New OEM clutch and pressure plate, UIM installed




New Main and water pump pulleys, NAPA reman alternator

 

Got the MASSIVE Progress Tech front sway in place after an epic wrestling match. Could not for the life of me figure out how to snake that thing through either wheel well, around all the suspension parts, brakes, steering rack, oil coolers, etc, UNTIL I just took off the radiator supports and threw it on it 2 minutes...

Thats a KOYO radiator as well to replace the old OEM one, this pic just reminded me I have to find some foam to seal that thing up.



Went with some MOOG endlinks, I've never owned adjustable endlinks that didn't end up clunking at some point so went with these.

 

Lotek gauge pod for Autometer Sport Comp Oil pressure/temp, and water temp gauges.

 

Looking good Smutter, that is one thick front Sway Bar.

Did you get your S2 (N3R1) Oil Filters from Amazon (I think you said), yet?
The one you have on in pic is fine (just the old original large OF which originated in the first Rotaries ever made).

As you have installed the Mazmart oil pan by pass mod. ( I think Paul also suggests to use S2 OF if this mod is done? )

I would not use these G6Y0-14-302A oil filters for long periods/mileage, fine if you intend on doing regular and oil and filter changes.
Not so good for the owner who goes for 20K+ miles before any OF change.

 

I did get a few of the correct oil filters for my purposes (N3R1's). I was a little surprised to see they aren't as large as the G6Y0's I had gotten accidentally. I knew they were larger than the S1's OEM oil filter but it must not be by much.

Here you can see the right oil filter on there, plus the ever elusive dust gasket for the S2 transmission. The header is from a S2 core I picked up, it was in much better shape than my original. Unfortunately the O2 sensors are different it seems from generation to generation.

 

New OEM ignition coils, wires, and plugs. Oil cooler line back on with new crush washers.

For the sharp eye, yes I did manage to assemble the engine in my basement and move it to the garage, which are on different story's, and not break anything or kill myself. It wasn't anything a engine lift, wheel barrow, and a GMC Acadia couldn't handle...

 

Had a similar issues when I replaced my OEM NC2 (MX-5) front Sway Bar with an RX-8 S2 Front.
Was pretty easy once I took one front wheel off and threaded bar carefully past hydraulic power steering case which is half the size of the electric RX-8 unit.
Took about <5 minutes to thread FSB through.

 

Yep, the N3R1's (S2) oil filters are only about 30% larger than OEM S1, but they both are very efficient units, if you cut one open and compared to the old large filters you can see that there is not a lot of unnecessary open free air space inside the OF body.

And yes, the O2 Sensors are different for S2 as I think the plug connectors are too, just be aware you may need to mod/change the connectors if you stay with the header you have.

Great work in your rebuild, nice an clean, which shows your work and attention to detail...fantastic.

 

Used Transmission from a S2 with around 50K miles, Florida car so there was hardly a layer of dust on it, new throughout bearing, clutch slave cylinder, and a new rear seal on the transmission.

 

Don't forget to mod your S2 Reverse and Neutral switch connectors, whatever you propose to do before you install...

 

So I ended up doing what TeamRx8 had recommended. I left my engine harness alone, cut the connectors off both the S1 and S2 switches, and connected them using those snap connectors.

 

Yep, great plan and the best way to do it, sorry mate not telling you what to do, just looking out.

I would shrink wrap those crimp connectors once plugged in to prevent moisture or water from forming even though they are shielded, any neutral switch shorts can give all sorts of PCM/CC issues.

 

I would not do. The S1 connectors sre not sealed at all. Heat shrink tubing will still not keep water entirely out and trap it instead. These are low voltage on/off switches and not critical at all. Better to just leave them open to drain and dry.

 

...............

 

If you want them waterproof the only solution is to install waterproof connectors and professionally crimp them on like an OE installed connector. People think if the cut a wiring line and then use heat shrink tubing, wrap it in electrical tape, etc. it won't ever get wet but that just isn't the case. Heat shrink tubing in particular does not provide a tight enough seal to prevent water intrusion. The point is though, he has an S1 and he's adapting the S1 switch connectors to the S2 switches so that they will plug into the S1 harness. The S1 connectors are not sealed. In fact they are just blade connectors inside a non-sealed plastic housing and wide open for water to get into easily. So even if he did seal the joint we are discussing, the OE connectors are still open to the same issue. Between the exhaust and drivetrain heat in that area it's just my opinion to leave well enough alone. If they do get wet they will dry out much quicker being open.

 

Did you buy the Progress front swaybar used? The Progress installation instructions tell you to drop the lower radiator mounts to install it.

 

I had thought about really trying to seal the connections but I'm gonna hold off for now. I'm in WI but I'm not planning on driving this car in the winter and will probably avoid driving it in the rain as much as possible too. If going throught the car wash or something makes it short I'll do something about it.

Can't lie, I bought it new. Read the instructions and thought why the hell can't I just fish it back through the same way the stock FSB came off... In my defense my radiator mounts/bolts were pretty rusty and I didn't want to deal with shearing any thing off.

 

Hopefully you use anti-seize when re-installing any bolt to avoid that problem down the road.

 

nice build! good to see other RX8 members in WI. Just purchased one a week ago, located in madison. Good luck!

 

Time to put this beauty back where she belongs!

 

 

SOHN, going with Idemitsu for now, probably 5W-30 full synthetic of some sort for the engine

Racing beat water temp sender

 

Nice work man! Is that the eBay Sohn adapter complete kit?

 

Indeed it is. Pretty nice kit, I may end up replacing the hose and clamps with higher quality stuff in the future.

 

IT WORKED!!! Fired right up and held idle on its own. Dash lit up like a christmas tree but I expected that. Let it idle for about 30min until the fans cycled a couple times then actually drove around the subdivision until some crazy bitch threw a soft ball at me. Lucky for her she missed horribly... For the record I was not speeding, kept the rpms under 4k and never got out of 3rd gear. I guess she had major issues with someone driving around without a bumper, fenders, or a hood on the car.


Few things I noticed, good and not so good:

1. Almost no smoke whatsoever after start up, I was expecting crop duster levels of smoke but had basically none.
2. Oil pressure pegged the gauge on start up, gradually fell to about 25psi at idle, just revving up to 4k would go to about 130psi!
3. Very skeptical my gauges are working correctly, oil pressure gauge is mechanical and seems to work, oil temp never moved after about an hour of running, water temp made it to 150 then fans would kick on. It was 50 degrees out side tonight too so definitely not warm however, but according to my Autometer gauge water temps never made it past 150.
4. Did the 20x brake stomp before start up, OEM oil gauge swept back and forth, but I got a CEL for the ESS plus a couple other CELS I'll have to look up
5. Zero leaks!!
6. Not much if any 2stroke oil being pulled up the oil metering lines. Sometimes I can see some slowly moving up one of the lines, then when I look again a few minutes later nothing. I did prime the SOHN hose before attaching it to the adapter.