Anything specific you suggest I pay attention to? I though all the vacuum hoses looked like the most daunting part of the process personally lol.

Also I’m finding conflicting information regarding the rebuild kits. Aaron recommended the Atkins kit on his video but then was annoyed with the Viton rings. I’ve also read quite a few threads now that have little positive comment about the rotary aviation kits. What do you recommend and is there really a benefit to using Viton in lieu of the Mazda kit?

 

just look at the parts thoroughly after cleaning, looking for areas that have corrosion and ask questions if you are in doubt about the condition of parts. when i did my first build it was before i was a member of this forum and there are plenty of helpful people here.

the atkins kit only contains viton oil control o-rings, which i prefer to OEM as they are reusable to an extent but are a little bit tougher to install into the rotors. the butt end of a mallet or something flat and plastic helps push them into place while using vaseline liberally and making sure not to cut the o-rings when pressing on them.

for coolant seals, the rotary aviation are the most problematic while installing because they are slightly smaller than the coolant seal groove. they are an SAE size where the channel is a metric, they fit but you may want to boil some water and put the o-rings into it for a few seconds first to warm them up and make them pliable before fitting them to the channels. OEM have a perfect fit, other round and square seals also fit, OEM are only reusable for a short period of engine run time before they delaminate and fall apart where most aftermarket seals will not come apart.

 

For those of you who had troubles with your first or first few attempts to rebuild motors, how many miles did it take before it became apparent that something was wrong? Were the issues all instantly obvious or did some creep up on you?

I've got my fingers crossed. I've gone ~1000 miles and everything has been perfect so far. Even the twins work the way they are supposed to. Maybe I should STFU before I jinx myself.

 

So it sounds like for the most part the Atkins kit would be the best way to go its just going to be a pain in the butt lining up some of the parts?

 

for the most part atkins parts are OEM or OEM spec. rotary aviation for example generally uses a bit more crude parts that seem to work. i'm not sure about their corner seal plugs, their apex springs were junk, the coolant seals were a bit of a pain to work with and their tension bolt washer/seals were quite cheap with drilled washers with o-rings.

maybe they have improved their quality since then but i was not thoroughly impressed by saving a few dollars to get super cheap products.

 

Karack - You wouldn't happen to be selling an engine stand adapter from your shop would you? I havn't started pulling anything apart yet, just trying to get my ducks in a row.

 

i don't use any sort of adapter, most engine stand heads will fit these engines with 2 of the arms removed, using only 2 of the 4 arms and the appropriate bolts through the 2 arms to the front iron. just be sure the bolts holding the 2 arms are rather tight.

 

http://www.pineappleracing.com/rotar...dadaptors.aspx

 

Engine pull started on Sunday. Considering this is my first pull I worked slow and took my time. Did more work tonight. So far I have the intake/air filter system out, battery, fuses boxes, radiator, ps pump, intercooler, pulled the left headlight to pull out the coolant resevoir since it seems to have a leak.

So far I need to replace with new equipment the following

1. Radiator (Had to drill holes in it to drain it since the plug was sheared off)
2. Resevoir
3. Air Filter Setup (going with CAI)
4. New engine mounts from IRP
5. Dual Oil Cooler kit
6. TBD

I'm in debate right now about keeping the AC system. Sure it will shave off a couple lbs but I'm I'm tracking it in 80-90 degree northeast humidity some cool air could be very welcome. Any opinions on this?

 

Everything in the engine bay is disconnected. All I have to do now is unbolt the engine and tranny. That should be taking place on Sunday! Woohoo!

Purchased an Apexi PFC used this week as well as a set of slightly used tokiko struts and tein springs. If everything goes good with the engine Sunday I'm going to picked a again slightly used JSpec engine next week or the following.

Havn't decided yet but I may just pay to have it rebuilt. I'm hoping to have the car going by early June.

 

How will you know the condition of the "slighty used" jspec engine?
Unless you know exactly where its come from (as in you know the person whos running car it came out of, or buying from a very very reputable seller) then you must assume you will need to rebuild or at the very least refresh the "slightly used" jspec engine.

unless you can be sure of the condition of the engine then you will be better off rebuilding what you have.

 

Keep the posts coming! Considering taking on my first rebuild as well. Interested to see how yours turns out, good luck!

 

All good points. Let me expand on my plan. The motor I'm pulling I believe (only have some history on the car) has $125k miles on it.

Based on everything I'd read about jspec engines I find it reasonably safe to assume they would half or less the miles my motor does.

I share your concern about the quality of the parts on the jspec motor so my intent was to pull it apart no matter what and use the full rebuild kit from Atkins. Probably while I'm at it cryotreat it, street port it, have the cooling system modified to create extra surface area, have the rotors clearanced and the engine balanced.

I need to apologize now for anyone reading/following this thread. I am a poster child for ADHD especially in an adult. Hence why I bought an Apexi kits and shocks/springs today.

Ugh this is going to be a long post. Here is my overall game plan.

First step is to pull the current motor ideally taking place this Sunday. Only things left are the motor mounts and tranny (which I need to pull but may do separately from the motor.

Send step next week probably on Saturday is to drive up to north Jersey to JDM Engine Zone and look at their 13Bs. I'm hoping I can sucker someone with a compression tester to come with me. If I can find one that is satisfactory I'll pick it up otherwise I'd probably order a reman.

During this time I need to seriously debate whether I want to keep or get rid of the AC system.

I'm hoping by the time I have the engine sorted I will have found a decent used set of BNR stage 3s (yes I know good luck lol). During this time I'm going to hawk out all the leftover parts.

I'm also on the lookout for the following list of parts
1. Koyo Rad
2. Methanol Kit
3. Apexi FC Boost Controller
4. Various engine parts from Racingbeat and RotorSports as my budget allows
5. Dual oil coolers
6. FMIC
7. Injectors (not sure what sizes I need yet)
8. New pillowballs and bushings
9. New or gently uses wire harness
10. Battery relocation kit
11. New intake kit
12. heat shielding for the intake and turbos
I’m sure I’m missing stuff

Wishlist
1. Vented hood
2. New nose - http://www.rotorsportsracing.com/ima...beat/67104.jpg
3. 10inch wide rears
4. Stereo
5. Racing seat with harness (perhaps two)
6. New center console (mine came cracked down the middle)

I also want to emphasize that I know this is a lot of work. I've set a goal to be done by the middle to the end of June. I have the numbers for two good rotary shops in my area. If I find I'm getting in over my head or am lacking the skillsets to complete everything appropriately I have no problem throwing the car on a flatbed and sending it over. I'm lucky right now in that I have two good friends who are mechanics helping me. Without them I definitly wouldn't be able to finish this.

 

Kelldog - Sadly by biggest problem so far was disconnecting the oil cooler lines. Took me 3 days and a friend to pull those suckers apart.

 

I have that nose you want and I like it. Knights sports 3 puts out the most light I've seen from any front bumper. 6-8 HID lights (depending on your headlight setup) will really light up the night! I don't care if anyone says its ricey, I can tell you first hand that it works and works well.

For your vented hood, I'd suggest a scoot hood, I have a CF one sitting about 3 feet in back of me, has been there for the last 10 years or so... never got around to installing it really but its bad *** and will provide the most venting out of all the vented hoods. Not sure how much they go for now adays but I'd suggest it. (My brother actually had it on his FD before he sold it, Cooling was noticable. no need to pop your hood to cool down your engine bay after hard runs )

 

Another option to consider is seeing if Japan2LA has any jdm motors. Ive read in some other threads that he has a 100psi garantee on his motors. Also look for goodfellas thread on the reman motors from Mazda. He found some pretty interesting stuff inside the motor when he opened one up.

 

That nose is KnightSports? Rotary Racing has it listed as a Racing Beat nose.

I didn't really like the Scoot hood thta much. I was leaving towards one of the Re-Amen vented hoods.

 

I'm glad I have another fd buddy near me lol. I'm planning on picking up min very soon and plan to do a rebuild myself when time comes.good luck with the build and hopefully you can guide me in the right direction if needed. Let me kno if you need any help pulling the engine out, I'm right here in morrisville.

 

Hit me up in PM about meeting up.

There are a couple FDs and 2 FCs in the area as well. I've met two of them. One FD was looking to sell his car although this was last year, the other may have sold his already although I still keep in touch with him.

Most of the contacts I've made are like 1-2 hours away which is unfortunite.

 

the 4 foglight/driving light bumper is a KnightSports 3.

which RE hood were you looking to get?

 

@Skunks - Was looking at the AD 9

 

BUILD UPDATE - BIG CHANGES!

Everything took a 180 degree turn today. Was planning on pulling the engine and ordering a replacement tomorrow. Also was/am heading over to IRP to talk about some engine mods.

Anyway, as I was trolling ther regional forums yesterday I found someone selling an entire engine kit. The price was so low that I had to get it considering I would be buying almost all the components he is selling myself anyway. So here is a list of what I am picking up.

• 0 mile Rebuilt 13brew
• 3mm RA super seals
• Large street port housings and side plates
• Atkins Rotary rebuild kit
• Atkins Rotary thermal pellet
• Light weight pulleys
• Banzai oil pan brace
• Low mileage oem pressure plate
• act street/strip disk
• KG parts R85 turbo kit w/ Tial 46mm WG
• Apexi FMIC kit w/Tial BOV
• Port matched LIM
• Ceramic Chrome: turbo & manifold, downpipe, WG, upper & lower intake manifolds all coated
• RW 90mm TB - CNC Cut Billet Aluminum Throttle Body for RX7 FD
• Greddy Elbow
• Some other misc. pieces

I just couldn't pass this up as it knocks out a ton of work and sourcing I would be doing myself and cuts my build time in half more than likely.

Now as I said from the beginning if I thought I was getting in over my head I'd turn everything over to a shop which I'm giving some serious consideration to now. I PM'd IRP in Metuchen about meeting and hopefully should be heading over there tomorrow for some discussion.

Then either next Sat or Sun I should be driving to VA to pick up the engine. My plan is to drop everything at IRP regardless of who is installing it as I would like to have everything inspected to make sure it's in good working order so I don't blow anything up.

A couple of negatives occurred today also. The dampeners and springs I committed to buying fell through as the guy received a local offer and didn't feel like shipping them. Also I ordered an Apexi PFC last week since my intent was to run BNR Stage 3's with this setup. It's my understand that PFC is best suited with twins however the Haltech is better suited for a single. So now I have the Apexi being delivered on Tuesday and I'm not sure what to do with it.

Overall positive weekend I would say though.

If anyone reading this has any reviews on the R85 turbo kit or the Apexi FMIC please let me know. Most of the stuff I found was generally positive with no substantial complaints.

 

take your time an pay attention to detail

 

So the motor for sale turned out to be a bust. Turbo is way too big for a track car, and we decided to go with a V mount instead of a front mount...

I towed the car late last week to IRP and spent 3 hours with them today mapping out the project for the car.

In no particular order here is what’s going into the car.

1. IRP Fuel system w/ 725/2000cc injectors
2. GT35R Turbo Kit
3. Rotary Extreme Monster V Mount kit
4. Dry Cell Battery relocated to the passenger rear storage bin
5. New OEM Wiring Harness
6. Power FC
7. Apexi Boost Controller
8. AEM Meth Injection Kit
9. ACT XT Clutch kit w/ lightened flywheel
10. Rotary Performance Competition Fuel Pump
11. 2002 Series 8 Transmission
12. Oil Pan Brace
13. Sakebomb Dual Oil Coolers

IRP Is going to either cannibalize the parts between the two engines I have now to build a good one or we're going to order one of the new remans.

I pulled everything but the engine before sending it too them so it shouldn't take long to rip the old one out I'm hoping.

Old engine should be pulled this Friday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it might be done by mid-September even though Ihor is telling me October.

Another note is that I'll be posting a bunch of left over parts that don't fit into the build.

 

Engine was pulled yesterday. Its being disassembled today. I'm going to degrease the engine bay and see how much crap caked on after 20 years.