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Cost to rebuild rotary engine?

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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 07:26 PM
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Cost to rebuild rotary engine?

Hey guys, im driving a 2004 mazda rx8. bought it used with 62k miles with a new engine that had 230 miles on it. its all stock but i want to put more money in it to customize it, but im afraid. Im afraid i might put in all this money and the engine will fail and all of that customizing money will go to waste. so is getting a new engine when it fails expensive? and is the engine guaranteed to break after so many miles?
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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 07:30 PM
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It's cheap to do it.

Besides several members have over 150k miles on the motor.

I would suggest that you replace the fuel line under the hood.

It is common for them not to replace it. Then FIRE!


CRAP I don't have to link.

Wait someone will post it.
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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 07:36 PM
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replace the fuel line now? or when i need to rebuild the motor? also, are there any upgrades i should do to my 04 rx8? Because the newer models have fixed a lot of bugs that are present in the 2004, so if there are any upgrades, which ones should i do?
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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 07:59 PM
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There's only 3 moving pieces in the whole engine, and those 3 pieces will rarely ever break. The apex seals are the weakest point in a rotary engine. 99.9% of the time they will fail before any other part of the engine. There are now different kind of seals for sale and they're not really that expensive. The actual pulling of the engine, disassembly, and reassembly will probably cost more than the seals.
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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 08:10 PM
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around how much would you say it would cost to pull out the engine and replace the apex seals?
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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 09:02 PM
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$1600 just labor
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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 09:09 PM
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wow. that is expensive. haha i thought there was a cheap way to do this
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Old Jul 21, 2010 | 09:24 PM
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Originally Posted by msorokin1
Hey guys, im driving a 2004 mazda rx8. bought it used with 62k miles with a new engine that had 230 miles on it. its all stock but i want to put more money in it to customize it, but im afraid. Im afraid i might put in all this money and the engine will fail and all of that customizing money will go to waste. so is getting a new engine when it fails expensive? and is the engine guaranteed to break after so many miles?
Take care of it
Fresh coils, or BHR's ignition upgrade, good pugs and wires.
Access Port from MM - hurry, you have till July 30... custom tune.
Keep fresh oil in it
Warm it carefully every drive.
Don't ever shut it off cold
Reach red line (at least 7500 RPM) at least once per drive (once it's warmed up)

Everything that goes wrong can be addressed with regular attention.

Enjoy it!
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Old Oct 20, 2018 | 04:58 AM
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I have 35k miles on my engine, and want it to last, I have no idea whether the apex seals are in good nick. Do you recommend changing them before they go or just fixing them once they fail?
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Old Oct 20, 2018 | 09:05 AM
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Originally Posted by Rotary-noob
I have 35k miles on my engine, and want it to last, I have no idea whether the apex seals are in good nick. Do you recommend changing them before they go or just fixing them once they fail?
Last post was 8 years ago.

If you KNOW you have a failing engine, rebuilding it sooner will avoid further damage to the internals.

If you DON'T know, leave it alone, or get a compression test to find out.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tec...engine-231883/

Last edited by BigCajun; Oct 20, 2018 at 09:13 AM.
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Old Oct 20, 2018 | 11:08 AM
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Originally Posted by Rotary-noob
I have 35k miles on my engine, and want it to last, I have no idea whether the apex seals are in good nick. Do you recommend changing them before they go or just fixing them once they fail?
I took my original engine apart at 105k miles and if I remember correctly, I still had a millimeter of wear left on the apex seals before they were considered too short.

I don't think there isnt any reason why you shouldnt get at least 100k out of an engine unless there is some other issue.
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Old Oct 20, 2018 | 04:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Rotary-noob
I have 35k miles on my engine, and want it to last, I have no idea whether the apex seals are in good nick. Do you recommend changing them before they go or just fixing them once they fail?
No, you don't just change the seals. It's not an afternoon project.

Like mentioned, get a rotary-specific compression test if you are concerned. Don't fix what's not broken.
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Old Oct 21, 2018 | 04:46 AM
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Thanks for the quick replies guys! That makes me feel much better, I’ll get it compression tested whilst I’m still under warranty and hopefully have some great fun with this car
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Old Oct 21, 2018 | 06:37 AM
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Originally Posted by Rotary-noob
Thanks for the quick replies guys! That makes me feel much better, I’ll get it compression tested whilst I’m still under warranty and hopefully have some great fun with this car
Good idea.
Please update with the results.
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Old Oct 21, 2018 | 10:51 AM
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Originally Posted by Rotary-noob
Thanks for the quick replies guys! That makes me feel much better, I’ll get it compression tested whilst I’m still under warranty and hopefully have some great fun with this car
That's a good plan, but what warranty do you mean?
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