mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

Got the engine home yesterday afternoon along with every part off of the car other than the suspension and wheels.. The truck was loaded down with parts, lol. I'll post pics of those as well. Now I'll admit the engine does look rough. The car had sat for the last couple years in a moist barn, corroding the unprotected metal. That and it came from an Ohio car that had some rust. Road salt really destroys cars here in Ohio. So here she is, the 83k mile engine that will get my black 8 back on the road in a few weeks:

FunRun8

iTrader: (5)

Rough, yes . Like I said having been in racing for a number of years I just couldn't put that in my car in that shape, so easy to just do a tear down and refresh and not that much cost either if the engine has good internals? But at 84K with unknowns and 2 years sitting? Something tells me this is not what it seems, and why if it is so good wouldn't the previous owner who's making a track car use this engine? Guess he's making a complete conversion? Oh well, good luck is all I can say, wouldn't be my plan.

MANIACman

And don't forget the one lamp that has the opening under it! RTV solved it for me. I kept the old seals (Had to glue together one rip)

MANIACman

Those pix are pure Joy! Tell your guy I feel just like him when I'm behind the wheel.

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

I absolutely see where you're coming from. The engine will get all new external gaskets and seals. Everything will be cleaned and I will be using all of the external parts form my engine on this engine. All I am using is the engine block. Yes, I realize that I'm taking a chance on this poor engine, but the compression numbers are even and within spec. I'm out nothing but time if it refuses to run. I paid $700 for the engine, trans, exhaust, ppf, and the entire interior. The guy gutted his car to do a V8 track car conversion. I was happy to take it all off of his hands I do plan on rebuilding my original engine and reinstalling it in the car, As of now though a full rebuild, which will hover around $1500 in parts providing the housings are good, just isn't in my budget. I decided to take a chance because I felt that the entire interior and the trans alone were worth $700. I'll be sure to post plenty of pictures of everything I tear down.

FunRun8

iTrader: (5)

Nice price on the deal but it doesn't cost $1500 in parts if you only need to do a refresh, about $500 if that, that's why I was suggesting doing it now instead of waiting and requiring a full rebuild. If the apex and side seals are good and they sound like they are, without a lot scuffing on the housings they can be reused and the rest of the engine is mostly clean up with the exception of new water seals and various gaskets. You clean out all of the carbon and start new the budget you're referring to is minimal and will likely last for many K's instead of requiring an entire new rebuild in the short term, so the budget argument doesn't really hold water from my point of view, you've got plenty of cars to liquidate it seems as well if so chose, but obviously that's for you to decide.

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

If I opened the engine, I would replace the apex and side seals as well as all of the apex seal springs and corner seals. The master rebuild kit from Atkins is a little over $1400 plus tax and shipping. I could reuse the apex and side seals and such, but I suppose if the engine is opened up, I would be inclined to replace them to ensure even longer life out of it. I could liquidate cars but I am at a point where I'm comfortable with what I have. I sold my Corvette last year and one of my 944's already this year. It was hard seeing those go. I really don't want to sell more of the cars.

Jazer

While I wish you the best of luck, I wouldnt get your hopes up too high with the replacement engine. I've been under the impression that rotarys don't do well sitting. While sitting for lengthy periods of time really isn't good for any car/engine, rotarys are even more finicky, and a perfectly good engine can end up no good without the regular lubrication, etc. Clearly you know what you're doing mechanically though, and your situation makes complete sense. I would probably attempt the same thing! I do hope it works out for you! Keep us updated. Did you open up your original engine and see it's condition?

I guess my only suggestion, ideally, would be to open them both up now (pending you can wait) and use the best parts from both engines with all new seals, etc. You have a good opportunity to pick parts out of two engines to make an optimal rebuild. Especially before running the replacement engine and possibly even damaging that one in the event anything became brittle from sitting etc.

MANIACman

I "think" (I'm not an expert) that if you do an oil change and start it up and idle for a bit you shouldn't have any serious problems. At least nothing more serious then if you were to do the same with another non rotory car. And for what its worth (And I'm NOT and expert. I've done this only once) its a very quick job to pull an engine and swap it with one from a running car. I did it totally on my own in the garage (at home) by myself in a week. *Which won me $150.00! If I can find it there are some russian dudes on Youtube that have some well done videos on doing RX8 stuff. *Engine Total strip down alone sucks up a lot of hours. Disassembly and replacing all the seals etc not only takes a lot of time you have a lot of chances to get something wrong (Well... I would) and really "F" it up. So one vote for just trying a quick swap.

FunRun8

iTrader: (5)

Well also having a test engine to disassemble first is a bonus too, if anything goes wrong or needs to be referred to.

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

Started getting the engine out but the darn thing got cocked towards the passenger side of the engine bay and hooked itself on the input shaft. All it needs to do is get it to unhook itself and its out. I'm really trying to avoid pulling the trans but I will if need be. Here are a couple pics. The first one I took just before I hooked the engine hoist up and disconnected the engine mounts and the second one is of my struggling to get the engine free while my son Grant was my hoist operator:

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

After work yesterday I decided to hunker down and get to work on getting the engine out of the 8. I found the issue after some careful examination. Turns out I forgot to remove the bracket that connects the exhaust manifold to the transmission. This would be why the engine cocked to the right and would not budge. I removed that bracket and the engine came out without any issues. Here are a few pics from last night:

Engine on the floor ready for tear down:



How my baby is sitting now:

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

Currently waiting on my engine gasket set and a few other misc gaskets. I also have to order a new clutch set. Best to replace it while its apart.

FunRun8

iTrader: (5)

As my son would say "true dat"! Looks like you have a similarly minded helper there helping you out, only yours seems more enthusiastic then either of mine usually are.

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

My oldest son likes to help but he is easily distracted. I had him assisting in operating the engine hoist as sen in that picture. He was nowhere to be found shortly afterwards, lol. He did help me bleed the front brakes on my Camry on Tuesday after work however. It was difficult for him to understand the process but he did just fine. My youngest son, Max is 3. He is so eager to learn how to fix cars that when I'm in the garage he's right by my side. We went to one of my Porsche customer's houses yesterday and I did some work for the gentleman on his Porsche and Max went with me. He was handing me tools and was right by my side watching the entire time. Cars are in his blood, lol. I just hope it lasts and he doesn't lose interest as he gets older.

FunRun8

iTrader: (5)

Well I under stated my boys a bit, my eldest has helped me remove at least 3 trannies on the SEAT I owned when in Asia, had to do it twice because the used one had same issue no one there could do a decent rebuild on a VW tranny sad to say, including me. In those cases he was only 7 or 8 at the time and was literally right under the car helping me lift the trans up with the floor jack while I manipulated it in place, and he also helped me adjust the linkage after replacing the bushings, he shifted from inside while I made the adjustment outside and he did a very good job too. He does help but like you said sometimes hard to find them just when you need them most.

Just sometimes you wish they'd take a little more initiative like I did when I was their age without having to be tracked down, but instead today it's video games, tablets and PC's which is why I insist they learn how to use their brains and their muscles at times to help out with more menial, laborious projects like this.

Jazer

That's awesome! I have a 3 year old daughter, and she loves trying to help us out too! She's going to be just like her mama! (me)

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

This is very well put. I have to pry them off of the Xbox or pry them off of their laptop to help out and do the simplest of things for me or my wife. Threats are often made of grounding from said devices. The power went out yesterday evening while my wife was at the store. I had 4 of my 5 kids at home with me and I was of course messing with my engine and decarbonizing things and the power goes out. Max (my little guy) and I waited patiently in the garage while the rest of the kids came scattering out of the house like roaches in the light. No power means no TV or no laptop or no Xbox. They were at a loss as to what to do for entertainment.... I was dumbfounded...... I said to them "hey how about you guys go play with all those toys you never pick up"? Too boring they said.I told them to play hide and seek in the house. Not good enough... So they sad miserably in the garage until I finished working by flashlight and I called my wife and told her the news. They got lucky as dinner was at a restaurant last night. But I guess what I'm saying is that they are so spoiled by things that they don't have a deeper appreciation for helping out and helping dad in the garage.

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

I love this picture! I remember when my oldest daughter was this age and loved to help out in the garage. Now its just my youngest boy Max who is 3. Even when Max was younger he loved cars. This pic shows him next to one of my 944's as the other kids could care less and are playing in the background. Max appears in a trance looking at the car and nothing has changed since:

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

Got my engine gasket set in yesterday and the engine is nearing completion. Still waiting on my clutch set however. I can't wait to get it back in the car and have my baby back on the road. Pics to follow after work!

Jazer

Eager to see how it runs!

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

That's so sweet.
Keep it up.
My oldest daughter used to love helping me work on my cars.
She especially enjoyed packing wheel bearings with grease by hand.
She did oil changes, cleaned valve covers, and other dirty jobs, and never worried about getting too dirty.
She's in her 30s now, and looks back on that fondly.

Jazer

Aw that's awesome. What great memories to have too! I can't wait until my daughter can actually help a little bit. She's still a bit young, but she tries, and thinks shes helping :D

In that photo there she was tapping the wrench over the Evo's charge pupes/couplers/T-bolt clamps and saying, "Im helping mama!"... it was so cute. She felt useful which is so good for them as kids!

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

The engine has been resealed and many parts replaced. The new Exedy clutch kit should arrive next Monday at the latest and the flywheel will be back from the machine shop as well. Once the new clutch is installed on the surfaced flywheel, the engine goes back in the car. If all goes well, the car will be back on the road next week!

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

A couple pics of the engine from last night. I removed the transmission last night and removed the clutch pressure plate and disc from the flywheel. I am going to install a new oil pan on the engine today. Here are a couple pics: