As part of my '76 Cosmo project, I just built a 6 port 13B NA engine and posted the entire process to YouTube. I then realized that the video applies to basically all 12A and 13B rotary engines, so I'm going to also post the video in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd gen forums for anyone who is building a rotary.

If you've never built an engine, or are just about to, then you want to watch this video. Covered is the entire build process of a 13B rotary including: measuring rotors, clearancing side seals, assembling all rotor seals, assembling the short block, setting eccentric shaft end play, assembling the "under the front cover" stuff and finally installing the front cover as well as torquing the front hub bolt. As far as I know, this is the only full process free rotary rebuild video out there. This video, combined with the Haynes/FSM manuals, should enable anyone to be confident in putting together their first engine. While the engine shown in this video is a hybrid engine made from both RX-5 Cosmo and GSL-SE parts, the steps covered are the same for any Mazda rotary from 12A to 13B-REW.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijJeUk_GqiI

Enjoy!

 

Archive material!

 

Thank you, Aaron.
I think Pineapple racing has/had some free videos, but I don't recall them covering the entire build.

 

Awsome!

 

badasss!!!!! your vaseline comments made me crack up : )

 

Thank you for taking the time to do this! I will be attempting to rebuild a 13b this summer, and this video will help me complete this task!

 

wow, is all i can say! thanks so much for doing this. another reason why the rotary community loves you, besides that awesome *** hair

 

shouldn't that be spelled awesome-*** hair? then again, I don't know how chummy you two are.lmao

thanks for this aaron, I've been following your vids and read a lot of your input here on the forum, definitely know what you're doing.

 

^haha, I just read my post again and it sounds creepy, like I'm an online stalker. I meant it as "you definitely know what you're doing" when it comes to rotary engines. I'll be rebuilding for the first time later this year so this really comes in handy.

a question for you aaron: Is there any reason to use the "heavy duty" water jacket seals from pineapple racing on a 350hp 13b turbo, medium street port over regular kit/oem seals? Car will be a daily driver/ weekend drift car for a while. Do you have any knowledge on those seals?

 

Wow, this is a great guide-video. I'll certainly be using it for reference in my upcoming build! Thank you for taking the time and effort to provide it.

 

Curious about a couple things different from the Atkins video/how I've been shown before:

Any reason to use the Copper Permatex RTV over the Ultra Black? Just a color preference?

No Locktite or RTV on the from front eshaft bolt? [Maybe it's just a difference because of the year - what I've seen before was RTV on the washer and red Locktite on the threads]

Also, something interesting.. Have you considered/tried the superglue method for apex seals/springs? [Where you glue the springs and seal piece together to form a single unit]

 

saw it the day you release it.

Great vid !

 

I am sure he just uses it due to it being made for high temp application that the black stuff would last in (being in a heat prone area), its what I use for anything engine related also.

 

Very instructive and well presented.
I hope you were suitably compensated for your product placement...Vaseline and Royal Purple in particular owe you some cash (surprised Tim Horton's didn't make an appearance).

 

Pineapple has some great resources at http://www.rebuildingrotaryengines.com/ , but they aren't full videos, only bits and pieces of the process. Most people also don't need to know how to clearance carbon apex seals, but do need to know how to set front eccentric end play.

Damn, I was not aware that I forgot to edit out the footage showing me without pants.

I'm skeptical of all of these products, not necessarily because they don't work (I'm sure they do), but because I can't see why I would spend $185 for aftermarket coolant seals when the OEM seals work just fine. I'm not quite sure what Pineapple says when they say "proven to be a significant upgrade over the stock water seals" since I can't think of why the stock seals need to be upgraded.

As you can see from the video, aftermarket parts sometimes represent a compromise. Such as the Atkins Viton oil o-rings I used. I will never use those again due to the difficulty in installation. I'll stick with the OEM rings which work fine but are slightly more expensive.

It's just what I always use. The Copper RTV is a higher heat sealant than the standard black stuff.

The front e-shaft bolt has a copper sealing washer which seals oil from leaking around it's head. I just made sure to lube it up with Vaseline so it would not get damaged during the install, and I recall that I used red Loctite on the threads (may have been edited out?).

The springs don't actually get super glued, but the corner apex piece gets glued to the seal. I didn't bother because on both rotors, the corner piece faces up so it is accessible during the build. I pull the corner piece, push in the spring, then put the corner piece back in. If the engine was bridgeported and I had to reverse the rear rotor corner piece so it fit against the center iron, I would have super glued.

I did the product placement as a little joke to make fun of the car shows that always make sure to keep the product labels visible and mention the product name at every opportunity. Now that you mention it, maybe they should kick in some money?

 

Royal Purple should at least give you a free supply for life.

 

thanks for the info related to my question aaron. The heavy duty pineapple seals might be advantageous for someone running maybe 800hp or something if anything. I haven't talked to them about it, I planned on using oem but was curious if you had heard/experience with them.

 

Excellent, excellent job. It feels better to be learning the steps from a fellow forum member than from some unknown guy in a shop.

I converted it to an avi and saved it to my hard drive .

 

Thank you so much! This is what the Atkins DVD should have been.

You should make another video of things to look out for and how to tell if a part should not be used. And get a paypal donate button!

Maybe I will attemp to build my engine myself, with aided supervision of course.

 

Must See Video. Great Information.

 

ok. ARCHIVE and all the FAQ'S

aaron, leading the fight to reduce noobs rebuild questions.lol

 

Awesome!!!!

 

Awesome vid Aaron. Your dedication to Rx's really shows.

 

Ahh Okey - I was remembering wrong [double checked their site and the Ultra Copper is rated for 700°F vs Ultra Black's 500°F]
Hmm... Thinking about it more, it's making me question how I built my first engine [via the Atkins video], I rechecked their video and it isn't very specific [I may have put Ultra Black on both sides of the washer]
Yea, looks like the Loctite just got edited out.
>_< bah.. My memory is apparently terrible, I know when my friend was helping me build an S5 engine we glued both springs and seals[3-piece] together - I just can not remember the exact order in which we assembled it all.. [housing, rotor, apex seals.. Maybe?]
Just a different technique I suppose..

 

Very interesting vid.