Hey everyone. long time since i've been here. I haven't been around cause my car hasn't been running. I blew my engine a while back. I finally have everything I need to do an engine swap. So I'm doing it all by myself over Christmas break.
I thought I would just get to know everyone again, since I'm sure I'll be back quite a bit asking questions. And I know i'll do some searches first.
Any preparation tips?
So I don't suppose anyone living near me would be willing to come over and help me fix my car???

 

Well, what kind of work area, engine hoist, tools, etc do you have to work with? The speed and accuracy of the swap can be determined by this. For instance back in the day with hand tools in the driveway with some 2x4s for a lift it took me about a week to do an engine swap. Now with the garage air tools hydraulic engine hoist etc, I can do it in a single day and it'll start right up.

There are a few things you can do to make the swap easier, but it depends on what kind of engine youre putting back in. IS it a rebuild, bare block? Complete engine? Halfway complete? Wiring still on it?

The best way to pull an engine is with the wiring harness still on it...there are 5 connectors inside the car firewall, and like 15 on the engine, plus pulling off manifolds to get to it. THis allows you to leave everything on the engine and pull it as a whole...it really reduces your back breaking bend-over-the-fender time since you dont have to take all the crap off in the car. I disconnect the PS lines and wires, leaving it and the bracket on the engine. As IM pulling it out, I take ot the bolts to the a/c compresor and hang it to the side with a bungee cord, unless i KNOW it doesnt work, in which case you can disconnect the lines(a bitch) and take it out with the rest.

I also pull my tranny WITH the engine. IT makes realignment SO much easier to tilt the new engine forward on the floor, stand above the tranny and lift it up, give it a wiggle and it'll literall fall right into place, versus wrestling and lifting and aligning stuff in the car.

OF course what you can leave on and what you cant depends on what kind fo work area and lift youre using...obviously if youre doing it with a treelimb or a 2x4 setup you want it as stripped down as possible. My general rule is to leave as much on the engine when I pull it as possible, because lighting and space are MUCH better outside the engine bay than in it.

Give me a yell if you need any help or instructions on this swap. IF I were nearer to you I wouldnt mind giving a hand, or my shop space. BTW if you have enough in the budget consider a rebuild from me, I can probably do it for around $1000 plus shipping...I dont trust used engines or jspecs as far as I can throw/drag them for use in anything but a car that will be immediately sold.

 

Thanks! I already have an engine. It is a used rebuilt one that i got shipped here, it ran before it was pulled and had a 92-95 compression on both rotors. I really don't have a big budget.
I have all the basic tools, but no power tools. What is nice is that the autozone near me rents tools. I'll have to do that. And i need to borrow a engine hoist from a friend. The engine i'm putting in is completely bare block, lightest for shipping. So yeah i know it's going to be a lot of work. it will take probably about a week. The only thing i'm really going to need help with is to get the engine out and get it back in. I can do all the disconnecting and reconnecting. I just need an extra pair of hands for the hardest parts.

 

A daytrip to Ohio to play with RX-7's sounds like fun... especially around christmas. Sounds like a great excuse to see if my RX will survive a trip. How far can it possibly be... according to Mapquest, it's just a little up and to the left

 

exactly how far do you live??? I don't know what condition your car is in, but before mine blew i drove it several very long distances.
....hmm.... maybe that's why it blew. LOL no actually it happened while on a 5 minute drive to work.

 

Clean every thing well first, then do it again. It will make everything easier.

 

How close? I'm in Stafford, VA, so that's only about 400 miles, say 5 hours. If you can feed me while I'm there, I'd have no problem helping out a fellow rotorhead

 

get a lot of beer

 

You do know that 92-95psi on a rotary is not very desireable, right? Usually people take them *out* with 90 psi, not put them *in*

That said, I completely understand that you need a vehicle and this is a cheap way out. Just be real easy on it until you decide what you wanna do, get funds to do it right, etc. ON one hand it is a lot of work to do for a weak motor, but on the other hand for someone experienced it is about 4 hours work to get it going for a few months again...

Personally I will not fool with a used engine, especially a low compression one, unless it is for somebody else who is paying me or for a car I only want to fix and sell cheap...real cheap. I mean it is too easy and cheap to rebuild it while it is out to fool with a used one. IF you did it yourself, you could do that for under $400 and be guaranteed at least several years of strong running.