Pro-tip: Instead of pulling the lock washer/ nut on the oil pump ... Pull the four bolts from the base assembly and pull it all, no chance of jacking up the keyway on the pump.
Great episode. It's rare to see someone who "gets" the rotary. As someone who has owned RX-7s on and off over the past 15 years, I can proudly say I've never blown an engine either *knock on wood*, which does usually comes down to poor maintenance or tuning. "Babying" the engine is probably a poor choice of words though, as that can be just as detrimental to engine life as poor tuning. Without occasional to frequent redlines carbon will build up on the rotor faces and if/when they flake off, you're going to have a bad time. A redline a day, keeps the engine rebuilds at bay.
Agreed! What I meant by that was conservative and safe boost levels, frequent maintenance/oil change after track days. She gets driven hard when necessary trust me :)
Ah, seeing that huge breaker pipe on the front nut reminded me of the first time I ever disassembled a rotary. Had the engine on the floor in my parent's basement, braced the rear iron against the ceiling joist with a 2 x 4 that my mother held steady, then proceeded to put a 4 foot piece of pipe on the breaker bar and bounce it up and down until the nut came loose. Which it did with a crack, causing my mom to freak, dropping the 2 x 4, on my toe. Then repeat for the flywheel.
Sweet, never actually seen a 13b teardown, I had a little 87 rx7, love it so much, hated working on it, always ended up taking to a rx7 specialist, so many parts and seals.
Thats how i felt when i built my first one. Luckily i have good access to a good engine builder who always lends us his ear and advice. Once you take one apart things make more sense lol
Ken, i really have to thank you for this video. I work as a mechanic, but have been always skeptical on working on these wanks. Lol, but ever since I've seen your vids, they gave me the confidence to actually want to own one. Thanks again for the knowledge and keep doing what you do. Looking forward to your builds.
Great to have Ken in da house finally getting build time on his rx7. He's planned it out so well, it seems and I'm hoping to see him rip laps and really push the car ! In a similar fashion to today's breakdown of the 13b, could you @speedacademy guys do a breakdown and rebuild of a piston engine ? In particular with three rebuild could fully blueprint and balance the motor and use it in a build ?? Maybe something for next season.............. as usual an loving what you guys do ! !
Another awesome video guys! If you want an in depth look at how these components work together, engineering explained has a really good one on rotary engines, it helped clear up a lot of wonder for me.
Great thing to watch! Looking forward to future rotary videos! I'll probably do a tear down/inspection of my engine next winter - this will help a lot!
marc hey, no i haven't. I actually sold my rx7 and bought a corvette. Been rebuilding that engine instead. My time with rotaries was short, but oh what a time! Good luck!
awesome video guys. just listened to your interview on the do it for a living podcast. I have a 4g64 powered evo and just picked up a 87 rx7 non turbo that I will be rebuilding and converting to turbo. I look forward to seeing the next rotary video!
loved the video! will you guys eventually due a piston engine teardown video as well? I've looked for videos on it but every one I seem to find is horrible quality/sound/picture/details. It would be cool to see one from you guys thats actually a solid video.
More Rotary PLEASSSSE?!?!?? I love Rotary motors, they sound freaking amazing when bridged! Also Speed Academy, There is like a pack of stencils with different port sizes and bridge sizes to, So your able to port or bridge the Rotary engine your self with a good dremel/dremal Tool. Theres basically a couple holes in the Stencils so your able to fit them over the studs on the motor and that way there is like no way of messing up because the stencil goes right up against the whole motor plate. Then you just use a marker or light layer of spray paint, Then take the Stencil off and whats left on the face of the motor (paint or marker) is what your basically cutting out, and it looks so easy!! after you watch a video on it, you will definitely see how easy it is and those hundreds of dollars that could be put towards either a New Turbo the size of a pumpkin or even towards a new project car..... I mean think about it, you guys have the experience. Anyways, great videos guys! I subbed months and months ago and I love watching you guys build and Tune. Id like to throw an Idea out there for Speed Academy if all you guys are able to do so, I was gonna say you guys should throw down on 1 project car, And go ALLL Out on the car, go all out on the motor,Interior,Exterior, Etc., IF you guys are able to do so! and its just an Idea for your guys show, so PLEASE dont take it the wrong way, Im not saying yall have a bunch of money!!! it would just be Awsome. But....great Vid guys.
Just a suggestion, but it would be better to use a good brass rod for tapping the housing loose instead of a screwdriver. You guys are fun to watch ! Cheers from Seattle WA.
Great video! Love how parts just "fall off" while disassembling it...LOL...LOL Nice simple design but takes a bit of skill and "tricks" to put it all together again (correctly).
If you going for more boost, I would recommend swapping the rotors for FC 2nd gen turbo II ones as they are stronger and can handle a lot of boost...The FD ones are lighter but weaker and anything over 15 psi is trouble as they can implode!!
Another way to loosen crank pulley bolts is to use cold. You take a new can of compressed air, invert it, and spray the bolt with the included straw. Inverting the can should spray the liquid propellant at the bolt which should be south of -100 C. This will shrink the bolt a bit and should help with its removal.
I teared down turbo prop engines but never an auto engine nor a rotary. After watching this video I think I found the next entry in my manly bucket list. I have a FD3S already... now let me watch the pouring and rebuild and I'll know my destiny...
I had an old gsl-se for 7 years. Dailyd it for 5. Currently rebuilding a fc engine. Plus I've got more rx7 stuff. Like a spare street ported/ beveled rotors/ Atkins 3mm apex seals 13b engine and an 84 gsl. That's just the rx7 stuff. Not the subaru Toyota or Nissan stuff.
Guys you should really think to buy something like ASTRA MINILIFT AE 100.1 (or analog in Canada) , it is pain in the ass to crawl under the sportcars in winter specially, Canada=Russia in terms of climate -30* is common. Minilift solves issue with small height specially when garage is a part of house. A little bit offtopic, just remember some work on gt86 and badass2000. In Moscow it is more likely to see flying unicorn with a bear on it, rather then Mazda RX7, so rare. Rx8 not so "jdm epic" and rather cheap in good shape 8.000 CAD, but they kill on track NA GT86. After your video I want to watch Hot Version :)
I actually gave that BAUER impact gun from harbor freight a try, says it delivers 1050lb of breakaway torque and have to say that thing losened that bolt and the Flywheel nut instantly. My other impact gun had only 250ft/lb of torque and couldnt do it.
Yea cycled it for 20 mins with 2min breaks then it popped right off haha. Good video man, I have been building piston engines for some time. I read the 13b FSM and watched your vids. Easy as pie man. not sure what all the fuss is about. As for reliability, I believe hacks always look for someone to blame when they hack things up such as rushing the side seals etc. I have made MANY things that was deemed unreliable last long... well besides SR20's screw them! Thanks for the vids men!
Are you guys trained mechanics or do you just do this as a hobby? What's the story behind this awesome garage/shop, do you guys own it? Great video as usual by the way, I was really surprised how tiny this engine is.
holy hell, rotary fears are so real. Those apex seals are next level terrifying, that triangle tensioner spring seems so precarious to be spinning around at 8500 brapppm
When and why did they transition from double side seals to single side seals and move the housing seal grooves between the iron and rotor housings? Just a bit of RX history that I'm curious about. That engine looked like it had a nice life. A proper diet with the right amount of exorcise. It was awkward watching the e shaft come all the way out with the center. The few I played with I just lifted it out a bit till the center left the dowels then set it back in.
The camera guy need to zoom a little closer so people can watch clearly and learn,if you are filming action movie you are the perfect one...benie guy is funny!well done
+DiscoR53 Remember, if you aren't adding around a Quart of oil every tank or two, you may have a bad oil metering pump. Add 50:1 mixture of 2 stroke oil to your gasoline when you fill the tank.
I know you can port the entire lubrication system, but how much pressure can the original oil pump make? And are there upgraded pumps? I'm an Audi gal (B5 S4) but I'm looking for a project car. A 3rd gen rx7 would be cool.
They are neither bolts, nor studs. They are all screws. They 're not 13mm screws; they're 8 mm screws which take a 13 mm socket. Tonnes of people watch this...they might be annoyed if they go to Brafasco and ask for a 13 mm screw... I just got an RX8. I'd love to see you guys at TMP this summer. I won't be keeping up with the badass2000...this year ;)
But they might be annoyed by your stupid comments.. My condolences on the RX-8... you'll need all the luck you can get! Yeah you still need to hit those engineering books and figure out why you can't off-set the pressure inside a combustion chamber... LOL!!!!!
this amin with bacons friend i hit the flywheel pretty hard in a clockwise roatation and it would not losen, bought a puller and i heard a cracking sounf sort of small tink and the flywheel would not come off. Should heat be APPLIED NEXT.
Tear down should take under 1 hour. Filming adds another hour or so because we have to stop etc. A straight tear down anyways, if the motor had a catastrophic failure ideally you want to take your time and inspect everything
LMAO on the front stack bolt. I got lucky. Found a junk yard motor and that bolt came off after running 1/2" drive Ryobi impact on it for like 10 seconds.
![Diggy Graves - Red Vineyard [Official Lyric Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8Ro085T0mnQ/mqdefault.jpg)
theres something extremely satisfying about watching a guy who knows what hes doing tear down a rotary.. cant wait to see the rebuild of this!
Pro-tip: Instead of pulling the lock washer/ nut on the oil pump ... Pull the four bolts from the base assembly and pull it all, no chance of jacking up the keyway on the pump.
Ken is such a fucking boss. Saves lives in the day and builds cars at night. I want to be just like him when I grow up.
That's some generous words! Thank you! Cars keep me sane when I'm at work lol
mhm
What's the day gig Ken?
Great episode. It's rare to see someone who "gets" the rotary. As someone who has owned RX-7s on and off over the past 15 years, I can proudly say I've never blown an engine either *knock on wood*, which does usually comes down to poor maintenance or tuning.
"Babying" the engine is probably a poor choice of words though, as that can be just as detrimental to engine life as poor tuning. Without occasional to frequent redlines carbon will build up on the rotor faces and if/when they flake off, you're going to have a bad time. A redline a day, keeps the engine rebuilds at bay.
Agreed! What I meant by that was conservative and safe boost levels, frequent maintenance/oil change after track days. She gets driven hard when necessary trust me :)
Ken is a rotary ninja!
You guys make awesome videos but this is by far the best and most informative video yet.
Thanks! Glad to hear we dropped some knowledge on you!
I just watched one of your videos about 7 hours ago
Man just watching this made me tired and ready for a nap. Dude took this apart like a boss.
Woohoo, rotary content! Thanks for showing the disassembly.
Ah, seeing that huge breaker pipe on the front nut reminded me of the first time I ever disassembled a rotary. Had the engine on the floor in my parent's basement, braced the rear iron against the ceiling joist with a 2 x 4 that my mother held steady, then proceeded to put a 4 foot piece of pipe on the breaker bar and bounce it up and down until the nut came loose. Which it did with a crack, causing my mom to freak, dropping the 2 x 4, on my toe. Then repeat for the flywheel.
Sweet, never actually seen a 13b teardown, I had a little 87 rx7, love it so much, hated working on it, always ended up taking to a rx7 specialist, so many parts and seals.
Thats how i felt when i built my first one. Luckily i have good access to a good engine builder who always lends us his ear and advice. Once you take one apart things make more sense lol
Ken, i really have to thank you for this video. I work as a mechanic, but have been always skeptical on working on these wanks. Lol, but ever since I've seen your vids, they gave me the confidence to actually want to own one. Thanks again for the knowledge and keep doing what you do. Looking forward to your builds.
4 days ago i did a rotary teardown in my school and i gotta say you make it look easy!
Great to have Ken in da house finally getting build time on his rx7. He's planned it out so well, it seems and I'm hoping to see him rip laps and really push the car ! In a similar fashion to today's breakdown of the 13b, could you @speedacademy guys do a breakdown and rebuild of a piston engine ? In particular with three rebuild could fully blueprint and balance the motor and use it in a build ?? Maybe something for next season.............. as usual an loving what you guys do ! !
Another awesome video guys! If you want an in depth look at how these components work together, engineering explained has a really good one on rotary engines, it helped clear up a lot of wonder for me.
I came here because I genuinely want to learn more about rotaries and the intro couldn't have been more perfect.
Great thing to watch! Looking forward to future rotary videos! I'll probably do a tear down/inspection of my engine next winter - this will help a lot!
Glad we could help!
Pierre Lundberg u do it yet?
marc hey, no i haven't. I actually sold my rx7 and bought a corvette. Been rebuilding that engine instead. My time with rotaries was short, but oh what a time! Good luck!
This saved me today when we were trying to figure out how to lock the flywheel in place to get the eccentric shaft bolt out! Thank you!
This is one of the best video I have seen on rotary engine break down...
awesome video guys. just listened to your interview on the do it for a living podcast. I have a 4g64 powered evo and just picked up a 87 rx7 non turbo that I will be rebuilding and converting to turbo. I look forward to seeing the next rotary video!
+Cody swope Wicked! Glad you liked our interview. And your Evo sounds killer!
Awesome episode again guys! I like the added 3rd personality. Especially at the end when you guys were tired and more technical :-)
very entertaining guys thank u im doing a rotary rebuild next week
PT is the best, your commentary cracks me up lol
loved the video! will you guys eventually due a piston engine teardown video as well? I've looked for videos on it but every one I seem to find is horrible quality/sound/picture/details. It would be cool to see one from you guys thats actually a solid video.
More Rotary PLEASSSSE?!?!?? I love Rotary motors, they sound freaking amazing when bridged! Also Speed Academy, There is like a pack of stencils with different port sizes and bridge sizes to, So your able to port or bridge the Rotary engine your self with a good dremel/dremal Tool. Theres basically a couple holes in the Stencils so your able to fit them over the studs on the motor and that way there is like no way of messing up because the stencil goes right up against the whole motor plate. Then you just use a marker or light layer of spray paint, Then take the Stencil off and whats left on the face of the motor (paint or marker) is what your basically cutting out, and it looks so easy!! after you watch a video on it, you will definitely see how easy it is and those hundreds of dollars that could be put towards either a New Turbo the size of a pumpkin or even towards a new project car..... I mean think about it, you guys have the experience. Anyways, great videos guys! I subbed months and months ago and I love watching you guys build and Tune. Id like to throw an Idea out there for Speed Academy if all you guys are able to do so, I was gonna say you guys should throw down on 1 project car, And go ALLL Out on the car, go all out on the motor,Interior,Exterior, Etc., IF you guys are able to do so! and its just an Idea for your guys show, so PLEASE dont take it the wrong way, Im not saying yall have a bunch of money!!! it would just be Awsome. But....great Vid guys.
Just a suggestion, but it would be better to use a good brass rod for tapping the housing loose instead of a screwdriver. You guys are fun to watch ! Cheers from Seattle WA.
Ken is the re amemiya of Canada. Great job more rotary content please !!
You are too kind!
Great video, thanks for taking the time to make that. Wow, so many seals..
You guys make a good team. Like always, love your videos
+Boosted & Built Garage Thank you!
Great video, learned a few things about rotary goodness
Great video! Love how parts just "fall off" while disassembling it...LOL...LOL Nice simple design but takes a bit of skill and "tricks" to put it all together again (correctly).
Great episode! Thanks guys, can't wait for the next one!
I swear I live for these videos. 👌👌👍🏻
Clever method of preventing the flywheel from rotating -- use what you've got!
If you going for more boost, I would recommend swapping the rotors for FC 2nd gen turbo II ones as they are stronger and can handle a lot of boost...The FD ones are lighter but weaker and anything over 15 psi is trouble as they can implode!!
Love all your videos fellas, keep up the good work.
Another way to loosen crank pulley bolts is to use cold. You take a new can of compressed air, invert it, and spray the bolt with the included straw. Inverting the can should spray the liquid propellant at the bolt which should be south of -100 C. This will shrink the bolt a bit and should help with its removal.
I teared down turbo prop engines but never an auto engine nor a rotary. After watching this video I think I found the next entry in my manly bucket list. I have a FD3S already... now let me watch the pouring and rebuild and I'll know my destiny...
If you need assistance with squeezing the most power out of that new engine feel free to reach out! Love a great rotary project! Long live the rotary!
And you guys only spend half your time looking for the right tools? Compared to me that's incredibly efficient.
Thanks for the video! You guys made this looks super easy. I might attempt to do my own rebuilt (except the street porting stuff).
I had an old gsl-se for 7 years. Dailyd it for 5. Currently rebuilding a fc engine. Plus I've got more rx7 stuff. Like a spare street ported/ beveled rotors/ Atkins 3mm apex seals 13b engine and an 84 gsl. That's just the rx7 stuff. Not the subaru Toyota or Nissan stuff.
looking forward to updates guys
I been excited for the fd series!!
Oh god again u guys are awesome once again keep up the great work
Finally acquired a 13b for my fb lol. Thanks for the insightful vid!
I'm surprised you mentioned the crank pulley bolt was an issue... Generally it's the flywheel nut that gets people.
Yeah that's what I thought too, but surprisingly I was able to remove the flywheel bolt with an air impact gun
cool stuff, iv just started learning about the rotors engines....yeppy
although I do not own a FD or FC yet this video was very informative good job
Two Canadians and "so many seals" (14:15) and none of them got clubbed :)
can't wait to see!
Fantastic content.
Guys you should really think to buy something like ASTRA MINILIFT AE 100.1 (or analog in Canada) , it is pain in the ass to crawl under the sportcars in winter specially, Canada=Russia in terms of climate -30* is common. Minilift solves issue with small height specially when garage is a part of house. A little bit offtopic, just remember some work on gt86 and badass2000. In Moscow it is more likely to see flying unicorn with a bear on it, rather then Mazda RX7, so rare. Rx8 not so "jdm epic" and rather cheap in good shape 8.000 CAD, but they kill on track NA GT86. After your video I want to watch Hot Version :)
I actually gave that BAUER impact gun from harbor freight a try, says it delivers 1050lb of breakaway torque and have to say that thing losened that bolt and the Flywheel nut instantly. My other impact gun had only 250ft/lb of torque and couldnt do it.
Got the rear nut off quick last night but the 19mm needed about 20mins of heat haha. Good stuff. @Pinku Style from Japan
Wow thats a lot of heat, glad you got it off though!
Yea cycled it for 20 mins with 2min breaks then it popped right off haha. Good video man, I have been building piston engines for some time. I read the 13b FSM and watched your vids. Easy as pie man. not sure what all the fuss is about. As for reliability, I believe hacks always look for someone to blame when they hack things up such as rushing the side seals etc. I have made MANY things that was deemed unreliable last long... well besides SR20's screw them! Thanks for the vids men!
Nice, I've never seen people disassembly a rotary before. This will get an Interesting. And seems like I will see a Vaseline..
Are you guys trained mechanics or do you just do this as a hobby?
What's the story behind this awesome garage/shop, do you guys own it?
Great video as usual by the way, I was really surprised how tiny this engine is.
None of us are trained mechanics, we've just been playing with cars for a long time. We rent the shop space.
holy hell, rotary fears are so real. Those apex seals are next level terrifying, that triangle tensioner spring seems so precarious to be spinning around at 8500 brapppm
Very informative. Subscribed in the hopes of an equally interesting rebuild video, or several.
hello my name is dragon do you have any thoughts on this problem we are having
what a cool ass video. learned a lot, thank you guys.
If I ever had an engine nightmare this would be it.
"If we don't get this nut off it will be a very short video." I don't know that sounds a little counterintuitive...?
How much oil do these things burn? Do you put a bit more in every time you fill up your tank?
When and why did they transition from double side seals to single side seals and move the housing seal grooves between the iron and rotor housings? Just a bit of RX history that I'm curious about.
That engine looked like it had a nice life. A proper diet with the right amount of exorcise.
It was awkward watching the e shaft come all the way out with the center. The few I played with I just lifted it out a bit till the center left the dowels then set it back in.
The Wankel rotary engine is so TINY and so SIMPLE, that Felix Wankel was a genius to design it! And congratulations Mazda for perfecting it!
Is this 13b rotary engine rebuild coming soon?
nice teardown
I am learning
AWESOME! AWESOME! AWESOME!
i just bought a 93 rx7 that hasnt been started in 6 years! some tips or advice would be greatly appreciated
Very informative video, thanks!
Very Cool!
The camera guy need to zoom a little closer so people can watch clearly and learn,if you are filming action movie you are the perfect one...benie guy is funny!well done
Great success! 👍🏼
yeaaah! cant wait!
Is there going to be a part 2 to this?
Yes one coming soon!
Nice, I've killed 2-1/2 rotarys. The first two from oil starvation and the half one really nasty freeway accident, the big rig always wins.
+DiscoR53 Remember, if you aren't adding around a Quart of oil every tank or two, you may have a bad oil metering pump. Add 50:1 mixture of 2 stroke oil to your gasoline when you fill the tank.
Best porn I've seen in a long time, if you know what I mean...
I know you can port the entire lubrication system, but how much pressure can the original oil pump make? And are there upgraded pumps? I'm an Audi gal (B5 S4) but I'm looking for a project car. A 3rd gen rx7 would be cool.
They are neither bolts, nor studs. They are all screws. They 're not 13mm screws; they're 8 mm screws which take a 13 mm socket. Tonnes of people watch this...they might be annoyed if they go to Brafasco and ask for a 13 mm screw...
I just got an RX8. I'd love to see you guys at TMP this summer. I won't be keeping up with the badass2000...this year ;)
But they might be annoyed by your stupid comments..
My condolences on the RX-8... you'll need all the luck you can get!
Yeah you still need to hit those engineering books and figure out why you can't off-set the pressure inside a combustion chamber... LOL!!!!!
8mm length and 13mm hex head is what you mean?
I see y'all forgot to remove the front dowel pins when trying to remove the intermediate housing.
This is too good !
Interesting video, over here thinking of get an rx7 but scared cause I've heard there hard to work on and they over heat a lot! Idk
Where did all the other videos in this series go?
Will you be recording a video of Ken rebuilding it? Please say yes...
Yes, although our buddy Joe will be assembling it since he's far more of an expert with these engines
+Speed Academy Hopefully it'll be uploaded soon. Planning to use these videos on my own FC rebuild
i’m here just incase i get an rx7 and it go boom
Like a pro!
I know you are all Canadians, but why there isn't a heater in the shop?
When can we see more videos on this car?
this amin with bacons friend i hit the flywheel pretty hard in a clockwise roatation and it would not losen, bought a puller and i heard a cracking sounf sort of small tink and the flywheel would not come off. Should heat be APPLIED NEXT.
This is the first tome I’ve seen one disassembled is there a 3 and 4 rotor versions?
Is there anymore FR-S videos coming soon?
How long do you think a tear down would take? Initial conditions: Engine is out and on a stand. Tools are near by and organised. Garage is warm.
+Drue Steele 4 hours at the max
Tear down should take under 1 hour. Filming adds another hour or so because we have to stop etc. A straight tear down anyways, if the motor had a catastrophic failure ideally you want to take your time and inspect everything
Awesome thank you!!!!
I freakin love this! thanks!!!
Speed Academy needs more Ken for the lol's
Not just a pretty face lol actually not even that.....
LMAO on the front stack bolt. I got lucky. Found a junk yard motor and that bolt came off after running 1/2" drive Ryobi impact on it for like 10 seconds.
Ken do you premix? Your housings looked good.
+OtwoJockey Ken most certainly does.
where can I find a basic 13b rebuild kit? and how much would I be looking to spend on 1?
The music in this episode is really catchy. What song is that?
excelent video