future.

 

the money you will save from rebuilding now (because you don't grenade a housing, rotor, etc) can be put towards other things the car will need like interior parts, brakes, whatever.

 

I agree that around a 100k seems to be average for coolant seals in a FD with no AI....and not beat on like a rented mule. Assuming you don't drive it like that for another year, those will NOT harm ANYTHING. And hard seals aren't any more likely to go if your keeping it at stock boost levels. So you'd be fixing something that isn't broken.
If you have the self-discipline, put the money in the bank and enjoy the car until you DO need to rebuild.....probably within the next year or two for a coolant seal.

 

The first rebuild will be uber-expensive, to do it right you'll replace most of the parts in the engine bay <---- I'm exaggerating a bit, but not much. You'll want a new or reman engine and new turbos anyway, so I'd just keep running the car and save up money while at the same time accumulating parts.

10 to 15 grand isn't unheard of for an initial performance build (with upgrades) if you want to do it right, as mentioned above.

 

Start with a compression test to see where you currently stand.

 

quoted for truth

 

Thanks for the comments:

EpicEddie, Because I'm kind of affraid to really play hard with her as she is now and wouldnt be if she was rebuild.

ARGHX, I was hoping when she did start to go I would know before any major damage was done as in start buring oil or coolant.... am I being unrealistic???

GoodFella: Ouch I thought 5k would cover it from what I saw on Pettit's sight below.

"Most engines that arrive here for building need at least 1 new rotor housing, which puts the average final cost at $3495 plus the housing $580 for a total of $4075"

I have so many questions.. should I get new housings even if they are not damaged?
How long do turbos last and if I dont replace them could they take out my rebuilt motor?
Should I get a new clutch while I'm at it? Would I notice the difference from a light weight fly wheel something I've been thinking about.

Could you outline the 15K? I do have all the reliablity mods from Pettit already.

Majik, I'll research the compression test and get one done soon. Honestly I bought her from the original owner an older man obessed with maintenance a true garage Queen so I think she's pretty good.

Thanks again

p.s. I wanted a third gen soooo bad when I was a poor college student back in 93 that I promised myself I WOULD get one some day and now I do love my 7.

 

I say do what goodfella said...look around for used parts int he classified section first..people are always selling new/like new/low mileage housings out there.. Also..I have nothing against petite...but they are a big company.. if you outource your motor to say someone like djSeven...I can almost guarantee you'll save a lot of money. Also who will be installing the motor? if your doing it yourself...i'd say thats the way to go...but if not..maybe petite would better suit your needs.

Maybe save like 3 grand of that tax return...slowly start buying parts and by this time next year you'll have the majority of the parts and another return coming? so many options.. Good luck!

 

I would assume this is going single?

I can easily see spending $10-15k on a rebuilt engine with all the supporting mods to go single and do it right. Keeping the twins, could potentially be as expensive, simply because you will be buying a lot of the oem solenoids and small pieces of the system.

Another key to these figures is labor. If you can do all the work yourself (apart from the rebuild), you will save likely half the total cost.

I would save the money, and do it right. When you pull the engine, for a replacement, you want to do as much as possible while your in there. Fresh turbos, coolant lines, fuel system, sort out intercooler, wiring harness, etc...

It is much easier to plan for one large project, than to do it slowly and repeat your steps multiple times.

 

You guys are scaring me I have an engine with 8.9bar and 8.3bar compression. I was planning to go single first and tackle just the engine by itself when it granedes itself. I have a spare damaged engine also (low front compression, ok rear compression).

 

if you are willing to spend 5k on a rebuild you might as well Just buy a new engine.

 

If you got the cash and can do without the car for a month or so, rebuilding it yourself is Always a Good Time. Saves money. Just buy some good seals and RA super apex seals and slap it back together! you dont need all that fancy equipment to do it... I did mine in my garage and it Screams... (i should mention i was broke, so doin it myself was my only option).. Ha ha My engine stand was a couple boards setting on tire

 

if you are willing to spend 5k on a rebuild you might as well Just buy a new engine.
__________________
FEEDING THE ADDICTION

Hummm a 35 mph 300 hp 16X motor would do nicely..... LOL I wish...

I'll have to look into new motors not sure what they include and I also like the idea of a street port.

LS1inside how long did it take you to pull the motor?
I'm a bit nervous about the idea since my "professional" mechanic took 2 days and $500 just to install the new 3 in down pipe!!

 

If it's convenient to rebuild it now then it is more of an option, when mine went it was at a bad time. It does get expensive, escpecially if when your tearing it down you find more problems along the way. I agree with the statement about outsourcing about the engines though. David Jerome has some of the best engine build prices and doesnt require a core, you could just order what you want from him and when it arrives just do the swap.

 

My suggestion:

Keep it simple. Unless you are competing with the car, just stick with a stock motor/ports. The reason is that it makes it simple when you need to replace it again. You just drop in another stock port motor and go. If you want to go faster, get a larger turbo. If you treat stock motors as disposable, you'll be much happier in the end and it makes it much easier/quicker to get back on the road.

 

^ I really like that suggestion.

It would be cool to get a pull-out from one of the idiots that did a LSx swap - rebuild that, and have it in a 'ready to drop in' state sitting in your garage... drive your current setup till you break it... and just spend a day swapping the fresh engine over... then.... rinse and repeat!

 

All motors, rotary or otherwise, are consumable. Treating them like they're disposable will aggravates the issue. Rebuild for longevity and don't drive it like you stole it. Search for some of the threads from Howard Coleman and AI. My suggestion.

 

Ouch? he charged that much! removing my downpipe took around an hour with rusty bolt and hand tools... it only took me a few hours to take pictures of every fitting, plug, and hose as i was removing my engine. i figure if i have a picture of EVERYTHING then it will go together the same way it came out. i also marked some things with a paint marker and zipties. but all together removing the engine only took prob 6 to 8 hours and i really took my time.. (that doesnt include the breaks i took) i just took really clear pictures and putting it back in was just as smooth... i had it up on jack stands and used only hand tools. i hooked up the cherry picker after i removed the tranny and other stuff. undid the engine mounts and pulled it right out. it only took a few hours to calmly take the engine apart and put it back together... I organized every seal in the process and triple checked all bolt torque specs. cleaning all the engine internals, bolts, springs, and seals did take some time. But it was worth it to me. i saved a lot of money so i figured i would replace my good stock apex seals with the RA super apex seals and the Pineapple Racing water seals. they say OEM water seals work just as well but i have no complaints with the Pineapple ones... It was a good time tho.. I Drank A lot of MONSTERS! and if you just want to take out your engine and have someone else rebuild it you still save a tone!
O and I got all my pictures from the removal still if you happen to need them. if not no worries. It was a Big Job.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions because I've been burned in the past by franchise mechanics I have a very hard time trusting anyone I dont know. I'm leaning towards Pettit because I'm buying the "20 years experience building race motors" will yeild a better than new rebuilt motor.
Yes I'm eating up their propaganda like a fat kid in an all you can eat buffet but perhaps that is what I really want the belief that I had the best man for the job DO IT RIGHT.

At least this way I wont feel guilty about taking her to the buzzer exiting every on/off ramp.

Cheers
7zoom

p.s. I'll post up my experience and results as soon as I get her done.....cant wait

 

I agree.

I've seen well maintained, properly drive and properly modded FD motors go well over 100k miles. I'd get a compression test just to get the general health of the motor but I'd just keep on driving it for now.


I think Goodfella was referring to all the other parts under the hood that might need to get replaced if they never have been before:

- the engine wiring harness gets brittle and causes odd issues. Best to replace with a new one for ~$900
- fuel injectors need to be replaced or cleaned
- new coolant hoses and clamps
- new FPD and fuel lines (fuel line recall kit)
- new OMP lines,
- new solenoids to replace the ones that get broken during the removal process
- vacuum hoses
- motor mounts
- clutch
- coils if they aren't working properly
- turbos b/c at 100k miles they are pretty tired and probably need to be replaced. I'd just get a set of 99 twins from rx7.com or BNR twins run sequentially for a fun street car.

Pettit is a great resource.

 

Sell your running block for $800-$1000. Put that money towards a dealer reman and have it installed.

I know Cam for many years, I used to live close to him. They are good honest people and worth the wait. Sucks you went all the way down there though.

Anthony

 

+1 for Pettit Racing and Cam. Cam has a freakish sixth-sense when it comes to FD's, he can diagnose problems as your driving up to the shop. Lots of good Rotard's in South FL, but you can't go wrong with Pettit. Expensive, but worth every dime in the long run.

 

AnthonyNYC, Unixpilot and Gracer7- Rx7,

Thanks for the comments it really helps to hear good referals especially when your planning on dropping some serious, to me anyway, coin with someone you dont really know.

I dont plan on competing with my car although they did build a track nearby Central Florida road course which I would like to know if I felt like taking a few laps I could knowing my car was up for the task.

My plan is to keep her for a long long time so even more reason to go with the "experts"

Cheers

7zoom

 

Ill throw in another opinion, drive the wheels off of it until it pops. These cars arent worth much anymore and some shops charge as much for rebuilds as the cars are worth anymore. You wont want to reuse 80k mile housings, bearings, apex seals springs, oil control rings, corner seal springs, side seal springs, etc and possibly not the irons with that mileage. Drive it till it pops, stock twins can be picked up for $250.00 for a true low mileage set these days so no big deal if the apex seals takes them out. Just drive the car, enjoy it, be prepared for when stuff goes wrong. Most fd owners drive around babying the car and afraid to enjoy it waiting for something to go wrong. Just drive it and when the engine lets go, do a nice rebuild with stronger seals, new wiring harness, new injectors(not cleaned), new coolant hoses, new vac lines, new check valves if they apply, new clutch, resurface flywheel and continue to enjoy another 50-80k miles before doing it all again. You can buy a running fd with nice mods, do two engine rebuilds before you get in the price range of a c5 z06. It is still one of the best performance cars for the money, most forget it is a performance car.