I know how the rotary engine works.....for the most part. What I'm curious about is the water pump. I know in my piston engine I have water channels that run throughout the block and head and provide passages for the coolant to pull the heat away. However, all I can see from every cut-away of the renesis (and rotories in general) is that the housing is very thin and water jackets aren't visable. Can someone explain the cooling system and lubrication system to me? I also noticed the oil pan is very shallow since there's not a crankshaft dipping into it. thanks.

Turbo Matty P,
I think you'll find a lot of useful general rotary information at Rotary Engine Illustrated (http://www.rotaryengineillustrated.com/RE101pages/1b-anat-rhousing.html).

also check out the "engine tech info" thread.

fwiw, the water jackets in the rotary are inside the side and intermediate housing, and lubrication is through the oil bungs in the rotor housing, and through the e-shaft to the oil bearings and inside of the rotors (further cooling).