ok i really just joined this site for a couple questions... and this being my frist post, you are now obligated to read everything i just wrote. shame on you. anyways...

i have an '86 rx-7, and to make a long story short, it got flooded. like literally water level above the hood, flooded. we yanked her out and has been sitting in front of my house ever since, won't start up. so what's the simplest way out? rebuilding or replacing (the engine) ? i could prolly do an engine swap with the help of a couple friends, but i'm not sure if it would be cheaper/easier to just have it rebuilt.

i'm really not sure what a rebuilding actually does, so i'm not sure if that'll solve my problem. (which prolly water got in thru the intake, etc)

my POS escort is getting ready to fall apart so i really want to get this fixed! any help would be greatly appreciated

 

I would call the flooded car a total loss, write it off! IF you do manage to rebuild the engine, change all the fluids(transmission, rear diff, power steering), you will have many future problems. The electrical will be riddled with troubles and corrosion all the time due to water damage. You will have mold and mildew problems in the interior plus have a musty smell that will never go away. Some states will not renew the registration of a flooded car.

 

interior and electronics are in great working order....

now about the engine... rebuild or replace?

 

A replace will be the same as a rebuild in your case. Any engine that you will be able to get ahold of will be a rebuild anyway. I have not seen a new rotary engine shipped since the early 90's. The 'new' engine that you will get will be a rebuild from Mazda anyway. I used to rebuild rotary's in early 90's but the cost of a good reman engine from Mazda far began to outweigh the cost of rebuilding so we began replacing with a Mazda remanufactured. They have a 1 year warranty that does not seem like much but if your engine has been built right then is more than enough. Never had a comeback from installing a reman from Mazda. If going with an aftermarket rebuild then make sure they offer a decent warranty on the product. If planning on doing a rebuild yourself then take your chances. It took me almost a year to be able to rebuild a decent rotary with the tutalage of guys that raced rotary and even had an engine dyno for the trials that they performed. Is way more complex then sticking a set of new piston rings and rod bearings in. A comparable V6 piston engine has 30 separate rings/springs that seal the combustion chamber, the rotatry has over 120 to accomplish the same task. Each has to fit spec or will have problems. Get a good reman.

 

well.... again that's good, sound advice. i trust your experience. ok an engine swap (of the same kind) i can do myself. the rebuild would not be done by me.....

so assuming that the engine i have now is rebuilt, would that solve a case of water being inside the engine? again my question is, would rebuilding my engine (no matter the difficulty or money) going to fix an engine that's been immersed in water for about 10 minutes? and if rebuilding is an option (option, here, meaning it will make it work) would it be more cost effective to rebuild or replace

i'm just going to reiterate myself a few times in hopes of recieving an actual answer, as opposed to the 20 replies on 3 forums i've posted this on not getting an answer to my question... If anybody has any experience in this, and i'm sure it has to have been thought out by somebody, theorize that you soak an engine in water, and that it was running at time of immersement so obviously the intake sucked in water. water gets inside the engine, does whatever damage it will. let that sit for half a year. would "rebuilding" my engine (since i have not a clue exactly what a rebuild does) actually make it run? and if it does make it run (i.e. fix my problem of a non-starting engine) would that be cheaper than replacing the engine entirely?

please please somebody!! i need an answer so i can determine what kind of money i'm looking to ask for. my car right now (not the rx-7) is in bad condition and i need to get something going here

 

Did you report any of this to your insurance agency or what? If you did, it's going to show up in a CarFax if you ever resell your car. Which will drop the resale value drastically. I say play it safe and replace the engine. I believe it'd be more cost-effective for you to do so. More than likely, you'll need to replace the transmission too. Is it really worth it to you to keep it? I just say replace it just to ensure that you're getting a good motor that hasn't had any water damage. Since it has been sitting for so long, the internal parts are probably rusted and/or worn away from the water that has been sitting in the motor. This is your opportunity to upgrade! Take full advantage!

 

seppperson, Of course your engine is rebuildable but the question is, Is it worth rebuilding? The point I was trying to make prior is that the cost to rebuild a simply worn out engine exceeds the cost of installing one that has been rebuild already by another source. The fact that the engine was running when was immersed is not a good thing but the fact that it sat for 6 months is even worse. The water drawn into the engine most likely caused quite a bit of damage to the internal seals and rotors but sitting for that length of time has only made the situation worse. My point was that by the time you end up rebuilding and replaceing rotor housings and seals and possibly rotors due to the water intrusion you will be far off cheaper to install a reman engine. Is the rebuild that much less then installing a different engine? Post me back.

 

ya insurance knows, all those legal things are fine. and i'm close to dirt poor with no credit and a mazda rx-7 sitting in my driveway, driving a 1st-gen Escort.... what would you do lol

well alright looks like an engine swap is the best way to go, transmission and all. thanx for the help guys!
(and for anybody that's following this, i'm gonna ask about turbo in another forum)