hey in the inerest of saving money i am considering looking for an fd with a rebuilt engine; but are there any downsides to this? when someone needs to have an engine rebuilt is it best to take it to the dealership or a speacialist? someone on this board posted that they have a 93 r1 with 85,000 miles and a new engine and turbos with less than 5,000 miles on it. does this sound like bad news? they were asking somewhere in the 12,000$ range. does this price sound high? what should i look for when buying a car with this high mileage that has had new parts put in? thanks sorry for all the questions

 

i brought my car with a rebuilt, actually they just finished putting it together when i picked it up. it is a good idea and especially if your getting that price in nj. i got mine for 15000. the only problem is, get ready to spend money at first. if the person who rebuilt your motor is not a rotary expert they may be alot of things missing, over or under tightened, oil leaks, broken or missing hoses. it sounds scary but trust me i would go do this whole process again because the car is that wonderful. i wish i would have found a rex with a blown motor, i would have love to do the rebuilt myself.

luigi

 

To the best of my knowledge, there are no 'new' engines available. Any rotary you get from the dealership will be a rebuild. I pressed my Mazda dealer (I had no choice but to get it done there due to warranty) as the whether it was a rebuild, or a a brand new engine - and they finally admitted to me it was a rebuild.

Any Mazda dealer telling you will get a 'new' engine will in fact be selling you a rebuild. Kinda like saying "I got a new car!" after you bought a used one. Its new in the sense its new to you, but technically used, hehe.

Having said that, I've got 6K miles on mine, and did a recent compression check. Both rotors were well within factory specs, and consistent and even in back to back tests.

I would suggest that you contact KD rotary for your rebuild though, as they supposedly take apart and inspect the rebuilds they buy. http://www.kdrotary.com

Hope that helps!

 

I got my rebuild from the Malloy Mazda for about 2k with gaskets. Based on the rumormill from KD, the only thing that is NOT new are the steel end housings if that. By the time a rotary needs a rebuild, most of the components are so far warped and charred that they have to use new parts.

The good news is if it is a rebuild from the factory, it has water pump, oil pump and chain, front cover, thermostat/thermoswitch, flywheel, and a bolted/glued oil pan on it.

As for reliability, I have heard of people racing in SevenStock with one of the factory rebuilds, and still uses the car as a daily.