Hello all my little rotards!!

I have been seeing allot of you attempting to rebuild your engines and failing tremendously. So I thought I'd post this up and save some folks the hassle of flaming you later.

Please DOT NOT attempt a rebuild, until you read through this.

If you are still confused after reading through all of this... Then do not attempt to rebuild your own engine.

If you think you can build this like your buddies 86 NA FC... Then do not attempt to rebuild your own engine.

If you think I'm a dumbass and you want to prove me wrong, godspeed my child!!

In theory it is an easy process, but in reality it can be expensive and there is a possibility that you will end up with a completely botched build. If you have a budget of 4k, steady hands and high amount of patience, you are off to decent start. You will need much more than that.... So I've laid out some scenarios to gauge where you are at with your line of thought.

"BUT SHADY YOU REBUILT YOURS AND HAD NO IDEA WHAT YOU WERE DOING!!"

-Yes that is correct, but I had a friend who is an engineer who helped me. Also I had allot of support from many engine builders. Without them I'd be screwed, so just take all that into consideration.

"ITS OK I'LL TAKE MY CHANCES, I'M FREAKING AWESOME"

- You may or may not be awesome... But this little project can turn into a cluster faster than you can fathom. Especially if you try any modification that worked on your NA FC...


Here are some scenarios (Read this as an adventure book where you pick your own ending)...

You successfully pull the engine, good job! Oh crap you don't have an engine stand adapter.

Me: "Whats that you didn't know you needed one?"
You: "I'll just place it here on this 5 gallon bucket/stack of cushions.
Stop now and pay someone to rebuild your engine.


You actually read through some threads and bought an engine mount adapter/made one.

You: "But Shady! I read your thread and I purchased an engine stand adapter/made one".
Me: “Excellent continue on”

You have the engine all broken down and found that you blew an apex seal...

You: "Oh I'll just sand down all the wear and make sure its smooth"
Me: "Just for thinking that…"
Stop now and pay someone to rebuild your engine.


You find no apex seal damage, just some side seal shrinkage and housing chatter+chrome flake. You are in ok shape and can continue thinking about rebuilding.

You: "Oh shady I got over 3mm of chrome flake, I'm broke and am going to reuse my housings, I want to get another 80k out of my engine".
Me: "More like 20k if you are lucky"
Stop now and pay someone to rebuild your engine.


You have no parts washing station, cleaning supplies, and have not purchased any of the recommended materials. You also have no clean space to work on and you want to do all of this in your apartment garage?
Stop now and pay someone to rebuild your engine.


Ideal ending:
Look at you!!!! You read my thread, headed all my warnings. Have a budget saved up to about 4k and have prepared yourself for every scenario? Please continue rebuilding your engine and let us know how you did!!


Hopefully you can find the humor and advice in this thread. Any further threads I see about rebuilding engines will be directed here.


...

Links to builders I trust.

http://www.rotaryresurrection.com/rx8gen/index.html
http://www.pineappleracing.com/
http://www.blackhaloracing.com/
http://www.mazmart.com/

 

not sure if i should post the video by aaroncake, or if that would give the opposite message that you are trying to express.

 

Shady you should mention all the tools needed too, with a price.
Just because you can bolt\unbolt everything following instruction doesn't mean you have the tools to know what and what not to use...

 

Yea... I was going to do all that but if they cant do the research to find out... Stop and pay for a rebuild! haha

I'm trying my best to discourage lazy folks from rebuilding their engines.

 

lmao. heyyyy i just rebuild my own fc na engjne .... u trying to say i cant rebuild my renny when needed???

now im gonnnnnnna cry. i hhhhhhaaaaattttteeeeeee yooooouuuuu!

 

LOL You are different... I don't think you will try to bridge port your engine by drilling circular holes into the intake ports.

 

You are trying to take away all our fun

 

whyyyy not? just make it as big as possible ! bigger the better!!!

 

Guess I'm not rebuilding my engine!

 

You will fail miserably at that. You know... the mentally impaired user + "hey yo it's got just 3 moving parts" mentality combo kills any effort towards explaining why engine builds should be left to engine builders
Out of 20 users maybe only 1 really succeeds and puts some time after the rebuild to tackle his mistakes\learn more\invest time and money to learn even better.
It's the sad truth

 

Yea I know... But at least now I can say " I told you so!".

 

+1 Good post.

 

Nominate for sticky status

 

I figure at some point I'm going to end up with a beat old 8 that's got a blown engine in it.

^ This is how I plan on taking on the rebuild.

 

In my case I was thinking hey.....I use to rebuild old VW's...how hard could this be

 

We slaved away with 400 grit sand paper on mine haha.

 

Bump... Spotted at least 5 noob rebuild question threads since posting this thread. The 8 is quickly following the paths of the FD/FC world. People are buying 04's for dirt cheap with no idea of what they are actually getting themselves into.

It's very irritating...

 

I concur

 

Wait, you shouldn't rebuild an engine on the floor, which is gravel?

Whooops.

 

I know its inevitable for a performance car that drops in value as rapidly as the 8 has for this to happen.

You are correct many more are being saved then not, it just still frustrates me to see it all go down the *******.

 

such is life man.....its the nature of the beast

 

You know you've spent too long using an angle grinder when you find yourself cutting your bacon sandwiches in half with it.

 

Can i have vtec in rotary? I swear honda guys said vtec kicked in y0 is da shitz

 

We already have VFAD, wanting VTEC on top of that is just greedy!

 

OP: this thread is funny

But all your points are really good and valid.

I've never attempted to rebuild a rotary yet since I'm new to them; but have gotten my hands into many of my friends' projects in the past with various types of cars (ricers, big blocks, etc.) Some were good experiencies, some were just a big dissaster

I've learned that most of the time lack of knowledge is not the main problem for a successful engine rebuild/modification - as long as somebody knows how to read and follow a factory service manual step by step.

The biggest problem I've seen is almost always around the following two areas:

1. Not having the right tools before starting the project: This is ALWAYS an issue for a lot of guys. So yes, that includes an engine stand and right things to wash and clean internal engine parts!!! Then guys end up going back to the store a million times to get what they need - which delays the project adds up to the total value of the rebuild.

2. Having the right space: this is 99% of the time a big issue as well. Not having a garage of your own means convincing a friend to let you use his - which almost guarantee he will have a fight with his wife about it. Then the project takes longer than expected and the drama continues, LOL.

If my 8 was older (out of warranty) and I had to do a rebuild today, based on the conditions above I would certainly pay an engine builder instead.