My friend's 2nd gen rx-7 recently lost its engine (coolant light came on--he took it into a shop where they told him the motor was gone and they would need to replace it). He's had the car for 18 years and bought it new. His gf doesn't want him to spend anymore money on the car, and is urging him to junk the rx-7 and buy a new car. However, he bought the car brand new and has had it ever since--so it's kind of hard for him to let it go. He's called shops and they have quoted anywhere from 4800-6k for an engine replacement, and he's having a hard time justifying that to his gf. So, I was wondering what his options are? Would it be possible to buy a used rx7 motor with around 50k miles somewhere...I believe his motor let go at 115k miles. I offered to try to help him if he decided to replace the motor himself, but he's not mechanically inclined (and I don't have any experience swapping motors--I can turn a wrench, but I've never swapepd a motor before). So, I thought I would post here and see what options you guys could come up with. I'd hate to see the car go--he says the car is in great shape and I believe him.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Anthony

 

Can you get some more info on how it let go? If it was running fine and the coolant light came one the seals could have let go... but it's not going to instantly kill your engine... only running it after that and warping it would.

What year and model was it?

You could probably figure out how to do the engine swap but it would take time and resources you probably don't have... sounds like it's his daily driver. But you might be able to present a different option to those "shops"... used engines aren't too expensive depending on what car he has.

--Gary

 

if you don't mind trailering it to sacramento i could rebuild the engine for a lot more reasonable of a price than that..

you could also pull the engine out and i can pick it up and deliver it but if you have no mechanical experience with the car then it might not be a great idea because you will likely run into a lot of small problems along the way doing the installation, some of which could jeapordize the rebuild.

for me to rebuild an n/a and reinstall it he would be looking around the $2k range, if it is a turbo it would be a few hundred more, if he wants internal upgrades like ceramic seals, 3MM seals or port work then it would be extra as well. the price assumes the core is rebuildable, if any internals in the engine need to be replaced with the exception of normal wear items (seals, apex, side, springs, etc...) then it will cost extra for me to provide them for the rebuild.

 

thanks for the responses...it's an 87 n/a model w/manual. dunno much else beyond that. i'll ping him tomorrow. as for the failure mode, he told me that he was driving and the coolant light came on...he limped it home and it didn't overheat on him. i suspect it's the coolant seals. he took it to some shop who told him he needs a new motor and some housing was cracked (?). i dont know if the car can even run anymore, or where it's stored at the moment. his gf is trying hard though to make him get rid of it. heh.

 

Tell him to get rid of the GF and use the money saved to get a RR engine :P
Swapping engines is easy, I did my first about a year ago, turn-key to turn-key. I'm pulling that "new" motor apart for the same problems your buddy has. S4 motors can be had for pretty cheap and I figure swapping in one can't be more complex than an S5.

 

What are the symptoms like if it is just a coolent seal leak? Is there a thread talked about symptom vs engine problems? It would be very helpful if someone in this forum can come up with a symptom vs engine problem with fixing cost chart so we know what is wrong with our 7s. Hope the RX7 God is out there listening

 

generally a coolant seal failure will result in a few of these symptoms:

1) coolant is being used but does not show up on the ground
2) add coolant light and/or buzzer come on shortly after driving the car
3) exhaust has a light sweet smell to it
4) green coolant leaking from the exhaust flanges and/or pooling in the muffler tip
5) engine is hard to start and may have a slightly rough idle
6) engine does not start but may cough and sputter now and then
7) coolant bellows out of the filler neck when starting a cold engine
8) thick white smoke on start up of the engine which thins out over time, not to be confused with light white smoke on humid days which is condensation which is normal



a bad coolant seal will most definitely show one or more or all of those symptoms listed. a rough estimate for an engine rebuild ranges anywhere from $1200-$2000 for a short block rebuild alone not including upgrades and depending on what type of engine the car came out of. removing and installing the engine usually ranges anywhere from $500 to $1500, anything more than that is too much. there is also almost always a few other things you should consider doing with the rebuild such as replacing questionable hoses, belts, filters, spark plugs, vacuum lines, etc...

 

you have to consider that rarely does the actual coolant seal fail on an oem engine (it does happen of course.. anything can happen) but if your losing coolant out the overflow tank, theres a greater chance that you may have cracked an iron if the car overheated which is what they mean when they tell you the motors toast.
fast freddys mazda charges 600$ labor on a rebuild, plus parts.

 

good to know about who offers what services just in case...

update: i recommended that he have ivan take a look at the car...so he drove the car to ivan and ivan checked the car out...found a few minor items, and came back telling my friend that it looks like the radiator is leaking, but the motor itself looks good. so they're going to replace the radiator and run another pressure test on the cooling system. my friend's pretty happy so far...i'm not sure when he'll pick the car up from ivan...i'll keep you guys posted.

he took the car to the mazda dealership on stevens creek blvd. they were the ones who told him the motor was gone...they told him a steel housing cracked. but ivan couldn't find any signs of leakage around the block. they also replaced the radiator over a year ago with a non-factory one. i told him to stop going to dealerships. heh.

oh, and thanks to omar for offering to sell his 91 reman...pretty generous of him...hope your engine swap goes well!

anthony