Engine teardown, do I dare?

[Jeags]

Hi all,

As you may know, I haven't had the best luck when it comes to RX-8 ownership so far. However, hopefully that'll change soon! Long story short, bought the car, sat for a few months, driven well for a couple of weeks, then went south very quickly (hot start issue emerged and engine failure a couple of weeks later). I am at the point where I have the engine out, and the plan was to let Dwayne from Silver Fern tear it down in hope of reusing some parts for a rebuild. Since we're on lockdown now, do you think is should/can attempt to disassemble the engine in the garage and can it be done with basic everyday tools?

Cheers all,

Joe

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[Jeags]

That depend hugely on you definition of "basic everyday tools"

In most people's definition the answer is a clear "No", as you'd fail to get the nuts off the eccentric shaft, without which it's not coming apart.
See here viewtopic.php?f=58&t=60547 for further reading

[Jeags]

That depend hugely on you definition of "basic everyday tools"

In most people's definition the answer is a clear "No", as you'd fail to get the nuts off the eccentric shaft, without which it's not coming apart.
See here viewtopic.php?f=58&t=60547 for further reading

Right, thanks for that. So just wait patiently then you think?

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[qwakers]

or.. make a locking tool for the ess and get out the mahoosive breaker bar,

[Jeags]

or.. make a locking tool for the ess and get out the mahoosive breaker bar,

I am willing to give it a go, I'm only 8 hours into lockdown and I can't stop thinking about it! I do have a Massive breaker bar!

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[qwakers]

how massive...

ive got a 6ft 1” drive and that was only just enough...

[Jeags]

how massive...

ive got a 6ft 1” drive and that was only just enough...

Ah, may not be as big as I thought then! I've got a teng tools one. I think this off the top of my head! https://www.toolstoday.co.uk/teng-tools ... UAQAvD_BwE

Probably won't do the job, ah well, I'll let boredom drive me insane!

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[qwakers]

well yes it probably will, you'll just need to add a bit of mechanical advantage... a scaffold pole works well...

[Jeags]

well yes it probably will, you'll just need to add a bit of mechanical advantage... a scaffold pole works well...

Right, think it's worth attempting then before I die of boredom? More than happy to have a go, but would rather try and prevent any irreversible damage I could cause! Cheers.

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[Jeags]

sure, wont do any harm. worst that can happen is you can fail.

[Jeags]

Take breaker bar, attach X length of pipe. Infinite leverage at will. Profit.

[Jeags]

Take breaker bar, attach X length of pipe. Infinite leverage at will. Profit.

Great! What could go wrong?!

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[30405]

slip, fall and crack yer nut open?

[Jeags]

slup, fall and crack yer nut open?

Small price to pay for a rebuilt engine! "He who dares wins, Rodney!"

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[350matt]

Biggest thing to sort out is a 54mm socket to undo the flywheel nut
I had to specially order mine as I wanted single point and got one with a 3/4" drive too
which I then ground down to remove the large chamfer on the entrance to the hex

then you need to make up a flywheel locking tool I used a old gudgeon pin welded to some box section so I can bolt it through the bellhousing bolts using the edges of the box section to brace against the flywheel teeth

and you will also need some M10 fine pitch bolts to bolt the engine up to assembly stand

[warpc0il]

...and that's the other challenge.

However much force you put on the nut, you need to brace the engine.

The bulk of the engine simply isn't enough, unless you have access to a massive impact gun, otherwise the leverage required, will have everything, including you in a heap on the floor.

[Jeags]

...and that's the other challenge.

However much force you put on the nut, you need to brace the engine.

The bulk of the engine simply isn't enough, unless you have access to a massive impact gun, otherwise the leverage required, will have everything, including you in a heap on the floor.

Yeah, I'll have an experiment with it anyway. I'll plan it tomorrow hopefully and take it slowly. Thanks for all the help as per usual!

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[350matt]

Dave's correct you will also need a brace
I use a long bit of angle iron with a couple of holes in it that gets bolted to the lower bellhousing bolts

[ChrisHolmes]

You can also bolt it direct across the flywheel in the absence of the locking tool on the ring gear teeth.
Undo the front bolt first as you can only lock the shaft using the flywheel.
Good luck

[SprintRX8]

Drop dawyne a email and ask if it’s alright I you strip the engine down.
He may want to strip it down his self.

I’m guessing they work on other cars at Silver Fern judging by they web site blurb.

Machining: Major components are machined to O.E drawing specification tolerances. The cylinder blocks are rebored or resleeved and finally honed for the essential cross hatch micro finish. The cylinder block is pressure tested. All gasket joint surfaces are remachined to O.E. tolerances. Cylinder head valve guides are checked, resized or renewed as required. The valve seats are recut to ensure concentricity. The head is pressure tested and the valves vacuum tested. Cylinder head face is surface ground to correct tolerance. Crankshafts are crack detected and the journals are reground to next undersized and micro-finished to fine tolerances. Camshaft profiles are reground and journals polished where specification permits. Connecting rods are thoroughly inspected and the small end bushes replaced and re-machined to size (if fitted). Valve faces and stems are remachined, if suitable, otherwise replaced. Oil pumps are stripped and remanufactured as required.

[Jeags]

Drop dawyne a email and ask if it’s alright I you strip the engine down.
He may want to strip it down his self.

I’m guessing they work on other cars at Silver Fern judging by they web site blurb.

Machining: Major components are machined to O.E drawing specification tolerances. The cylinder blocks are rebored or resleeved and finally honed for the essential cross hatch micro finish. The cylinder block is pressure tested. All gasket joint surfaces are remachined to O.E. tolerances. Cylinder head valve guides are checked, resized or renewed as required. The valve seats are recut to ensure concentricity. The head is pressure tested and the valves vacuum tested. Cylinder head face is surface ground to correct tolerance. Crankshafts are crack detected and the journals are reground to next undersized and micro-finished to fine tolerances. Camshaft profiles are reground and journals polished where specification permits. Connecting rods are thoroughly inspected and the small end bushes replaced and re-machined to size (if fitted). Valve faces and stems are remachined, if suitable, otherwise replaced. Oil pumps are stripped and remanufactured as required.

Yeah, he said we could if we wanted. He does service other cars. Mind you, don't think he's open for a while now due to lockdown.

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[dac69er]

im slightly excited by the prospect of my engine dying so i can have a bash at rebuilding it. am i weird?

[30405]

im slightly excited by the prospect of my engine dying so i can have a bash at rebuilding it. am i weird?

It's why I bought mine....

[ChrisHolmes]

im slightly excited by the prospect of my engine dying so i can have a bash at rebuilding it. am i weird?

Not weird at all!

[ChrisHolmes]

Buy a spare engine from a breaker, you might even find that it wasn't "broken" at all, inside.

A few members have been lucky enough to buy complete cars with "a blown engine" only to find a simple fault like a couple of coils, or a duff ESS, or a massive burp from an oil overfill.

People, especially car dealers, are so convinced that rotary engines self-destruct that they will scrap a car at the first sign of "engine trouble".

Weirdly, these days it's much more likely to be the impact of tin worm that actually makes an 8 only good for scrap