Hello all,

Its been along time since I posted. I have had my rx8 sitting in my driveway for years and the market is so bad in Florida that you practically have to give the car away to sell it. Anyways, after reading all of the REW swap threads I decided to attempt one as well. I purchased a blown motor from Japan for $1350 and tore it down over the weekend. As expected the front front was blown and it appears that an apex seal cracked and went through the housing. I know the housing needs to be replaced and expect that the rotor will also be replaced. There are some gouges near the apex seal, but not on the apex groove. If there is no damage to the apex groove, can the rotor be reused? IF not, what is the reason?



Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

I did some checking with a feeler gauge and it is warped around the apex groove. Would machining to a 3mm apex seal be okay or just replace the rotor and go with 2 mm?

 

You need a 13B REW workshop manual. And yes I would replace the rotor and run standards Mazda seals. But really that depends on your skill level and power goals. But if you can't determine what should and should not be reused then I think you are in over your head. $1300.00 for a blown REW is nuts.

 

Yep, figured it would be replaced. I will be checking every part over the next few weeks (once everything has been cleaned up). The motor came with tranny, mounts, ecu, harness, accessories, etc. I could not locate any motor/tranny for less than $1350. I already have a some take off turbo parts from my other car that were too small. This is more of a project and is my 3rd car so no rush to get this done.

 

it will cost you more than that $1350 to get this motor rebuilt and running , so you will pay double or more before you are done. Ouch !

 

Yeah 3500 for a motor how insane is that... Man this board is so negative. Seriously for a car where people spend 400 for an air filter and pipe, 800 for an exhaust that gains 1 hp, and 8000 dollar turbo systems that blow the motor within 10,000 miles, everyone sure loves to throw stones.

 

How are facts throwing stones? $1350.00 for a sight unseen blown 13B REW is too much. And unless you go used parts the whole engine will cost you way more than $3500.00. Have you priced a new rotor , housing, and rebuild kit yet?

 

wow, this dude bought a blown engine for 1350 ? even with tranny and stuff it's just not worth it.

The guy who sold u that garbage probably gonna throw a party.

Going cheap before you even start ... oh man this is gonna end bad ...

 

Yes I will be using used parts, so what? Its going in a used car with 100k+ miles that I couldn't sell for $3,000. This is not going to be a 400hp car on the covers of magazines. I make a good living and get more enjoyment out of the process is more important to me then having the best/most expensive. $1350 dollars is less than a weeks pay, so whether I spend weeks trying to get a better deal its really not worth it to me. Maybe instead of bashing me, why don't you show me where I can get these parts for a more reasonable price? I would appreciate it...

 

Where am I bashing you? So sensitive.

I am just giving you a heads up. It's cool that you make a good living, that doesn't mean that you should throw money away. Using used engine internals is a risky business if you do not know how to properly spec the used parts you are going to buy. I have seen plenty of guys guys waste a lot of money making poor decisions at rebuild time. Even if you find a usable rotor and housing you will still need a rebuild kit and that will run you about $2,000.00 with Mazda seals and $1700.00 or so if you use aftermarket replacements.

As for where to purchase, the RX7club.com site FS section or the normal Ebay, Craigslist, etc. Or call Racing Beat, Mazdatrix, RR, etc. and see what used parts they have.

 

I also had used parts to work with and i had to tear it down a couple of times to get it running. I got a rebuild kit from Atkins for $475 i think. Got the cryo apex seals at Atkins for $250 and had to replace a rotor and housing. There are some good peps here that will sell you the parts you need for much cheaper than you will find on ebay. Make sure that the corner seals are ok too. Hope this helps!

 

The cheapest rebuild kit from Atkins (who I would never buy from personally unless it was OEM mazda parts only) for the REW is $725.00 and leaves a lot to be desired. But like I said, I have seen plenty of people half *** it trying to save some cash only to end up paying a lot more later when an engine fails or doesn't even start after a home rebuild. Experience and proper prior planning are key here.

 

Just saw your post. Hey check out some multiple posts on other threads, noting some lousy rebuilds using Atkins kits and their cryo apex seals that have resulted in dead engines after just a few thousand miles. I would stay away from anything Atkins until you check this out. I don't personally have an experience with Atkins to back up what I am saying, just passing on warnings from other RX8 club members.

 

I would advise to purchase the rebuild kit from Pineapple Racing. Atkins products are garbage.

There is even a recent thread on a new fresh rebuild Atkins engine that has nothing but issues.

 

Rotary resurrection has a eBay page and has lots of parts might even give you some tips on your rebuild. I agree with the others don't cheap out on parts this is no piston engine one cheap part can put you back to rebuilding. Hope your project gose well would love to see the end result.

 

04-11 Rx8 Manual Rebuild Kit A (ARE66-Manual) is only the water jackets and O-rings and such and it is $445. I agree about the seals, but the simple rebuild kit is not bad. Seals should be of a higher quality such as OEM, Goopy, ect... Even Rotary Aviation has some decent seals for the price. My build is good using the simple rebuild kit. I just have a bad OMP, so it is in limp mode. Just use the knowledge of these guys on here. most of the time, it is golden.

 

Yeah he rebuilding a 13B-REW, not a Renesis. OEM is best and RA seals are mediocre at best.

 

Everyone has to start somewhere right?

Aren't the OEM 13B-REW seals too hard and result in wearing the rotor housings?

 

No.