I'm looking into rebuilding my engine myself and wanted to ask all the rebuilders and DIY-ers: How long does it take you from removal to installation? If I'm gonna do this, I'll probably need a few days off from work, so I'm trying to plan ahead.

 

it usually takes us a weekend.

friday night: pull engine, tear down, start cleaning.
saturday: clean, clean some more, then assemble shortblock night.
sunday: assemble longblock, install, fire up.

it should take a weekend if you have all the parts/tools prior to starting.

 

That's with two people, I assume? So then time would be at least doubled if it's only done by one person. Anybody out there track their time in total hours?

 

I did an r/r in 4 hours once It was a single turbo car though so it made it alot easier.

 

My 13B took a total of 2 months from start to finish.
- First rotary, I've done a piston engine before
- Only worked on it during the evenings
- This was over the Christmas holidays so about two weeks without progress
- Spent about two weeks total waiting on various parts that blocked progress
- Used the FSM and Turrentine rebuild video extensively
- Almost all work was done with just one person

If you study thoroughly, have the rebuild video and have all of the parts in hand when needed, you could get it done in a full week. I wouldn't plan it that way though. Unexpected things always happen, especially when you are new to a project.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

Once Ihor (rotary experiment seven) and I rebuilt mine from start to finish in about 18 hours working out of a garage with no lift. This was 2 guys with all the needed tools and parts however. I think for a first-timer Nicad's experience is about right.

 

Great feedback, nicad. I've got the RA removal dvd on order and am going to purchase the DIY-RE rebuild dvds. Once I watch those, I'll gauge whether or not I can do this myself. I had a feeling it would take about a week or so. I've also got the FSM on my hard drive, which has been a great help thus far.

Thanks, guys, for the insight.

Off topic: Goodfella, always wanted to ask-what size are your rims (referring to your sig)? Looks good with the '99 Spec front + R1-R2 wing.

 

yeah my "quote" was with two people, but doing it by yourself shouldnt add that much time, unless maybe you have ADD or something.

removal/reinstall is the part that takes the longest.
hours:
removal ~3-4 hours
teardown ~1 hour
cleaning ~4-5 hours
shortblock assembly ~2-3 hours
longblock assembly ~1-2 hours
reinstall ~3-4 hours

 

Actually, I think I have a mild case of ADD. But considering my limited experience, it's probably safe to add a couple of hours here and there. Thanks for the hourly breakdown posted above. I'll reference it to plan my hours/days accordingly.

 

It's VERY hard to say. Are you gonna work non-stop? Do you have EVERY single part on hand, and won't be making a ton of trips to the parts store/tool store? Will there be things you haven't seen before that will stump you?

Really, you need to plan for a significant amount of downtime, especially if it's your first time doing this. When you try to make a schedule for a project like this and stick to it, that's when things go wrong - you re-use sub-par parts, make mistakes, forget to tighten fasteners, forget to hook things up, etc.

The best way to approach it is to take your time. Make steady progress, but don't try and set a record. Go slow, label EVERYTHING, take pictures. You'd be surprised how short of an amount of time it takes to forget where that connector plugs in, how that hose runs, or what that goofy bolt goes to.

Big thing for me is baggies - I get a bunch of the quart and gallon size Ziploc bags that have the sliding tab along the top. Put alike parts together in baggies, and label it with a sharpie. This keeps dirty parts together and keeps them from getting other things dirty. The slide-lock tab is easy to operate with greasy, cut up hands, too .

Speaking of dirty parts, be prepared to clean, clean, and clean again. A VERY large chunk of time is devoted to cleaning parts.

Things get much easier if you're just swapping a motor into the car, like buying a Mazda reman. That could probably be done in a week, allowing for time to order any surprise needed parts, etc. An actual rebuild by yourself will save a lot of time and is a GREAT sense of satisfaction, but it's definitely more time consuming.

Just remember - do it once, do it right. When you half-*** and rig things on an FD, it will come back to bite you.

Good luck!

Dale

 

Thanks Dale! Very good advice, indeed. I would never half-*** anything on my FD, let alone an engine rebuild. I'm still pondering whether or not I can do it myself. Once I get those vids, I'll have a better idea.

 

The vids will make the decision for you. It's all done for DIY'ers.

I don't know why those guys were giving you rebuild info of 1-3 days - they're just bragging. Fact is, it takes experience to know the job that well and move that fast. Like Dale said, figure on a few hours/day, and lots of time for stuff that you didn't expect, didn't work quite right, etc. And parts you won't know you need until you see everything apart. If it was my car, I'd budget a month, assuming I have most of the parts on hand and I like to take my time.

Dave

 

I agree with you. If its something you have never done before then its going to take weeks doing it part time. Especially if you are watching the video.

Jason

 

I would not want a short block that took someone 4 hours to tear down and build .

Takes me 1.5 hours to tear down a short block, 4 hours to clean all the parts and inspect for imperfections, 1 hour to measure all the clearances, and check that they are within specification, 2 hours to do rotor preassembly (using new side seals that have to be ground) and 3 hours to put it back together. So about 12 hours for a short block rebuild.

 

this is my first rebuild. doing it myself with help from wife and mate. i spend approximately 5 hours after work and so far its been 4days worth of work (teardown,cleaning). now i plan to get everything back together in 4-5 days +/-.

take your time and go through as much as you can. no shortcuts especially when cleaning coz the more uck you remove the better the measurements.

 

The more I read your replies, the more it feels like I should approach this rebuild in smaller chunks of time spread out over a lot of days. While this project could encompass month(s) instead of the week(s), I had originally thought, I do agree that spreading the project out over a month or two could be the best way to go about it. That'll allow me to inspect the components and my work in excruciating detail. That is, of course, if I decide to do it myself.

Since the parts sit out for a long time, what should I use to protect them from dust, dirt, etc.? Would simple baggies and plastic wrap do the trick?

In regards to the guys that get the rebuild done in a few days, I wouldn't argue that it couldn't be done. They probably have the knowledge and experience to get it done that quickly. But that simply won't be the case with me.

 

once you have the block apart and all the parts ordered...manuals read and video's watched...and parts cleaned...and tools.

I'd say,
2-4 hours checking clearances and tolerances of new and used parts
add another 2+ hours clearancing side seals if you are using new ones

then to assemble the block takes another 4-6 hours...paying close attention to detail.

about 12 hours is my estimated total...when I put my first engine together in my spare time. 3 months ordering/finding parts and another 3 months re-installing and fabbing the rest.

fuel system
block
ECU
harness
single turbo

6 months from blowing to breaking in the new set-up

 

Simply put.......don't set a completion date or amount of time it takes. Just take all the time you need. Also, I guarantee you that you will not have all the parts on hand (the first time) to complete the job! When you start putting it all back together you will find a part that will need replacement, most likely the dealer won't have it and you'll have to wait a couple days to get it. For example, during reassembly I discovered my oil injectors were bad. No point installing the fuel injectors or rats nest until getting the new ones. So that ended that weekend.

This is my 4th rotary I've built but the last one I did was 10 years ago. So I took my time. I have all the tools plus I have a solvent tank for cleaning. Buy one at Harbor Freight Tools. Worth it! Also, buy an engine stand. Here's the time I took so far:

Engine/trans removal: 8 hours by myself with a friend's help for about an hour to guide it out from underneath.

Tear down: 3 hours.

Cleaning: Many many hours. There is no way one person can clean all the parts in one day. Too much, too long too tedious. It's worse than doing the dishes! Break it up into a couple weekends or several weekday evenings.

Lapping side housings: Despite what most say on this forum, get them lapped. My last motor (NA) I built was lapped and it lasted over 150k miles. So that's about a 10 day turnaround with shipping to Racing Beat. You can clean all the other parts while waiting for the housings to come back.

Setting up rotors with new seals: New side seals have to be trimmed to fit. There are 12 of them. I use a round grinding stone mounted on my drill press. Then using an old cut section of a rotor corner makes it easy but its still tedious and time consuming. Also, the new apex seals might need light sanding on the sides to get the clearance right in the rotor slots. More time consumption. It took me about 4 hours.

Short block assy: 6 hours. Again I took my time to get it all right. This does not include installing the oil pan. That's another couple hours to punch dimples in the pan/block.

Have you thought about how you're going to torque up the big nut? I used a 5 ft pipe on my breaker bar and stood on a bathroom scale. Worked great.

Most of all have fun. There is nothing better than doing all this yourself. But, it is a pita. But, tolerable every 5 -10 years.

 

get a big partswasher and some simple green parts washers make cleaning go much much faster.

 

RX7 8U brought up a good point about the irons being lapped...something else to consider if you blew an apex seal and needed a new rotor, is to have the rotating assembly balanced (rotors come in different weights...good time to get a light weight flywheel and balance the counter weights to the old and new rotor.

Also good point about the oil pan, I did the same and have no leaks.

 

Do it in the summer time 'cause if you don't have a heater in your garage, you WILL be cold! Also, plan on having a fan 'cause when you're cleaning parts in your garage because it's 20 degrees outside, you start getting that high sensation when cleaning parts.

Other things to consider: since you've already torn down everything, you might as well as check all your parts to see if they're in working condition (fuel injectors, water thermostat, check valves, solenoids, coils, etc.). What I would do if time and money permitted would be to replace or have it professionaly taken care of if possible. That's lapped housings, porting, fuel injector cleaning, replacing vacuum and water hoses, check valves, thermostat, fuel pulsation damper, spark plugs, spark plug wires, belts, oil pump, oil pump chain, new oil metering pump lines or better yet, stainless steel lines.

Just make sure whatever that can fail, you either check it for failure or replace it while you have everything apart.

 

Not to mention that you'll have a horribly inflamed nose. Sinusitis ain't fun.

Dave

 

Thanks for the added points regarding other components to consider. You guys have provided me with a pretty complete picture for this possible DIY rebuild. It honestly sounds more and more daunting, but to me it's still an option.

In regards to having the side housings lapped, I looked at RB's website and didn't see it mentioned. About how much does this cost? And if I were interested in new housings, is that something I go straight to a Mazda dealer for?

And, BTW, I went out and bought a space heater for my garage last week.

 

Thanks . they are 17x8.5 and 17x10 with 245/40 and 275/40s.

Rich

 

Wow, I thought they were at least 18s. The 17s look really well with the drop--this is encouraging since I've only wanted to go max. 17" for rim size.

I've gotten my DIY-RE rebuild videos today, and am about to check them out. For anyone interested in buying the DVDs, I can attest to the FAST shipping (especially considering that it came from New Zealand). I ordered them either Friday or Saturday and they came in today. I did pay $35 for FedEx shipping, but it should be well worth it.