I have a 13b rew that has a bad coolant seal and before I take it apart I want to know if there is anything else that would need to be replaced other than the coolant seal. are there parts on the engine that when you take it apart they are no longer reusable?

 

Like exploratory surgery..you don't know the extent of the damage until you actually go in and take it apart,.
So,the Rule of thumb is to actually have the engine apart before you start buying parts for it.
Otherwise you could get parts and waste money because they are not needed.

 

^Agree.
But a gasket/'O' ring kit is also a basic need. Maybe RotaryEvolution will chime in with a different take, but doubt any responsible build would reuse hard seal springs even the seals themselves are in spec. And if the engine has not previously been apart and still has OEM 3 pc apex seals, they should be replaced. I've heard of guys re-using exhaust gaskets as they are expensive. But the risk of leaks goes way up and it's NOT fun to pull the turbos a second time in the car.

 

misterstyx69 pretty much hit all the high notes on this topic. look and see. anything else is just guessing and for that, you might as well assume everything is bad.

speaking only for myself, i pretty much bank on replacing springs regardless. the only situations i can think of are builds that don't last very long for whatever reason, or cases where the engines get disassembled on a regular basis.

 

well the car still runs and drives the only thing wrong is that it is burning coolant, could other parts still be bad just not affecting it. this car is also my DD (yea I know bad idea) and the only place I can take it apart is at the hobby shop on the base im stationed at I wouldn't want to take the engine apart and have to leave it there for how many ever days it would take to get the parts that I need.

 

No one has a crystal ball. What other parts need to be replaced depends on miles, maintenance and chance, along with your standards and budget. After replacing the failed coolant seals you could re-use barely in-spec hard seals for example, or sketchy housings, and it will run. It just won't be optimal and will need another rebuild sooner.

 

Just noticed you are stationed in Japan, you can probably get an FD Engine so cheap over there that will make us cry here...Even at worst things worst, you can buy the parts cheaper there than here....If we pay $1200 for an J-spec FD engine here, imagine what you can buy one over there...Less than half that? Plus you can always go back to where you got it from since you are over there...I would capitalize on that....

Don't stress yourself, you have it made, you are in Mazda Land!!!!

You should be buying 3 rotor and 13bre engines over there and hoard them back to the states when it's time to move...Get all them J-spec goodies you can....

 

I would buy an engine but I don't know of any running engines for sale, im not on mainland japan this island that im on is pretty small. and its really not that much cheaper over here fd engines still go for about $1000

 

And even if you check static compression, buying a used engine is risky at best.