Hi everyone, I have a 1988 non-turbo engine that's been sitting in a barn for 15 or so years. I haven't looked inside it yet at all, but it ran (just barely) when it was taken out of the car so I'm hoping it's not too bad inside. Compression loss of some kind, but I wasn't old enough then to remember exactly what happened. I want to rebuild it (and get its irons ported) so my car can have its original engine back but I had some questions.

When I read the FSM, I saw some kind of dial indicator holder used to measure stepped wear on the face of the iron. Will I need to get one of those or can it be "good enough"? Otherwise, if I send my irons off to get ported, will whoever does it usually be able to check it?

Other than that I should have all the micrometers, calipers, wrenches, sockets (except flywheel socket) etc etc I need. I have my dad's tools and he was an off-road racer who built a million 4cyls in the 90s.

As for parts that can be re used, the FSM says rotor seals can be re-used if they meet the specs. Is it really a good idea to re-use them? I'm all for pinching pennies (being a broke college student) but not if it's gonna come back to bite me.
Are there other parts that the FSM says you can re-use but should just be replaced?

Last, does it really matter what kind of guide I use? Is Aaron Cake's RX5 engine guide fine?

 

a dial indicator is obviously a useful tool. that said, i've built several engines over the years, and while i would not compare my work to any of the greats, my engines were mostly reliable, and i didn't use a dial indicator or micrometer. all i had were feeler gauges and some cave-man age calipers. i didn't get a dial indicator or the other stuff until maybe 4 -5 years ago. so - especially as a college student - don't kill yourself worrying about that kind of thing. you can build your engine without them and be fine. you're taking the first step by coming here for support. this board is great resource. you will probably have to spring for some special tools, but don't sweat the dial indicator.

as far as if the person porting the engine will check it, it will depend on who you choose to port it. maybe ask the question whenever you speak to whomever you're speaking to about the work.

this is not a simple yes or no question. you can reuse hard seals if they are in spec, but the measurements are not all you have to look for, for example, i've seen side seals come out of engines (that my guess is they overheated at some point) where they may be in spec, but i would not reuse them because of the circumstance. they sometimes get brittle, and therefore, if i see one of those in the engine, then i'd rather replace the whole set, at least, on that rotor. also, if the engine is original, and has those 3 piece apex seals, then i would opt to change them to the newer/simpler 2 piece design. so, like i said, it's not a simple question, but in general, you can reuse seals that are in spec.

generally speaking, if Aaron Cake is giving advice or illustration, it's a good idea to pay attention. he is great. however, you should probably have an actual reference on-hand. i like the Haynes manual, myself. i know there are some videos out there, too, i think Mazdatrix and Atkins - someone will correct me if i am wrong. also, there are some YouTube resources on specific tasks, like gluing seals together, that you can watch in the time leading up to your big day.