Opinions on front iron reuseability
 

I have a front iron for an S4 turbo II engine that I'm trying to rebuild. Upon cleaning and inspection I noticed that the coolant seal groove on part of the engine seems to be pretty rough, I was hoping to get opinions on whether it is useable, repairable, or junk. I have also noticed some pitting in the bottom of the groove in this, and my other irons, it this cause for concern? Pictures to follow.

Thank you,
-Tyler

Photo 1
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Photo 2:
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Photo 3:
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Photo 4:
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I'm not a pro engine builder, but IMO, that iron looks useable

you could get a Dye Penetrant kit, and look for hidden cracks along the inner water seal groove. My next rebuild will be inspected that way.

Thank you for the replies. I'll look into that dye testing kit. I'll plan on reusing this iron then. I have read a few comments indicating that the use of non-OEM water seals may be beneficial when the coolant seal groove is not perfect. I'd be interested to hear if there are any further opinions, or comments on this.

Thank you,
-Tyler

Not a builder, but I wouldn't be so worried about the pitting on the floor of the grooves as the wall.
As for after-market coolant seals, after checking with a lot of people whose opinions I respected, I stayed with OEM on mine some years back. While the Teflon seals had some characteristics that might be beneficial, seems they can be a whore's nightmare to install without twisting/kinking/pinching. YRMV

you could use these

https://www.rx7club.com/group-buy-pr...ntion-1006993/

The wall of this iron was my primary concern. The pitting on the floor of the channel was a secondary concern. As of now I plan to use OEM seals, but if there's a chance to reduce the risk of seal failure from the plate erosion I would be willing to switch.

Thank you all again for the feedback.

I like the idea of using these, in the thread I saw no feedback from the OP, or from anyone else who had used it for any length of time. I will research this further though.

-Tyler

I personally wouldn't use the iron in the 1st picture. Even with coolant seal "savers". I dislike tearing down low mileage engines due to water seal failure a few months after install.

That was my primary concern with this. Is there any problem with mixing a new front iron with a used intermediate and used rear iron if I decide to go the new plate route? I do have another front plate with good coolant channels, but when the PO ported the plate he dinged the main wear surface so I've been leery about using that.

Post pictures of the dinged replacement.

A NEW front housing is going to be very expensive, but there is no real issue to using it in combination with good used irons.

It will likely be a lot more economical to purchase a good used replacement.

Pictures of the other side housing are below. The ding to the surface is small on this iron, but there is a section nearby where the coolant seal wall is a bit thin. Also, I am unsure who did the porting job on it, so if I want to use it I will have to make sure the port is smaller than what I am using, or I'll have to enlarge the other port to match.

If I can reuse one of these front irons safely, then I may try to purchase a newer reinforced rear iron to replace the S4 iron I have currently. While still expensive, I can get them for a better price through the mazdacomp program it looks like.

Thank you all for your input on this.
-Tyler

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