I am thinking of rebuilding my 86NA engine but im reluctant to do it coz i'm afraid to fail. Rebuild kit is expensive and i have never done any engine rebuilding before. I want to know the success and failure rate among those (not including the pros)who tried rebuilding their own motors and the results. If I have to rebuild my engine I know i can get help from a lot of guys here (especial mention to Kevin Landers), who are willing to give advise and guidance on "how to...", more than likely I will have a better result.

Mel
1986 RX7NA
Virginia Beach, VA

 

Mel, I had never seen a rotary before last July. I pulled my engine over the Christmas break. I did a complete rebuild. A friend of mine loaned me his RA rebuild video. I followed it to the letter. My motor started on its third crank. I ahd to adjust the idle and the timing. I moved the CAS about 1/8"

Failures: I had to take the front apart and reseal the water pump housing to the front Iron. This happened before I started it. The water just started trickling out. Then It blew a top coolant hose and the water pump after about 400 miles.

So, really 'motor' rebuild Is just fine. I am having coolant issue that probably were present when I got the car.......and the cause for the original engine failure.

 

the rotary rebuild is very easy, but you have to be very carfull.. i got mine toghtor very easy but a coolent seal got pinched.. (tip of advice ra coolent seals are a very snugg fit and i do not suggest them for a first time rebuild) but other than that problem i had it is a very easy rebuild

 

i have pulled apart a couple engines, but most of them could not be rebuilt because they were rusted out. so the complexity of the rotary engine is fairly low much more simple then a piston engine. get an RA or Atkins rebuild video follow thier rules and guildlines and you'll be set.

and fear of something is never good these are proably the easiest thing to rebuild and maybe cheapest too. dont be afraid to mess up just follw RA and the atkins videos and if your lost ask us.

 

i wanna rebuild one!!! but first i need an extra one.

 

I have rebuilt 3 engines and all of them are still running. Like everyone mentioned get the Atkins video and FSM and you should be set.

 

its easier then it sounds, just have to remember some key stuff. its all outlined in the video. im pretty new to rotaries and i had the same fear of the car not working after a self rebuild. with help and lots of patience (the cleaning part), it works. just read as much as you can about it, watch the videos a couple times (since maybe you'll fall asleep through the first run). there is always the forum. the guys here helped me alot.

my motor is broken in (a little over 2500 miles) and it feels stronger everytime i drive it.

 

Atkins video sucks IMO, get the Rotary Aviation one instead. The atkins video is nice little reference while you're building, but honestly I needed much more information than it provided, and some things I really wish they had zoomed in on held me back during the build and caused me to take longer. The FSM was the best thing I used, really.



A rotary rebuild CAN be easy but you can also easily screw up simple things. If you're going to do it take your time, follow the FSM to the T, watch the video for further referencing, don't skimp on anything, PAY attention to what you're doing VERY closely, and don't rush through it for your first time. Search and you'll see plenty of threads of people that say "fresh rebuild wont start" or "fresh rebuild has low oil pressure" or "fresh rebuild wont stay running" stuff like that. Those are all people that made simple mistakes, usually, that could've been avoided if they had paid closer attention.

I rebuilt and ported my first rebuild last summer. It was pretty simple but honestly I could've done a better job and did more porting, but oh well the past is the past. I forgot the front cover o-ring retainer and my oil pressure was dicked, but that was an easy fix. My motor started up instantly on my first try and everything except the one oil pressure problem has been perfect. Just take your time and do it right, if you're going to do it yourself.

 

One more thing I would report, don't try to convert inch pounds (in lbs.) into foot pounds (FT lbs.) Your foot pound torque wrench is way to big and clumsy. The oil pump nuts are supposed to be torqued to 80(???) inch pounds and that converts to 6 ft lbs. My torque wrench never even flinched at 6 ft lbs.....I just kept on tightening until.....snap. Drill time.

Also If you don't have tools, you gonna spend a lot of extra money on the specialty tools and fluids so be prepared. YOu may get the parts for under $900 bux but your goiong to spend way more than that on tools and fluids.

Torque wrench
Calipers
Dial calipers
impact wrench
Flywheel stop bar
19mm impact
23 mm short socket
2 1/8" socket
breaker bars
cheater bars
little oil cans for assembly fluids
scotch brite pads for your drill
red rags
blue paper towels
10 quartz of motor oil
power steering fluid
tranny fluid
carb cleaner (1 gallon can is $30 bux)


The list goes on further but thats all I can think of.

 

For stuff in in/lbs I use the general scale of "tight enough" when tightening them down. Really hand tight is all you need...

And for that list, those things are certainly nice, but not all of them are necessary.

Caliper/dial indicator can be rented for way cheap from Hertz.
You can usually find a shop that's nice enough to spend 30 seconds to impact off your flywheel nut and e-shaft bolt if you call around and just bring it in in a truck or something.
Flywheel stopper bar is not needed at ALL, waste of money IMO
All I used were normal sockets, no impact sockets or "short" ones, the normal craftsman ones worked perfectly fine.
If you have a handle to a jack, there's your cheater bar
Didn't use any oil cans either.
I don't even know what you used the drill for? But I understand the scotch bright for cleaning.
Fluids vary depending on options and needs for the engine, obviously.
If you leave the tranny in and just remove the motor, no tranny fluid is needed provided it was changed during correctly intervals during its life.

Anyways, not trying to nit-pick at all, just giving my experience. Only tools I had to buy were the flywheel socket, some fluids (got 12 1 quart bottles of Sears brand 10w30 for 10.35 ), and rented my dial indicator. You can do it cheap if you're resourceful.

 

yep, besides the rebuilding hardware, i remember i did spend a bit, after i thought about it, for parts cleaner and misc. materials. nothing beats the self satisfaction at the end though, your just so proud!

 

i would have to say you want a set of good torque wrenches that can do the specifications needed. that is one place where you want to get all the bolts down to spec. besides, a good set of torque wrenches is always good to have.

 

yea your are! (j/K) I just listed some of the things that I wound up buying. I was aprehensive about shooting from the hip. The RA video said "buy these things" I grabbed my note book and started writing.

There would be a few things I would do different the 2nd time around.

I need to build and sell two more motors to pay for all those special tools.

 

Thanks guys, im starting to get comfortable from your inputs. All i need now is to think positive and start the rebuild. I have to get and gather tools as much as i can then order parts. I also read somewhere that i can buy that video in dvd or cd format, just cant remember where i saw it.

Mel
1986RX7NA
Virginia Beach, VA

 

sorry this is a lil off topic but is a turbo II rebuild any more difficult or is it pretty much the same things

 

it's exactly the same in shortblock form

 

not "exactly" the same, the process yes. but parts differ a little

 

ok mister perfect. ^_^

 

"perfection is the only option"

 

The only difference I can think of is the splash plate behind the front cover where the oil would spit on the pump coming back in from the turbo.

I tried a rebuild and It wouldn't start....? I think I know why though. I'm tearing it apart this weekend and going for take 2. It's been alittle while since the build and I've picked up ALOT MORE info I didn't know before. I'm thinking about documenting the entire process...?

 

IMO the hardest part of the rebuild was cleaning all the parts, everything else was cake. Even though I used an industrial parts washer at work, I still had to scrub. If I ever do another rebuild I think I'll hire the kid next door for the cleaning, call me lazy but that was time consuming.

 

I agree that cleaning everything is the most time consuming part of the rebuild. So far Ive got about 800 miles on my rebuilt TII engine and its running great. Im very pleased for this being my first rotary build. It idles great and starts up well too. Everyones suggestions for the required supplies are good. Air tools make the job a WHOLE lot easier, namely removing the flywheel nut and front e-shaft bolt.