STONER44

I am curious who has rebuilt there own motor. Also would you do it again, what exactly did you do, what parts did you use, any otherbits of info.

I am trying to decide if I should undertake the project.

oo7arkman

iTrader: (2)

If you are honestly considering this I would suggest you purchase the very well-known rebuild video that goes through the process in detail. This will really give you an idea if this is something that you believe you have the skills and desire to take on. Not too mention if you have all of the correct tools to perform it. You may have to purchase several and it is more cost-effective to pay a reputable builder.

Found here: http://www.rotaryaviation.com/overhaul_video.htm

Pineapple Racing also has several videos on their website that go over some of the same items.

Now to try and answer you question a little more directly, I am about to take on this project myself. It does not look beyond my level of mechanical competence and I think it will be a great learning and fun experience. I plan on using the Pineapple racing rebuild kit (oem but the upgraded water seals) and RA's 2mm Super seals. Why this combo? I have done a LOT of reading, research and spoken to several experts and decided this was the best route for me. It is nor the cheapest or most expensive but I am unwilling to sacrifice quality on the seals, I want the best coolant seals I can get (reason I have to rebuild) and I have heard many good things about the RA super seals so I am gonna give em a try.

hwnd

iTrader: (4)

I have Atkins, MazdaTrix, DIY 13B RE, Bruce T dvd's... I can can honestly say I've picked up a few things from each of them but at the same time I also liked having the same process shown to me from different points of views (& different methods).

If you're simply interested in doing it yourself then I'd suggest buying all the rebuild dvd's and watching them. You really will learn how to install seals at least two different ways/methods. and checking for tolerances, etc. it's really cool to have those different views on the same subject.

oo7arkman

iTrader: (2)

^^Definitely true. I have picked up a few other ways of doing things from the short pineapple vids that will make the build easier.

I thought about getting more than one version, but I think just one will allow me to do the rebuild well. Are you still in the area? If so, you care if I rent any of those from ya?

STONER44

I bought the movie from mazdatrix and a bunch of other books. I am an audi technician so I believe that I can do it, but like any engine there is things that can kick your butt if you don't do it day in and day out.

Plus cost of having a reputable shop rebuild it seems to be at least 3k all the way to 5k. Now thats a lot of other parts that could be bought. Then there is the self-satisfaction of knowing you built your car.

Any info would be great. Thanks for the previous post already.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Your own rebuild can turn out to be 2x those amounts if done wrong. I don't think the rebuild is that difficult. However, there are always things "you don't know, until you know". I've always used the following advice for those who don't rebuild rotaries everyday: Don't attempt the first rebuild by yourself if you can't afford (in time and money) to do it twice.

STONER44

^^^^ Agreed. Unless you do it for a living there is always something hiding that can kick your butt. I have contemplated your 2x theory, but how do you learn if someone else does it? and how do you learn avoiding costly mistakes?


Good input

arghx

iTrader: (3)

I have a very similar setup to that on the motor I built for my car a year ago. The OEM stuff fits the best and is easiest to install, especially the oil control rings.

arghx

iTrader: (3)

I built mine with the Rotary Aviation video, the service manual, and the www.rebuildingrotaryengines.com videos. The key is organization, cleaning, and careful inspection/tolerancing of parts.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Yes. However, there can be a price to learning. You just need to decide if the price it worth it based on the alternatives. Some people enjoy wrenching on cars and learning new things no matter what gets torn up. Others just want to drive and have the car down the least amount of days as possible.

94touringFD

iTrader: (30)

Honestly, the rebuild is the only thing my brother and I didn't do ourselves. After finding and speaking to Banzai-Racing I couldn't see the point in us doing it. All the rebuild kits seem to cost just as much as having them do it. Then on top of that I wanted it ported so that was something I definitely wanted done by an experienced professional, so I would have to pay shipping regardless. So, other than shipping my rebuild was only $1900 with porting. I found it easier and cost effective to go this route and am extremely pleased with the work they did. Literally, the day they received my engine they disassembled it taking pictures every step of the way, made a web page, and emailed it to me. I just figured would I would let you know this as I too found my initial quotes a lot higher. It's worth looking into if you don't want to spend money that isn't necessary and could go elsewhere.

arghx

iTrader: (3)

One thing you have to consider is that if you don't pay someone to build the motor, you can use the money you save to replace parts. You can put in a new rotor housing instead of reusing one, get all new side seals, etc. Some rebuild kits are more comprehensive than others. Your "bargain basement" build may reuse all the springs even though they are barely in spec. They may reuse a rotor housing with a little bit of chrome flake. That extra $800+ in labor you may save can go right back into the motor.

The more stuff you reuse the more likely you are to have less compression or shorter engine life (assuming you don't blow it up anyway).

Also, you can set all the clearances the way you want to (side seals being the most common thing to clearance). You can make your own judgment call on whether you want to reuse the parts or not, 5 pros will all have their own opinion on what's "useable."

Finally, if you want to practice porting you can buy junk irons and housings, especially nonturbo FC junk irons.

STONER44

Good stuff. ^^^^ I agree with being clean organized and torque specs are key. One of the reasons I want to do it myself is that I can put more money all over.

My plan is to build a good reliable motor with 99 spec turbos.(I know reliable and rotary, but I believe it can be done by taking out as many of the flaws.

oo7arkman

iTrader: (2)

Oh I completely agree. Don't get me wrong, just b/c I have studied some video I am not under the impression that I now know everything I need to know about building a top-quality motor. I am sure I will find surprises, and have a few questions along the way that I will have to answer. But this stuff is fun for me and I LOVE learning how to do things like this.

I think that taking time, making sure the tolerances are correct, and everything is installed per the vids and FSM it is unlikely (though not impossible) that a properly built motor can be attainable.



I agree. I found that it would cost maybe another $1k to pay someone. But the way I see it is I am using that money to replace several things at this time. All new seals/springs, new harness, new motor mounts, dual oil coolers, AI kit, etc. That $1k is going to come in useful. Plus I dont like paying others to have all the fun for me!! (<--real reason)

Though I am DEFINITELY leaving the porting to professionals. Brian at BDC will be porting my motor.

streetdreamzny

iTrader: (6)

I rebuilt my motor myself, and don't think I would do it again. I ended up destroying most of my motor costing me a lot more then the shop would have charged to do it. I took the motor to KDR to be torn down so I can know what I did wrong and apparently I didn't tighten the nut to the oil pump enough and it came lose after only a few miles. The damage was I needed a new rotor, 2 side housing, e-shaft, corner seals and bearings + have the side housings re-ported. I used the rotary aviation rebuilt kit and video. I did everything else right but unless its 100% its not good enough. I did learn alot though but next time I think I'll pass.

arghx

iTrader: (3)

Here's a tip: have a knowledge and organized friend help you disassemble and assemble the shortblock. Both can be done actually pretty quickly, in just a few hours. It is the cleaning, inspecting, and clearancing that can take a long time and you will probably end up doing that solo.

Having a second pair of eyes during disassembly will help you not lose anything. Having a second pair of eyes during assembly will keep you from missing some little detail. You should have the DVD and FSM set up as you are stacking the motor so you can follow step by step. This will help keep you from forgetting little things, like which way the coolant seals should be oriented.

milano maroon

iTrader: (1)

I found that Rotary Resurrection's engine rebuild write up was very well done and well worth the cost. It explained things very well and complimented the Mazdatrix video I used.

I would do it again. Probably the thing that helped me the most was the fact that I wasn't in a hurry. I took a lot of time, double and triple checked as much as I could. Patience, paying attention to clearances, keeping stuff clean, and a good source of parts (I received good service from Atkins Rotary but there are other good sources) will all pay off.

Lawman_AUT

I think i will write down my researches:

I also have 4 "do it yourself" videos and like oo7arkman wrote, every video has unique infos which are important. AND i own a FSM ( in german language ^^ ).
streetdreamzny´s reply is also interesting and something to learn from, so i will double check all steps!

Next thing, im buying all special tools to measure all stock parts if they are good enough to reuse them again.

And of course im checking prices for the rebuild kits, man the difference is huge...

So yes, i will do my first rebuild myself!

WaachBack

iTrader: (21)

Ive built a few. My first one didnt come out to well, it had 90psi compression on both rotors. This was because I didnt take the time to clearance the motor. You would be suprised how much speccing your side seals to .002 helps your compression.

Buy the video, dont skimp on housings, buy OEM seals except for apex seals, take your time and do it right the first time.

STONER44

Well I am pretty much sure that I will rebuild mine after I get done moving.

Make sure you guys post where your buying your stuff from and your thoughts on it.

scotty305

iTrader: (2)

"Who here has rebuilt there own motor?"

I have very little to contribute here, aside from pointing out that you misspelled one of the seven words in the title of your thread. Spelling or grammar may or may not be directly related to mechanical aptitude or attention to detail... good luck just the same.

hwnd

iTrader: (4)

Thats funny, all the way around.

STONER44

Sorry,

THEIR own motor. Satisified?

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

I cut my teeth on FC's, did my first motor rebuild in my old FC back in the day. I was still fairly new to turning wrenches, but had a good buddy who had been around cars and engines all his life. He'd never done a rotary, but he was a lot of help as far as figuring out how to deal with bolts, getting the engine out, etc.

I screwed a LOT of stuff up on that first motor. Ended up pulling the front cover about 6-7 times (no joke) trying to fix stuff. I screwed up the thrust washer installation so the whole motor was slopping back and forth every time I pressed the clutch.

Fortunately there's a lot more resources out there now on how to build the motor, with videos, clips on the web, writeups, you name it.

Really, at the end of the day, building the motor isn't that bad. Cleaning everything up is a HUGE amount of the time you spend, and knowing what parts are and aren't reusable is another big part. If you start with good parts, take your time clearancing apex seals, put everything together right, you'll be OK. Hell, stacking the motor itself only takes an hour and a half, tops. It's the day of cleaning and the day of clearancing side seals and the weeks spent looking for a good rotor housing that gets ya.

Really, even harder than the motor is all the stuff that bolts onto it. If you don't document and label everything you'll have a nightmare down the road. Also, you need to take the opportunity to do everything RIGHT - clean everything up, rewrap the tape on your wire harness, put in new coolant hoses from Mazda, new gaskets, etc.

When I build a motor, I like to assemble the long block on an engine stand, going slow, making sure everything is perfect, then dropping it in the car.

If you're doing it the first time, you have to be willing to persevere, willing to accept that you might have to pull the motor back out and start all over, know that you will likely have to spend a lot more money than you originally budgeted and that it will take much longer than you thought....

The other biggie is don't get too carried away with "while I'm in here" projects. The more stuff you work on and mess with the more you'll be prone to either not completing the project or end up with problems or a non-running engine. Keep It Simple.

Dale

BDC

I remember that, Dale. Good times.