OK so my 2004 rx8 overheated a few times and after fixing the problem blew the coolant seals completely. It has been confirmed that they are toast.
I have new plugs tail lights thermostat water pump and radiator.
Trans is mint body needs work. The dealer quoted me 21-2500 to put in a new motor(reman)
I paid under 2000$ for the car have $2000 invested and I have a question.

In this situation would you
A) sell the car as is
B) part it out
C) put new engine in it
D) engine swap to something road worthy
E) burn it to the ground.

 

I don't see how a dealer could quote you $2500.00 for a reman if list price for the reman alone is over $3,000.00 without labor. How long ago was this quote?

Also, asking us these questions is stupid. The answers depend on many things.

 

If that dealer price is accurate, I'd probably take them up on it. The dealer list price for remans recently jumped to $3,300, plus labor.

Now that I know your purchase price, I'm not at all surprised at the problems you have had. Any RX-8 that cheap should pretty much expect to have $3,000-$4,000 in repairs/maintenance needed. That engine could easily have already been damaged before you bought it.

I would recommend either A) selling it as is, though you will only get $1,500ish on average, MAYBE might get $2,000, or C) put a replacement engine in it.

$6,500 ish for an RX-8 with good mechanicals isn't horribly overpriced. A bit overpriced, but not excessively.

B and E will be a general waste of money.

D will be an even bigger money sink. The cheapest engine swap possible for the RX-8 is the 13b-REW from an RX-7, and you should budget at least $15,000 for that (and will still be suspect reliability). Doesn't matter what the engine is past that, they all have the same challenges and you end up having to rebuild the entire powertrain and electrical systems from scratch.

 

This is just a fun little question as I haven't decided what to do.
And the quote was two weeks ago.

 

That quote probably isn't valid any more. Expect it to be another $1,500 higher.

 

So the price on Remans just went up $900 in the last 2 weeks? Does anyone know why?

 

It went up $1,350 or so. No exact reason why, just a price change event within the Mazda system from $2,001 list to $3,3xx list. Was about a week to a week and a half ago. I forget where the original notification was posted.

Probably to recoup some of their warranty money?

 

Wtf... I knew I should have changed it then. Mazda advised me to change the pump and stat first. Just in case I dusnt need one. Those guys knew what was up. And screwed me over.

 

so to change these water jacket seals you need an entire engine rebuild kit correct?? since unlike a head gasket these little bastards are jammed tight in the crevice of the rotary's anus??

 

There are only 10 major parts to the engine, with one of them literally passing through or touching each of the other 9. Yes, to replace anything on the engine it requires a complete rebuild.

(This has other accessories in the picture too)


Personally, I wouldn't bother trying to rebuild that engine. Overheating can easily turn the entire motor into complete junk, and one that has had as much problems as yours is probably warped beyond repair.

 

If its me, i'll sell the car as is. I don't have to worry about the hassle on getting a reman engine that just went up on price, and if its too much of an issue, then just let it go.

 

Appreciate the exploded layout. I've rebuild engines before never a rotary. I'm stuck on what to do. I have a guy looking at it and offered me way more than expected but wants to check into it first. So fingers crossed I may get my money back on this.

 

Well I have listed it on eBay. For exposure. Plan on craigslist as well. If all else fails I can post fs thread here for an entire part out so if anyone is needing something specific. Just let me know will slowly began tear down this weekend. I'm starting a new job hopefully in two weeks so I won't worry too much over a slower way to cut even.

 

Do a 13b REW swap and keep the 6 spd. its is really more reliable as parts and upgrades are readily easier to get and more available. i did swap to the rew trans cause it is stronger but for regular road use the 6 spd suits you. and i work at mazda the average swap price we charge is 55-6k out the door. if its a short block it can depend on cost 25-3k but there is more work involved so it still ends up being near upper 5k.
you can do a 13b rew swap for a little over half that cost with a nice rebuild and large single turbo. i like more ponies under my feet and love the flutter of my BOV ie 10:1 compression in the renesis lets you get 5-7lbs of boost on low milage taken care of motor.
and i cannot stress this enough. KEEP UP ON YOUR MAINT CHECK YOUR OIL AND COOLANT AND STAY ROTORY!!!!

 

 

Was that a ROFL to the rew swap?
If he can do it for 5k I think I'm game. No cash til he delivers.

 

At that price you can expect quite the hack job of a swap, if it's ever actually completed.


I'm pretty sure that the "i work at mazda" gives the clue to the real story that he is saying that replacing an REW in an FD is $5,500 to $6,000 at his dealership. No one that actually understands the challenges of putting an REW in an RX-8 would claim a price that low, much less half that.

The engine alone would be about that, plus fabrication, alternate ECU (or re-wiring everything on a hybrid REW that uses the Renesis front cover), custom cooling system, custom exhaust, transmission, PPF modification, etc... etc... etc...

The lowest REW swap I've ever heard of was ~$12k. Don't get me wrong, it IS the easiest of the engine swaps, but hardly as cheap as he is implying.

 

I can also say rebuilding an REW will cost at least $2500 if you pay to do it. I just had mine rebuilt and it ran me about $3k. It's still on the engine stand waiting to go in unfortunately.

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/JPR-I...79384092073641
Nahar Russell's REW Rx8 completed for under 5k. My own 8 completed for 4678.42. it all depends on your own skill set. and im not doubting anyones skill but if you source you supplies and do most of he work you can make it work not a hack Job. So before you start Just because you didnt se a bear **** in the woods does it mean cause you didnt see it it didnt happen. It can be done yes with alot of finess and it can get ugly real quick but do your research and if your game tackle it. Its a little to far fetched for the uncapable tweens rotary owners to tackle so there will always be hatters that cant do anything and have someone else do their work for them that always have something to say. And yes i do work at Mazda by choice cause i love rotories and the cheap parts PWND. This is a poll people to help a fellow enthusiest he asked for opinions not arguments so either give him your opinion like i did or just keep paying someone else a bunch of money to do the swaps for you. Having it done by someone else can cost between 1-100k depending on if,who, what, when , and why does it. just gave my opinion on a subject i know FIRST HAND in doing and offered up my experience just to get thrashed.

 

Is that just a parts cost? Including motor, rebuild, and transmission?

Agreed that you can have huge labor savings by doing all the labor yourself. You doing the swap yourself is going to be cheaper than someone paying you the labor to do it to their car (which is what you offered). You are you saying that will you do it for free for him?

 

See now this guy sounds like the dealership. Say they can do something at one price then change it when you want it done....

 

U can A:lose money by sell is is
B:waste some money with grace
C: burn it
For me it would be waste money with grace.
If you are horse power hungry and dont mind butcher rx8 go LS1
If you are very handy go REW
If you like to keep your rx8 for long run Mazmart it

 

I HAVE STARTED MY PART OUT so far so good, im not money hungry,
i pulled the motor sun and broke my finger so shipping and pulling some things will be slower than normal, BUT
thank you guys for all input.