What makes rotaries hard to work with
 

a little intro, i dont own a rx7 yet but been in love with them since my dad bought is 1st gen gsl-se, in a couple months im bout to get that car from in and make it my project car.

question: ive been asking around to try and find people that work on them and what i have been hearing time and time again is people saying they use to or they dont touch them because there hard and a pain in the ass.

what makes them hard or a pain in the ass, i would think that it would be easier than a regular engine saying how is doesnt have all those moving parts inside it.

any input is welcomed

One statement, IT IS DIFFERENT, and PEOPLE DONT LIKE TO CHANGE

The car is just like any other car, the engine is the only thing different

The engine, there are alot of small parts

Nothing really...
People are afraid of things they don't understand.

Pretty much what Rx7_Nut13B said

They aren't terribly difficult to work on. 1st gens are the easiest. However parts can be hard to find at times, and even rather expensive.

Is it easier than a regular engine? Nope. Harder? Nope. Once you have worked on it a couple of times you will get used to it.

Here is a good link with LOTS of service manuals. You should really take a look.
http://foxed.ca/foxed/index.php?page=rx7manual

thanks ill be sure to take a look at it, but i dont really have any problems at the moment im just trying to figure out what im getting myself into i guess you could say lol, so basically its like any other new engine, it just takes research and hands on work to get use to it.

is maintanence on it a lot harder than other regular engines

not at all.

Lack of knowledge.

Maintenance is important in this engine, and keeping the oil level checked, but other than that, not really any harder than anything else. I totally agree with everyone who has answered beforehand, especially HAI-TEK7, lack of knowledge really kills these cars.

my thoughts ...

it's their fundamental lack of understanding and stubbornness. the inherent "more-is-better"-philosophy doesn't much either. another issue is people are generally lazy and gullable, especially if something doesn't directly affect them - so even non-rotary owners can hear the myths, then go forth and propogate them to others as fact.

the fact is, while a basic understanding may not prepare you to tackle a rebuild, it can go a long way to help you troubleshoot problems. mindful care, use and maintenance usually help to prevent problems. in terms of USDM cars, the basic engine has only changed slightly with the introduction of the Rx-8, however since 1993, the systems that run the engine and car have gotten more complex. so that's something else to consider.

if you plan to enjoy your SE in a relatively stock form, then the two MAIN things to remember are (1) keep your engine cool, and (2) keep your seals lubricated. those still apply to highly moified engines, too, but there will be other things to consider as well.

thanks for all the replies, i agree with everyone knowledge is a key thing to have when it comes to working on anything thats different especially since you cant just run down the street and ask someone to help you with it if it messes up, chances are they wont know half the stuff you know.

its kinda funny going into messing with a rx7, many people tell me there hard and complicated, maintaining them is hard (this includes my dad, but then again he really isnt into cars like i am) and all this and that, but when i talk to people who own them or worked on them they tell me that there pretty easy after you start to mess with them and take them apart.

anyways im looking forward to it, like i said its a project car, i plan on doing the TII swap because i want another turbo car and i heard the 1st gens are crazy when there turbo

if anyone else has any other comments or anything pls post them im always looking for other info

well, i obviously don't know your history because i don't know you. however, my advice would be get used to the car before messing with a turbo setup. first, you'll need to familiarize yourself to know if you're truly committed to life with a rotary and a Gen I. secondly, life with a turbocharged Gen I is a whole other ball of wax.

yea its not something thats gonna happen anytime soon, i will definetly put some thought into it before i actually go through with it but thanks for the advice

maintaining any 20+ year old car is going to be a lot of work.

Much of it depends on the last owner and how well they maintained the car.

These engines aren't really that complicated. I learned how to do it by buying a couple old used blocks, a service manual and a lot of reading. Rebuild the engine, pop it in and learn. You'll make mistakes but you'll learn a lot in the process, and be able to do something a lot of other people can't.

i learned the most from just hanging out in my buddies garage, and helping him out...

nothing is really different besides the design of the engine itself. even there its still the basic fundementals. even though to some people its more complicated it actually is a very simplified version of a combustion engine. if you can work on a car you can work on a rotary. (unless your a mazda tech who thinks they can rebuild an engine)