rmani

hey guys in the interest of saving money i've started looking at some higher mileage fds, like ones with 70-90k miles but with new or rebuilt engines. I just wanted to get some feedback from the experts on this idea. I figure if I spent more money on a slightly newer one with say less than 40k miles and on the original engine, the chances are the owner hasn't been taking very good care of it and the engine already has some potential damage to it. So why not have one with higher miles, but an engine with 10k miles or less and maybe even newer turbos too, and save 5k or so in the process. Than I will have extra money to start doing the safety mods, etc...

Rix7

Just make sure the new engine isn't a mazduh remanufactured one because they blow. One with a new or rebuilt engine will also save you the hassle of going through that whole process and worrying about whether or not the old engine is up to handling power increases without blowing. And if you can save $ in the process, heck you can't beat that. Unfortunately, I didn't think that far ahead and now I'm right in the middle of getting a new engine. Just gotta wait to get the streetport done and get it shipped. I can't wait!!

rmani

hmm so i shouldn't get it if the person says they had mazda re do the engine? i am planning to get the streetport from kdrotary as well as all the other safety mods asap once i get the car. thanks for the reply!

7 eleven

I don't think you can rule out a car because it has a mazda rebuild motor in it. They sell thousands of those motors and a lot of people have them but of course you only hear about the one that goes bad. I've seen at least one of each major rebuild company go bad. I know that the ones they built right before the move from cali to florida had a high failure rate. I think that was disgrutled workers caused though. After the move they have put out high quality work. No I don't work for them but I know a few that do work there.

vosko

iTrader: (4)

it all depends how patient you are. if you want a car NOW. get one with a rebuilt engine already. if you are very patient try to pick one up cheap with a blown engine and have everything redone your way. it will take the longest but have the best results.

rmani

hmm that's not a bad idea i might think about doing that. the only thing is what to do about the turbos how much does a used fd with about 70k miles and a blown engine and turbo go for? I was hoping to spend about 12k to get one with a new engine and turbos. thanks for all the replies guys i really appreciate it.

vosko

iTrader: (4)

JEEZ i wish i found a fd with a rebuild for $12k. try more like $15k+ . i'm not saying they aren't out there but it is very hard to find a deal like that is under blue book with a $3000 engine thrown in for kicks i hope you find one that cheap it would be great. you can find fd's with blown engines for $8k-10k just gotta look around. it only took one year to find the FD i eventually purchased

Magnificent 7

Well I think you've got the right idea. A 40k mi. car is probably gonna need a replacement engine and turbos at around 70K, regardless of how well the owner babied his car. Mine went at 69K with exceptionally good care, and the only mod being a downpipe. That **** just happens. I personally would feel more comfortable with a 20k mi. car, but those are gettin harder and harder to find. A clean 70k car with a fresh rebuild and new or well-rebuilt turbos should be a pretty good bet.

I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think you can even get a NEW 13B-REW from Mazda or anywhere else. Even the major rebuilders still put out a REBUILT engine. Not knocking their quality, haven't ever owned one so I don't know. BUT, TECHNICALLY SPEAKING they still are REBUILT ENGINES! Which means they have used parts that have been cleaned up checked and found to be within an acceptable tolerance range (same as Mazda reman.s).

As far as turbos go I know you can new factory ones, that's what I did. And of course you can get all sorts of singles and stuff. Personally I would try to get new turbos. There's some argument out there about how well cracks in the main turbo manifold can be repaired (that's the piece that always cracks on the sequentials).

One final note. I do think you're unrealistically low in your price range for one with a new engine. If you go to kbb.com and look at the price for a 70k mi. car, youshould see something in the $17k to $18k range. Consider also, that would be a car with the original enigne and turbos that is alarmingly close to needing a rebuild, and it would not be expected to have any modifications done to it. I think it is not unreasonable for a person to ask more than that if the car has a reman. engine and turbos that are going to be good for another 70k mi. If you add mods to that and the car is in great shape the car should be worth around $20k. That's the reasoning behind my asking price anyway. Tell me what you think.

Mine is in the "FOR SALE" section with pics, and even comes with a transferable warranty. If you're interested. It's not in your current price range though.

Nathan Kwok

I think the best bet is to get a compression test if the engine isn't blown. Those don't lie, I've never heard of a "bad" engine come out with good compression. If it has good compression, then it should still have plenty of life, as the compression slowly falls as the engine nears death (in most cases, obviously you can blow up a perfectly new engine with enough detonation). Most important is that the numbers are as even as possible. The actual value depends on temperature, elevation, rpm, and other factors, but shoot for 7.0+ with as even as possible across all 6 faces. Big differences (over 1.0) between front and rear, or between individual faces, are signs of trouble. As far as turbos go, its hard to say how much life they have, because they can make perfect boost and then suddenly start to leak oil or smoke. I disagree that low mileage cars are more likely to be abused than higher mileage ones, what makes you say that? Despite this, if you have the time, I would try and find a lower mileage car with a blown engine, already modded reliably and in great condition otherwise, for around 8k-9k, just look and look, they're out there. Then you can rebuild the engine and get new turbos (DON'T PAY RETAIL, I came across a guy selling brand new one's for $1600, this is not uncommon) and know you'll be good for a long time.

Rix7

The thing behind all of this is that you shouldn't want Mazduh to have anything to do with your FD. Most of the mechanics don't have a clue when it comes to an FD and screw things up more than fix them. There's nothing wrong with getting engine work done by PROFESSIONAL 3rd. gen. rotary mechanics. Look into KD Rotary or others of their caliber. Settle for nothing less than the best when it comes to your FD. Your rexy will thank you. Trust me.

rmani

thanks for all the help guys yeah i'm gonna be in contact with kbrotary very soon i already have their page bookmarked and everyone on this board seems to have nothing but good things to say about them. i am not too far either a little less than an hour's drive to the shop which i'll gladly do for a good mechanic.

Magnificent 7

Does this guy even own an FD? Or has he just been parroting what the majority of people on this forum think, without ever checking?

Rix7, the local Mazda mechanic doesn't rebuild the motor. A rebuild requires the type of equipment that most, if not all dealers, would not buy even if they could afford to. Why? Because the 13B-REW is so uncommon that it's not feasible to rebuild them at the dealership. They probably get like 1 or 2 per year. Also, it's more cost effective to centralize your rebuild facility. It also helps with quality control. The motors are rebuilt at a specialty remanufacturing facility in Florida. And they are rebuilt to STOCK specifications, that means no streetporting or 3mm seals. Did you know that? Or are you too busy giving "advice" to research the facts? These mechanincs are as specialized as probably any mechanic you will find. They rebuild rotaries everyday.

Have you had a Mazda reman. engine? I'm not talking about your friend, or a guy down the street, or some dude you raced last month, I'm talking about you. Now I'm sure the guys at Pettit, M2, KD, and all the others are experienced, and excellent at extracting extra horsepower from the rotary, but the Mazda reman. engines are excellent too, if only stock.

Now the local Mazda mechanic will be the guy that's installing the engine for you. And if you've had a bad experience with yours well then I'm sorry for you. My guy's pretty good, and has a lot of respect for RX-7's and rotaries in general. But it really boils down to disconnecting, labeling, and reconnecting a large number of coolant, oil, and vacuum hoses, and electrical connections. Hell, any mechanic should be able to do that -- I can. Now you may have a shitty mechanic, but that's no fault of the rebuilder. Any shitty mechanic can leave a coolant line loose, or misconnect a vacuum hose and ruin any well built engine, piston or rotary. I would suggest you not paint all the Mazda reman. engines, and mechanics with the same broad brush.

Mr rx-7 tt

iTrader: (5)

RMani, The remans used to be bad but now they are very good....Ask Dave at KD Rotary...I would pay a little more and find a lower milage car.