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Finding closure for my destroyed front housing and rotor
Hi guys! I was doing a tear down of my 13b-REW and my front housing and rotor has deep gouges rendering them both useless and I was hoping to get answers on what could’ve happened to prevent this in the future. About the engine: it was in my friends rx7, he purchased it from a guy that let it sit for a couple years and he drove it for a few days until it suddenly lost compression on the front rotor. He pulled it out and sold it to me for 500 bucks.
EDIT: My question is what caused the gouges in the rotor and housing. I know why it blew up.
P.S. I couldn’t post this in any other section till I have a higher post count. Thanks!
Last edited by Bonsai Boy; 02-27-2020 at 12:01 AM.
I guess I should’ve been more specific,
What do you guys think caused the gouging in the rotor and housing?
Lack of lubrication or seals being seized/broken. These engines are not good if you let them sit. Also it was of unknown condition when you bought it. This engine should have been rebuilt before you started using it.
Lack of lubrication or seals being seized/broken. These engines are not good if you let them sit. Also it was of unknown condition when you bought it. This engine should have been rebuilt before you started using it.
Just to clarify I didn’t use it I know better than that. And if it were my rx7 I would’ve rebuilt it before I tried driving it. But I’m not the one who had the choice.
Last edited by Bonsai Boy; 02-26-2020 at 10:06 PM.
Just to clarify I didn’t use it I know better than that. And if it were my rx7 I would’ve rebuilt it before I tried driving it. But I’m not the one who had the choice.
As it sits it's a paperweight though that's for sure. I would imagine though that is how this engine got trashed. What are your plans to do with it?
As it sits it's a paperweight though that's for sure. I would imagine though that is how this engine got trashed. What are your plans to do with it?
A paperweight is an understatement! The pics don’t do justice for how deep those GOUGES are. The classic “I wanna swap my rx8” story. The only part of the engines story that gave me hope was: it was sitting for an extended period of time and it was ran by some modified stock ECU that was cutting at 6,500 rpm. Those two factors had me hoping it was a carbon stuck apex. Before this engine came into play I was considering the forsaken piston swap... and after this I’d be lying if I wasn’t thinking about parting out the engine and going back to that. But if you know anyone with the turbo front housing and rotor for sale send them my way!
You gambled and lost. Hopefully some of that engine is at least salvageable.
I wouldn’t call it a gamble I said I was HOPING it was a stuck apex seal... that goes without saying I was EXPECTING a blown out apex seal and ruined housing and rotor. I just wanted confirmation on what caused the damage for my own curiosities.
I'm gonna go with installing an engine that's been sitting for years without rebuilding it first. Probably had seized seals or god knows what else wrong with it.
Edit: Hoping is not knowing though. Sounds like it was a gamble to me.
Last edited by CaymanRotary; 02-26-2020 at 10:43 PM.
I'm gonna go with installing an engine that's been sitting for years without rebuilding it first. Probably had seized seals or god knows what else wrong with it.
Edit: Hoping is not knowing though. Sounds like it was a gamble to me.
Yeah, we’ll never know for sure but speculating is fun.
such an irritating post,
did you examine the ******* parts as you tore it down,
surely a broken corner piece etc, side seal etc,
,
line them all up and see if one is different,
and bobs your ******* uncle
,
such an irritating post,
did you examine the ******* parts as you tore it down,
surely a broken corner piece etc, side seal etc,
,
line them all up and see if one is different,
and bobs your ******* uncle
,
LOL.. it definitely ate something. It could have been a nut that got dropped into the intake as well...
such an irritating post,
did you examine the ******* parts as you tore it down,
surely a broken corner piece etc, side seal etc,
,
line them all up and see if one is different,
and bobs your ******* uncle
,
The engine was partially disassembled before I got my hands on it so the seals were already disrupted. So unfortunately I couldn’t do that.
Edit: Thanks for the input
Last edited by Bonsai Boy; 02-28-2020 at 04:56 PM.
LOL.. it definitely ate something. It could have been a nut that got dropped into the intake as well...
I was wondering about something like that. I’d never seen any pictures online with scratches as deep as this. But then again most of the photos were provided to ask if the housing/rotor could be used again so housings like mine probably don’t often get photos taken they just get binned LOL
02-26-2020, 09:41 PM
I know better than that. And if it were my rx7 I would’ve rebuilt it before I tried driving it. But I’m not the one who had the choice. 
I wouldn’t call it a gamble I said I was HOPING it was a stuck apex seal... that goes without saying I was EXPECTING a blown out apex seal and ruined housing and rotor. I just wanted confirmation on what caused the damage for my own curiosities.
