charger759

which is easier to rebuild in your guys' opinion, im new to this rotary stuff. just doing some research, feel free to elaborate on whatever you think i need to know.
thanks

Project84

I think the rotary is easier.

kyle@insight

I personally think the piston motor is easier because of the larger amount of knowledge out there. Jim bob doesn't exactly rebuild a rotary in his backyard much like he would a chevy smallblock. Piston motors are what I was raised on so I'd be more familiar with those.

D3rELiC

what about cost, if no pistons are blown, and neither the rotors

chairchild

rotaries would cost the most, due to the cost of the gaskets (not a lot of aftermarket companies would make them - you'd mainly have to get dealer ones)
But how many moving bits do rotary engines have to go wrong?
# x2 Rotors
# eccentric driveshaft

now compare that to a standard 4cl 8v piston jobbie:
# x4 pistons
# x4 camrods
# driveshaft
# cam
# x8 valves
# x8 valve springs
# and all the other timing stuff

a rotary has 3 main bits to go wrong when taking it apart, a piston has more than 26 that can either be bent, broken, or put in wrong.
So if nothing need replacing, and you have a full set of gaskets, I would say the rotary would be the easiest to rebuild

Louis M

On the Racing Beat website, it says:
Rebuild Kit 93-95 Turbo
Part Number: 30017
Retail Price: $1,360.00

peejay

Rotaries are easier (less measuring) but piston engines are cheaper. You could buy all of the parts needed to do a proper rebuild on many boingers for less than the cost of a single rotor housing.

I was asked recently to rebuild an engine for someone. I quoted an absurdly low labor price, because I felt bad about the parts cost. $1100 for for the hard seals and gasket set. We ain't even bought new housings yet ($500 each, should use two) or rotors (at least one is bad, another $500 or so each). It'd be cheaper to buy a complete running RX-7 and put its engine in the car, then part out the rest. (Or let weeds and small trees grow through it in the backyard, depending on your neighborhood and/or the tolerance of other people in your household)

Economics sucks, don't it.

I should specify that the cost problem isn't due to it being a rotary, it's due to Mazda's grab-your-ankles pricing strategy for parts. Talk to old timers, many of 'em will tell you about how prices for engine parts went up about TENFOLD, two-odd decades ago. They haven't been getting lower, either.