1993 Mazda Rx7 - Rotary Engine Rebuild ... Intro

Intro - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Parts List - Final

In late 2008, I had decided to drive my '93 Rx7 one last time before storing it away for the winter. Upon starting it up and backing it out of the garage I was greeted with the normal plume of white smoke coming from the exhaust due to condensation buildup in the exhaust from sitting for a few weeks. As I usually would let the car warm up for a few minutes before taking her out for a drive, I started walking toward the house. Just as soon as I had turned my back I had noticed the "to be expected" condensation burn off had turned into what some might call a smoke screen. I literally was unable to see the neighbors house through the foggy disappointment that was floating through the air in front of me. Now since winter was not too far away, I figured that I would let the car sit until Summer 09' before I attempted any work on the car. Little did I know, time was disappearing faster than I had planned.

Warping into Summer of 2010, below were a top 10 list of things I knew about this upcoming project:

1.) I have never rebuilt a motor in my life nor had I intended on ever taking on the task.
2.) I knew slightly more than the average person about car maintenance, simply because I never wanted to pay the high labor costs for car repair service.
3.) Internet has most all the information you could ever need.
4.) It pays to do your research!!! I really cannot express this enough.
5.) If you own an Rx7, especially a 3rd Gen, then you either better be prepared to spend some serious cheddar and/or get very familiar with your engine bay.
6.) The factory shop manual is a must! Luckily for you, I have provided a link which has all the shop manuals for free ---> http://www.wright-here.net/cars/rx7/manuals.html
7.) Rx7 + A ton of white smoke = more than likely...engine rebuild
8.) If you are not sure if you can rebuild a rotary engine, chances are you probably can!!
9.) You should never let a blown motor sit for too long, especially knowing there is a puddle of coolant in the engine. Rust is not a Wankel's friend! ;)
10.) This would most definitely be an extremely rewarding project. Not only because I could potentially save myself thousands of dollars, but I would end up having the experience and knowledge I need to maintain one of my favorite and most interesting cars I would probably ever own.

Lastly, this is by no means a "walk-through" on how to rebuild a rotary engine but more just a very informative overview including my experiences, tricks, suggestions, and resources which helped me along the way.

This posting will be the first of many....stay tuned.