cdrake3

I love the rotary engine. If I could, and I hope to be able to, I want to be able to make a living working on rotaries. Where did you guys acquire the knowledge and attain the skills that you have? Whether you're new to the scene, or a seasoned veteran, I want to know how and where you got your skills and knowledge. I know that the best way to learn is through experience, but unfortunately I am not in the financial position to purchase a car for my very own. Where can I learn everything there is to know about the RX-7, from the very basics, to the most complicated details?

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

Although I "love" Rotary Engines,If I had to depend on them as my source of Income,I would be Hungry and homeless!
I got my basics from HERE on the Rx7 Club,so you are Off to a good Start.
Personally I would think long and hard about Making a Living off them.I've been on here since 2005 and I have seen them come and go.If that doesn't tell ya something your eyes are not open wide enough!

denfinster

good luck, that is very ambitious of you.

toxindm

I'm only 20, but the way I acquired my knowledge was through my dad. He still helps me all the time with my S5. I've driven it over 3000 miles and it hasn't had a problem. We picked it up from his friend it's my second car helped me put it back together as they sold it to me the some components were not in tact and we had to put a water pump, and actually sort of put the engine together since it was laying in a yard for over 3 years. To be honest we weren't sure if the car worked. His friend gave us his word it did and we trusted it and I handed him the 1000 bucks and now its a work in progress still. My dad is above average on mechanics but that is not his main strength as custom body work and painting cars is his expertise. Although I've had it easy with cars and my FC I am thankful for him because if not for him I'd be spending to much money on this car. I've spend maybe 1600 bucks so far not counting labor work of course cause its free. Either way here's the work in progress

toxindm

Here's the pic.

Evil Aviator

I'm not a mechanic, but I learned what I know through experience working on my own cars and from discussing things with rotary gurus. From a financial aspect, I think you would be much better off specializing in import cars in general rather than rotary engines specifically. Junior colleges, community colleges, and technical schools in your area probably offer low-budget mechanic courses, and usually you only need to be 16 years old. There are two big rotary shops in your state, so you could maybe call them to see if they could use somebody to sweep the floors or help out with their race teams. They could probably also tell you what kind of education would help you the most.
Racing Beat - Mazda Performance Specialists
MAZDATRIX for Mazda RX7, RX8, Rotary Engine Parts and Accessories

TOFUDRIFTER

I've loved rotaries/mazdas since I was 11, more like a deep and burning passion. I'm 21 now, picked up my first rotary (82 GS) almost over a year ago, and got a job at the local Mazda dealership about 2 years ago. If you want to accomplish something. And I mean truly accomplish something, it will happen, get out there, learn as much as you can. Get some hands on experience, pick up a few books here and there, check out the generation specific threads, you can download some FSM's and a lot of little goodies to learn a lot from.
As far as being a "rotary specialist" as I've wanted to be for a really long time. I'll tell you this, what's the point in being really good at just one thing? Sure it would be awesome to be a phoenomal rotary mechanic, but why just stop building your skills in one area?

Good luck, feel free to ask questions, and I'm not sure where you're located, but if its around MN, I'm more than open to getting together and wrenching together. I'm starting a huge build on my FB in the spring.

welfare

absolutely. a basic knowledge of automotive will benefit you huge. structured courses are the way to go. whether it's a 4 cylinder gas, diesel, or rotary, all electronic fuel injected vehicles use some form of engine management. a map sensor operates under the same premise regardless. ignition systems, heck, electrical in general is all universal. if you want to get your feet wet on the mechanical side of these motors specifically, just find yourself a broke na motor and tear into it. they're actually very simple when compared to a piston motor. just closer tolerances.

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

I've learned through experience, asking questions, and reading.

I had my last rx7 for 6 years

Rotary >Pistons

Tem120

iTrader: (5)

,I've learned alot by reading , and just general knowledge of the combustion engine . but to make a living , not even close to good enough . experience and I would suggest rebuilding an engine . taking it apart and rebuilding it would give you a much better undertanding then reading a bunch of text , being able to see the engine and then theory , clicks with reality ..

Ofcourse this is just my experience with rebuilding a couple piston engine . with my dad . When I was younger ( never done a rotary yet)

No_love_for_pistons

iTrader: (4)

From all the repairs I've had to make over time

Read the forum posts, haynes manual, factory service manuals, and actually working on your car will get you a lot of knowledge.

Rotor_Venom08

iTrader: (3)

from A: help from others. via the forum or local club members
and B: from being it wrong and breaking a couple of them and then figuring it out.

RotaryRocket88

iTrader: (7)

This is the typical way.

For my convertible the repair/replace list over 11 years goes something like this:

Alternator 2x
Water pump
P/S pump
Starter
Differential
Transmission 2x
Engine
Turbo
Brakes 3x
Engine Mounts
Front Diff Mount
Clutch 2x
Wheels
Top
Window regulator
Window switches
Power Antenna

rx78581

i agree with tem120 a basic knowledge of combustion engine is the first start i started growing up helping my father working on everything from lawn mowers to cars and from there went to uti in chicago was not cheap but a great school to learn everything about cars from diagnosing to performance classes from there you have to do your research on the vehicle line you want to work on weather it be rotaries on diesels good luck to you

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

my brother actually got me started with rotaries. it was 1986 and i remember he had an Rx-3 Wagon before he got his first Rx-7. the sound!!!!! the sound lured me in and i asked the question that changed my life: "what's under the hood?"

i'd always been into cars and i taught myself a lot about combustion engines through reading as well as watching my brother work (he's been a mechanic since the 70s).

however, like i said, i read a lot - the RB Technical Manuals, Rotary Engine, magazine articles, brochures, any- and everything i could get my hands on. by the time i bought my first Rx-7, much less pulled apart my first engine, i knew quite a bit. i taught myself how to port engines by trial and error. i taught myself how to tune carbureted setups the same way.

a heating issue led me to this board, and another world opened up to me. i started acquiring much more refined technical information and i do my best to keep an open mind in order to learn and keep on learning as much as i can.

you mentioned not being able to buy a car, but if you are serious. i'd say read as much as you can - start with the basics and go from there. however, it might be good idea to try to get your hands on an engine - it doesn't have to be functional, but chances are you will pick up a lot by actually seeing where things go and how they make the engine work. you can learn so much having the beast right in front of you. it will take time. it won't come overnight, but if you keep at it, you can do it.

as an aside, i plan to get a VW air-cooled engine as soon as funds and time allows to start teaching myself teardown and rebuilds on those.

rickydburn

trial and error....lots of error

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

Learning the hard way is the best way not to forget what you learned, surely if you've made mistakes that caused your engine to prematurely break you won't make those mistakes again.

Things many people learn the hard way:

1. Never overheat a rotary-if you do try to shut it off asap(your coolant seals will thank you),the stock clutch fan is known to go, never use anything but Mazda thermostat, water pump, and radiator cap/tstat neck cap.

2. Keep your oil and coolant levels checked often (at least once every few drives or once a week--or everyday if you love your rx7 like its your child), add coolant/oil when needed

3. If you smell gas, fix the fuel leak or you could have an engine fire (its likely your fuel pulsation dampener-on the end of the primary fuel rail:the fuel rail under the intake)

4. Do preventive maintenance, if you're already taking the engine out, get as much stuff replaced or serviced as u can: all the fuel/vacuum hoses, get fuel injectors cleaned, new engine mounts, fuel filter, possibly a new clutch and a lightweight flywheel etc(kill 2+ birds with one stone)

5. Replace your spark plugs often, they get fouled out quicker than piston engines because rotaries burn oil, so they foul out faster, and when theyve been used a while it'll make it harder for the car to start as well as hurting your gas milage

Just some stuff I figured I'd say have fun

Rotary >Pistons

Ink1472

My family is where i picked it up from. I have been around them since i was a kid. One rx3 and a couple of rx7. There fun cars and a blast to drive. The sound is what got me. If you want to make a living at it i would sugest you do all makes and models of all cars. Dont limit your self. Good Luck

Haedoken

Ive learned from trial and errors and friends.
I always try and meet as many people as I can at car meets.

Good luck

a31cefiro

iTrader: (1)

I use the FSM, information on this forum, to learn how to work on my own car. No help from anyone else, unless there's something too complex for me to work on myself.

Andre Fung

iTrader: (1)

From other rotary enthusiasts, trial and error, reading both forums and haynes etc.

D4V

This is probly the best way of getting to understand the mechanics of the engine. Loves them animations!

FD_6423

iTrader: (2)

Service manuals will help you with everything. Even shows you how to do something with EPDs and wiring schematics.

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

unfortunately you're coming in a bit late to expect much of anything entering the rotary market.

core engines need to be cheap to make it as a rebuilder and the supply is very slim on rotary engines now even if you did find the experience necessary to do it. the renesis RX8 is the next ticket for rebuilders EXCEPT the 13B-MSP RX8 engines usually are fairly well torn up before they ever make it to rebuilding stage, making good cores hard to find as well as expensive still. rebuilders also cannot compete with the price that mazda set forth and maintains on their remanufactured engines. some people will pay for a non mazda reman due to quality standard issues with the mazda remans, only other reason to build a 13B-MSP is to replace the brittle OEM seals for high horsepower applications. porting will gain you squat, maybe even less power.

this is not set to try and keep competition low, but to set the record straight. i have seen plenty of DIYers come and go in recent years, most resorted to downright shady **** to try and make it work. earning a name while getting high dollar customers is a pretty steep expectation. it took me nearly 10 years of back breaking free labor, giving things away to get to the point of actually charging 100% of what i should and do now to make all that time worth it, and after that amount of time i was asking myself daily "is it worth it?". only other way is investors or expensive loans to buy machinery to do specialized work that no one nearby you does, and that puts you in an immediate hole that you need to be prepared to need to climb out of.


i learned the hard way, working on a TII i bought with a blown engine that i had to tear down and reassemble 3 times due to electrolysis erosion. not something common but something you will eventually find in these engines. it was an ironic learning experience since my first and personal car was also the worst case i have still seen to date, which put me on an immediate steep learning curve since there was no documentation on electrolysis erosion in the early days of this forum. knowing all the passages and how they function, hot spots, coolant boiling, possible repairs, etc etc etc. except parts were readily available back then.

the forefront of today's market is refurbishing otherwise unusable parts, or at least modifying/repairing them to give acceptable results. because new old stock shelved items are quickly disappearing along with good condition used parts.

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

I've heard rumors of a new Rx7 with higher displacement coming out in the future, hopefully the rotary will make a comeback soon.

Rotary >Pistons