I own an '88 vert. One way or another, the coolant seals are bad and I get a big puff of white smoke on startup. Obviously I need to rebuild, but I'm not 100% certain on what I need.

First of all, I have 2 engines, and I'm not sure which to rebuild:
1. 130k miles, the original one from the car, taken out many years ago. Pretty sure this one has a bad seal, I never saw it while it was in the car, but I'm told it could barely move the car.
2. Unknown miles, from a junkyard, the one whose coolant seals went bad. It felt a bit tired but ran OK.

As for tools, I have access to all the wrenches, sockets, torque wrenches, feeler gauges, micrometers, 't' gauges, etc etc etc. you could ever want, and can borrow a Milwaukee impact gun from a friend. I know I'll need a 54mm socket for the flywheel, as well as the flywheel stopper. I'm told I'll need emery cloth, fine files, high grit sandpaper (not sure if what I already have is good enough). Am I missing anything?

And the parts. A friend on a discord server told me the Atkins overhaul kit is good if you use Mazda OEM seals, so if my rotors, housings, irons are good I'll probably get Atkins' "Overhaul kit A" (link to Atkins kit) as well as 2 rotors' worth of side, apex and corner seals from Mazda. Again, if I'm missing anything please let me know

Finally, actually doing the job. I haven't rebuilt a rotary before and I don't know anyone who has, in fact the only engine I have personally rebuilt was a single cylinder, pushrod Briggs.But I think I'd be able to do it, especially with help (I know plenty of people who know 10x what I know who'd be willing to help me) and the magic of Youtube videos.

 

welcome to the board.

it pretty much sounds like you have things under control.

this is definitely one way to go. however, keep in mind that these are hard seals and may still have life left in them. the FSM (you can get a copy from: Foxed.ca) will guide you through getting the specs to determine if they are reusable or not. i'm not saying don't replace them if you want, i'm just saying just know you may not HAVE to. also, i'm not a personal fan of the Atkins apex seal spring. for those i usually spring for (get it? ) the OEM parts. i'll let you research and decide.

as for which engine to build, it may simply come down to what usable parts you have. as it stands right now, i would say start with the engine that's not in the car. pull it apart, clean it and see what condition the parts are in. if everything specs out and seems okay, then proceed with the rebuild. if not, then we have to reevaluate and see what moves to make.

 

just saw that you started a thread over in the Gen 2 Forum. as a general rule, give it at least 24 hours to get a response before you cross-post or bump a thread. i'm not sure if that's a rule (as opposed to just good etiquette), but just figured i'd let you know.

at any rate, i'll link your other thread here so anyone that stumbles on this one can get to the other one easily.

https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati.../#post12491671

 

I figured I might as well just spend the money and have fresh seals. If the old ones are still good, I'll keep them around in case I find another junk engine in need of a rebuild. Me and my friend have dreams of putting a street ported 6port 13B in an FB/SA and dunking on AE86 fanboys and their 4A's ... might never happen, but it's nice to dream about

(Thanks for the heads up about cross-posting rules/etiquette, btw)

 

nothing wrong with that.

i like those old 4As, i mean i know where my loyalties lay, but i like 'em. almost 40 years later and we're still talking about them, that says something ... and now that i've said what i said, show them no mercy!

 

Either a bucket or engine stand w rotary adapter to build it on. Dial indicator with magnetic base. Pineapple racing coolant pressure tester. Flywheel stopper.

recommend pineapple racing hd water seals.