I'm a rotary rookie.
 

Okay, the title says it all. I'm completely new to the rotary cars, but earlier this year I bought a 1988 RX7 Convertible. The car hasn't ran in 2 years and the last time it ran it was pluming white smoke everywhere so it was burning coolant. I'm getting ready to pull the engine and rebuild it (I'd like to do it myself.) Really I've got two questions 1. Where is the best place to find a rebuild kit (my car is stock so it's a non-turbo model.) 2. I want to get a little bit of extra power from it after the rebuild and was curious about some light mods, any recommendations?

I've had good luck with Atkins rotary, but there are several places that make good rebuilds. I would first start by watching the several rotary rebuild videos on YouTube to see if its something you're up for.

Oh, absolutely. I don't want to bury myself in a giant headache before I start. I've been pretty good about checking YouTube and the ready of the internet for "how-to"on plenty of stuff. My big reason for wanting to know how to do it is, I just love getting my hands dirty and doing things for myself. If I'm not really up to it myself my next task is finding a pretty decent place to do it.

I am in the middle of rebuilding the engine from my 1993 rx7 for the first time. It can definitely be a little overwhelming at first but if you have the patience and the tools to do the job it, is definitely a task you can handle. The hardest part is figuring out which parts you need and which rebuild kit to order because there are a few different ones out there. I personally went with the kit from www.rotaryaviation.com. It fit my budget and I am pleased with the quality of the kit. You can find the mazda factory shop manual online for free which also helps guide you through the rebuild process. Hope this helps!

I tend to buy Atkins rebuild kits as they are a convenient, complete kit. However I specify factory corner seals when I do as I don't believe the solid corners are superior in low HP applications.

If you are looking for a little power, then a mild street port can be performed while the engine is apart. The key word is "mild" as if you go hog wild with the ports and add a lot of overlap, you're going to shift your powerband up too much and hurt your drivability/low end. I'd recommend the Mazdatrix 6 port street port template on the intake and keeping the exhaust stock.

You may have seen these already, but here are some of my videos on rebuilding a 13B.

These videos will help you in the process of rebuild a 13B or 12A engine. While they deal with an older 13B from an RX-5 Cosmo, the engine internals are basically the same for any 12A or 13B. The only real difference is that on engines newer than '85, the coolant O-rings are in the irons instead of the housings as shown in this video.

The first video is engine removal. While it is an RX-5 Cosmo, an car that few will ever see let alone work on, the process will give you the general idea of an engine removal. Steps are similar for most rotary vehicles, it's the details that differ.


The next video is engine disassembly and some cleaning. This is an old carbureted 13B so the accessories bolted to the engine are different than newer engines. However the process of externally disassembling any rotary is about the same. Covered here is also flywheel removal (same for any rotary) and engine parts cleaning.


Cleaning of all engine parts continues in this video. Provided here are examples of how this is accomplished with a minimum of tools and supplies. It's a lot of labor to clean old parts until they are looking new again. At the same time, parts should be inspected.


Finally, here is the engine assembly. This video includes clearancing side seals, assembling all the seals onto the rotor, then assembling all the parts into a 13B short block.

Welcome to the wild, wonderful world of RX-7s! Nothing to add to the excellent rebuild advice. However, before diving into a rebuild, it may be worthwhile to spend a little time confirming a rebuild really is needed. There are threads posted from time to time about guys getting cars practically for free that turned out to be only severely flooded. A badly flooded engine will pour out plenty of white smoke for quite a while.

My advice is to check out as much as you can while the engine is still in the car. Search out some of the threads about bringing back to life engines that have been sitting.

Good luck with the car!

I definitely appreciate all of the great advice. I'm definitely going to check the engine out before I pull it, I already wanted to do so. More so now that I have something specific to look for. If it comes to a rebuild I definitely have some excellent advice to fall back on (and I'm sure somewhere down the road I will need a rebuild.)

Amazing rebuild video btw Aaron.
Was a great eye opener to the quantum world of rotary engines!

It may be a good idea to check out some texts written on the RX7s. I have read two or three books and they have assisted me greatly. is pretty good from the performance standpoint and it goes through the FC series too.

Sorry, I know I'm a total newb here, but I thought I would share my experience. My engine was acting similar, so I tore it apart and found that all but one of the irons was reusable, and to buy new ones would have been prohibitively expensive. So instead of rebuilding I bought a complete pullout for far less money, and i could hear it run first.

Well, I finally had some time to start screwing around with the car and the engine is totally locked up. All in all, this is a project car so anything that could make it loads of fun is going to become an option. If that means a newer generation engine, a turbo. Literally anything is an option now.

The biggest "option" will be your wallet lol

Haha as true as that is I don't have some crazy time frame I want it done in so I may be able to manage something pretty awesome.

dont be scared! go for it!

Definitely not scared! A junked up convertible that is literally nothing but potential now? I call something like that paradise. Being my first RX7 I'm still thinking rotary, but I've got a mind very wide open and ready to have something none of my buddies have and every one of them want.

Alright, I've eliminated any off the wall swaps and i'm keeping her as a rotary. I'll probably still break the budget doing this anyway. I'm considering going turbo and all that fun stuff. Any opinions? Should I just find a new 13b and street port it?

It will cost more to swap in a turbo engine. If it were me, i'd rip that engine out and tear it apart and see why its locked up. Doesn't cost anything than but time ;)

Yeah, ripping it apart to play mad scientist is definitely in my future. Worst case scenario-learning experience.

Exactly, so why not eh?

Makes enough sense to me! Now to find this "time" stuff

Ya thats hard to find nowdays, like a wild animal lol

Haha you're absolutely right. I've been trying to get a little work in each evening to get ready to pull it. Eventually just gotta set the tools down and get ready to pull some ot so I can start a solid build. Gotta get that coin together

Like the poster above expect your irons to be unusable. Sitting two years with blown coolant seals will do that. The walls of the coolant seal grooves will corrode. But I agree you should find out what you have to work with.

Yeah, i'm not getting my hopes way up on what will be useable. I can definitely use the experience of ripping it apart no matter what.

Look at it like this too, if the irons are junk, you can sell the rotors and stuff, pay for that wild animal lol

That is a brilliant idea! Never even crossed my mind.

Definitely agree with the mad scientist idea! I've actually got a s5 vert engine I pulled out of my last rx7. It was running but burned oil. About to tear it apart so let me know if you need any n/a parts. Also my buddy has a turbo engine he'd probly let go for 600 or so. It has good compression on the rear rotor. Good candidate for a rebuild. I'm about to rebuild my engine actually. Hoping I don't need a rotor and housing seeing as my front rotor has almost no compression... sigh

Definitely. Once I rip it apart and learn the old fashioned way, I'll know what i'm in the market for. For once, I actually have a day off. I'm thinking I'll go n/a with this one.

I'd say that is wise. The cost of a rebuild will be the same as far as parts go whether it's turbo or non turbo but if you don't have a turboII to rebuild then that's a different story. Not to mention you can mod and beat on a n/a to you hearts content but a turbo is a lot more touchy. I love the power of the turbo but am missing the longevity of my n/a considering this is the 2nd time I'll be rebuilding mine.

Longevity is definitely something i'm looking for right now. I'd also rather not deal with something too finicky as far as a rookie build goes. Maybe once i've built this one I'll find a turbo car to play with.

Yeah its a good idea. I've recently contemplated naturally aspirating my turboII but instead I'm just going to throw a stock down pipe on until I can afford a fmic and a stand alone fuel management system... leaning towards an adaptronic or a used rtek 2.1 due to pricing. But yeah I just want to be able to really beat on my car after I do this rebuild lol.

I definitely understand that. Being able to just beat on something makes the hard work worthwhile. Pricing is always a factor haha i'm hoping tomorrow I'll be able to start playing mad scientist

Haha yeah just gotta get down n dirty. I just ordered my rebuild kit from Rotary Aviation with super seals and springs. About to start tearing down my engine as well as the n/a. Hoping all my housings are okay lol. But yeah just start tearing shit apart. If you hit a wall watch aaroncakes' youtube video on disassembly. There's also tons of videos on rebuilds if you need them. Good luck and have fun!

Well, I ended up landing an 87 se that's missing a water pump has a broken oil metering line and need pulleys. You could say I'm all in now. Anything I can salvage off the engine from the vert will be used on my new car. From there I will have a bare bones project vert and a running hardtop.

Well I got that second car running. Now I've got two issues. 1. She doesn't consistently start (changed the starter and that has helped significantly) 2. She idles around 3400-4k and stays there. Any advice?

Chances are the throttle cable (there are two of them if you have cruise control) is too tight. There should be slack and no tightness to the cable.

Ive had that high rpm idle before in my car, ill try let you know what the issue is on mine when it gets fixed. GL with build looks like fun!

The throttle cable wasn't the issue. I thought a nasty vacuum leak, but before I could track it the exhaust decided to glow cherry red. I thought backed up cat, turns out the cat was not backed up. So between crazy idling and glowing exhaust, I'm at a loss.

Could be the AFM flapper door is stuck open too much. Could be the timing is off.

Okay I ripped the afm out and the flapper door doesn't appear to be hung open any. I did however look up the part number on it (n318 13 210) and it turned up a afm for a turbo car. Mine is n/a, could this be playing any part In the issue?

It shouldn't affect the idling of the car but it would affect the driveability of it. And the position of the flapper door is important w/the car running and not when it is removed from the car.

Secondly, you need to check the timing.

Thirdly, if the throttle cable is good there could be a second throttle cable related to the cruise control.

Lastly, w/the intake duct removed from the throttle body the primary plates should barely be open just a fraction of an inch.