So my motor is locked up on my 04 rx8 6 speed manual, and the clutch is out. I am thinking about buying a motor tranny combo so it will be a straight drop in. Looking for any shops in Omaha, Lincoln or northeast Nebraska Area that could do it. Or anybody that has experience and equipment to do it privately. I want to do it myself but just don't have a place. Any suggestions appreciated.

 

http://fixdeeznutz.com/

Omaha mobile auto repair

LOL

In all seriousness, it's too cold right now and I'm finishing my v8 swap, but if you can wait til like.. Late April, I can help.

I know a really good and trustworthy mechanic, but he's not a rotary specialist. Then again, you want to swap, not repair, and I'd have no qualms with him working on my car. Chris Chan. He's reasonable too. Only downside is that he's real popular, so he might be scheduled out a couple weeks.

https://foursquare.com/v/c--c-auto-chris-chan/4efcdfe56c25c5ce7e6fef62

That's the route I'd go.

 

I'd recommend against getting a used Renesis unless you don't mind paying for a $1500+ rebuild shortly after installing it. Remember, that shipping an engine via freight is a PITA when considering that you might have to ship a bad engine back for warranty work (a warranty they may be able to wiggle out of anyway).

Same goes with a S1 transmission.

I'm doing roughly the same thing. I have a friend ~130 miles from me who's loaning me their garage for a month. He's going to help me pull/strip the engine and then ship it off for rebuild. I haven't decided which rebuilder I'm going with. It'll be Kevin at RotaryResurrection if he's not swamped with work during my window of opportunity. If he is, I'll probably go with Omar at OJ Imports. If he's too busy, it'll be a factory reman from Jim Ellis Mazda. (see links below).

I would expect that the labor to swap an engine for you would be at least $1200.

As long as he's not cracking open the engine, he won't need a rotary specialist. There's a good DIY here on removing the engine. Follow this link to strip the engine down and move everything over to the new one to save money.

If you have a friend with a garage and a basic set of mechanics tools, electric impact gun, a jack, 4 jack stands, and an engine picker and you can get the job done without too much grief.

Honestly, if your transmission is in good shape, you'd be better off just swapping the engine shortblock. You can get a 3rd party reman from OJ Imports for ~$2500 + shipping, or a factory reman engine from Jim Ellis Mazda for $3000 + shipping (they are unlikely to help you with anything after the sale). Supporting forum vendor and all around helpful guy Kevin at Rotary Resurrection is a VERY GOOD IDEA. He currently has a rebuilt engine on Ebay and, after core, it might even be cheaper than the Jim Ellis Mazda factory reman. It will almost certainly have more after-sale support than a dealer.

If you can get access to a garage for a month, getting a rebuild done might be a better idea.

If you're dead-set on swapping the transmission as well, trust me, you want a S2 transmission. One of those with all parts needed to make it work with a S1 car was only $2100 shipped to me from MazdaSpeed Motorsports Development.