Pasted from my intro thread in the new member intro section:

I come from an era of ricers and idiots racing but I will not fall into either category. I found a Chaste White Touring FD on Cars.com with 85k miles and paid for it without even checking it out. It needs minor bodywork and a complete engine overhaul (Go figure) Good news- Oil seals went and not the apex seals (yet) I plan on replacing the seals, going 3mm apex seals from ____? forgot who but they have never failed (yet) I also plan on an aggressive street port while the little guy is open.


Question:Atkins 13b rebuild kit: $1400 Too much for me---- Can I get away with just the Oil seal kit and Apex seal kit?? ($700)

Thx

 

Engine needs new oil seals

Question:Atkins 13b rebuild kit: $1400 Too much for me at the moment --- Can I get away with just the Oil seal kit and Apex seal kit?? ($700)

 

*You need a gasket kit which as the name implies, will include coolant or soft seals. You cannot reuse the old ones.
*You MIGHT be able to reuse some hard seals (apex seals; side seals and corner seals) IF they're within spec. The only exception is if you have the OEM 3 pc apex seals. Those should be replaced regardless. You won't know until it's apart. Regardless, I would NOT recommend trying to reuse hard seal springs. All hard seal springs IMO should be replaced.
*Unless you have a particular reason for doing so, I would NOT recommend 3mm seals. You'll have additional machining costs to install them and they usually don't seal as well. There are good choices in 2mm apex seals out there (OEM; Goopy; RA etc.). Search and decide for yourself.
*Equally important as the hard and soft seals will be the condition of the housings.

I see you're in NJ. You might want to talk to these guys.... ---> http://www.irperformance.com/?page_id=11

 

Thx Sarge

See you around and stay tuned!

 

Rosati FD ...STYX SENT YOU MY INFO..


NOTE by MOD: all advertsing is now deleted.
Any Info by this poster was sent by pm by mod before deleted.

 

If you are in a tight budget, rotary aviation has a apex seals set with springs for $225.00, atkins rotary has side seals springs and corner (pac-man) seals springs for a very reasonable price, also a set of solid corner seals for good price. rotary werks in miami fl. has a complete set of oil/water (also reusable for 93 13b), rotor oil rings seals kit I believe for $100.00. ( all o rings). All of this for less than $700.00 just to start with the internals.

 

Thank you but I'll be rebuilding the engine with my friend who rebuilt rotaries in the past and I'm not too shabby myself ; )


Thank you Rot!


Anyone knowledgeable about bodywork?

Rear decklid dent A little worried it will be $$$ / a lot of work Any thoughts?

 

Got any friends at the local body shop?

If you're feeling brave remove the taillight assembly and take a small rubber mallet to the inside of the decklid dent. Tap gently but "assertively". Watch out for paint chips.

 

You can get away with reusing many of the seals that normally come with the kit.

Save yourself time and money in the long run, buy the full kit and raplace everything. You will kick yourself later if you don't, trust me.

Dont bother with the 3mm apex seals, stay with the 2mm ones.

 

Thanks guys good advice. I'm trying to piece together the whole thing but have to spend 500 just to get it here to NJ

 

Just hold of until you are able to do it right. You are going to have to spend twice as much in the long run if the motor fails due to a short cut in the build. Probably would be cheaper to tow the car than to do a build anyway.

 

True wisdom !!!!

 

My friend here speaks wisely.

Old STYX Proverb:
There is a reason why your *** has 2 sides.
If you Half *** things,then you can always have the other side to sit on and think about what you did wrong.

 

Good one!

Thought I was gonna get the "2 ears and 1 mouth" Listen > Speak!

Okay. I'll save up for the full rebuild kit. Should only be a week or two time and money difference and added security / comfort

Thanks guys

 

I absolutely understand having a budget. But still think you should (re)consider having IRP do it. And if you're still running the sequential system, consider having them R & R the engine too. An experienced gear-head might be able to do the rebuild itself following the FSM. But seems like the trouble comes when reinstalling the long-block stuff and complicated sequential system. One little mistake can be a PITA to track down and sort, while those guys at IRP can probably do it in their sleep. They've got a good reputation and it'll be done right the first time....keeping the car fun and not a source of worry and frustration. Just a thought.

And no....I have NO interest in the business or know any of them personally. I'm in the middle of fly-over country. Maybe that's why I envy owners having a rotary specialty shop so close. Closest one to me is still about a 12 hr drive.

 

I see. Maybe I'll have them overhaul the turbo Sys but I plan on putting in silicone hoses

How do you guys think those turbos (kept at stock boost) will be at 85k miles?

I ordered both engine pull and engine rebuild DVDs from Rotary aviation plus aaroncake and another pro build in Australia as my ammo...

 

Should have alot of miles left if they've been kept at stock levels with regular oil changes. Mine have ~120k and still doing fine.
Even if you had them to the work there's nothing wrong with being an informed consumer. Getting those videos are fine. So is reading all the stickys info and learning all you can about this car.

 

Absolutely.

First step complete

 

Ok, I'm starting to get nervous.


The more research I do on the rebuilds, the more anxiety I get.

You would think its easy to search for answers on rebuilds on here but there are so many threads that you can get lost for days reading threads and not find what you are looking for.


I spoke to Dominic at RA- He told me not to worry about the Super Seals scraping the housing. He mentioned utilizing a sump tank and supplemental 1:1 mix. He also told me that as long as my side seals, corner seals and rotor housings were ok, I'd be ok with the Basic rebuild kit.

He quoted me a great price for super seals, upgraded springs and the basic rebuild kit

Think hes just trying to sell the kit?

Ihor warned me about oil scraper rings and thats definitely a nail biter for me if the previous owner ran the car with a bad oil seal.


I may be biting off more than I can chew, but I've made my bed and now i'll have to sleep in it


Hopefully I'll have you guys for support but I feel as though there are post ***** on this forum if the topic has been discussed over the past 15 years....so hard to find information

Ex: If you type in oil seal failure, no relevant items come up

 

It might be the terms you use. I got these threads using "oil control" in 'Titles Only'....
RX7Club.com - Search Results

 

We have had the best results with RX Parts seals. Premixing only does so much and I feel every rotary should run premix. The metal oil control rings can be checked by measuring the shiny portion. If it is more than .5mm wide, they are worn out of spec. These are expensive but I saw Atkins now sells good used sets for a decent price.

 

Ok thanks for the updates

 

Quick question:

Only difference between Master rebuild kit and Basic rebuild kits

Basic lacks the 1-Oil pump chain- Which has to be checked for tension and re used in every rebuild video I've watched

2- Rotor Oil seal set- What exactly is this set? Can't find much info but I'd imagine I could tell a lot easier if the engine was open and I can see exactly what the kit is lacking

Rotor oil seal set? If they aren't the main Oil control rings in the center of the rotor, then what are they? I guess only when they are able to be inspected can you make the judgement to reuse?

Or is the bulk of the expense for the master kit the actual oil pump chain?

Cant see how another seal set can tack on an extra $400 ...

 

The oil seal set is the metal oil scraper rings. They do wear out. You have to measure them. The shiny portion cannot be wider that .5mm or the motor may smoke. A new set is over $340.

 

Oh ok now I see how it could be Haha.. Thanks got it now