Hello everyone, first post here.


I'm currently in the middle of an engine rebuild on my 2004 RX-8 (RHD, manual), and as of now, the engine is officially out of the car.
Throughout the removal process, I’ve tried to documenting every step — mostly to help myself during reassembly, but also to help others who want to tackle the same job.
My write-up includes photos, what went smoothly, and what didn’t, plus some extra info I´ve found around the internet.
I’m not a professional mechanic, just an engineer who enjoys over-documenting things.

Looking forward to learning from you all and contributing where I can!

I´m not sure where to post this so sorry if I get it wrong.

 

Keypoints that are commonly messed up or overlooked:

1. Renesis side seal clearance is different than the traditional 13b clearance. There are no vids that show this properly. Either buy the mazda letter code side seal or follow the mazda tolerancing guide that uses 4 feeler gauges to trim down uncut rx8 seals.
2. Aftermarket corner seals are junk and eat through your irons
3. Aftermarket apex seals are junk unless you are machining the rotors for turbocharging or doing ceramic seals
4. Don't mess up the direction on your oil control ring and springs.
5. Properly measure endplay
6. The rear stationary gear oil hole does not fully line up with the rear iron by about 1/3 the diameter. This should be port matched with a die grinder. You can look down one of the oil feed holes to see the misalignment.
7. Lapping and resurfacing ideally would be done by a shop professionally, but there are ways to do it by hand with unproven results. One concern is that you wear down the surfaces more and there is only so much nitriding. Some shops lap without renitriding, it all depends on mileage and how thick your coating is. One benefit is that a mirror finish doesn't hold lubrication as well and lapping will address this.

Post any pictures of anything you see as questionable parts wise. Iron wear, housings flaking, cracks, hotspots, etc.