Damn, you're sure I couldn't rough up the pit and put some liquid steel in there or something? When I got the housing there was black stuff built up in that pit so I cleaned it out. I'm not sure what the stuff was, but I certainly don't want my seal to bear the load of keeping that gap shut.

Let me rephrase that: I'm calling them tomorrow. They are closed today.

Okay, the pics are that bad that I'm not quite sure what you're trying to describe?

The two later ones with the stat gears are fine.
The copper showing on the *seam* of the bearing is okay.

I'm not too sure what is wrong with the bearing on the rotor is?
If anything it looks like it slipped out a little?
If so, you can just press it back in; just make sure the "tab" is aligned correctly.
Else, I don't see any major copper areas showing.


-Ted

Here's the problems with any epoxy (yes, "Liquid Steel" is an epoxy)...

First, heat expansion...
These epoxies do not expand and contract like the surrounding metal.
Due to the heat cycling of the metal (i.e. aluminum), the epoxy will eventually work itself loose due to the heat cycling.

Second, how does the epoxy react with the coolant?
A lot of them do not like being immersed in chemicals.
You need to confirm with the manufacturer that it is okay to be "submerged" with your coolant.
Most epoxies do not like to be in contact with glycol based liquids and will eventually erode away.


-Ted

The divot starts on the dry half of the seal. As long as it is flat and doesn't break down from heat it should never even come in contact with coolant. I got some epoxy intended to bond with Aluminum (along with some other things), withstands -60*F to 300*F, and might do something else. Like be fluid resistant. I think I'll use that stuff.

If you could see the rotor it would be blazingly obvious that their disc slipped and gouged the bearing on both sides.

Update on CarX, they said they'd cover the cost to have Arnold press the bearing. I decided to just replace the one anyway, I don't see any advantage to replacing them all since they were all in really good shape (as I learned yesterday during some researching, 1/4" wear at the seam and nowhere else is excellent condition). The machinist at Arnold MS said they ought to be done by this afternoon.

I also got the motor pulled late last night. This is one of those few days where I strongly feel I've fulfilled my duties and exhibited my prowess as a man, haha. Some friends came to help a little for an hour or so yesterday afternoon. Among multiple cars, one drives an FB (traded his old NA FC for it) and the other drives a fully loaded G35. Both pretty cool guys. I'm the stud in the green.

http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/8...0001us1.th.jpghttp://img224.imageshack.us/img224/5...0002us2.th.jpghttp://img234.imageshack.us/img234/7...0003vw7.th.jpghttp://img394.imageshack.us/img394/5...0004es5.th.jpghttp://img394.imageshack.us/img394/4...0005cx2.th.jpghttp://img394.imageshack.us/img394/3...0006vh2.th.jpghttp://img234.imageshack.us/img234/6...0007xe2.th.jpghttp://img394.imageshack.us/img394/3...0008oc0.th.jpg

You may not see it in these, but I used a car ramp with planks on it to hold the transmission up. That allowed me to have the car jacked up while doing all this, which is really useful for the trans bolts you have to take out. Especially that one right next to the EGR valve. ALL of them went peacefully except for that one.
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/1...0009ur5.th.jpghttp://img224.imageshack.us/img224/5...0010qz9.th.jpghttp://img394.imageshack.us/img394/5...0012js9.th.jpghttp://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2...0013mr4.th.jpghttp://img231.imageshack.us/img231/1...0014zf9.th.jpghttp://img73.imageshack.us/img73/542...0015ya1.th.jpg

Holy crap I need to get this done so if nothing else, I can get back to a normal sleeping schedule.

I tried this color on the turbine housing and alt pulley, somewhat as an experiment. I will say that this paint isn't terribly durable, but we'll see how it holds up under driving conditions. I do really like the color though. Next time around I will try to spring for a candy apple metallic red powder coat.
http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/543...0002jz5.th.jpghttp://img90.imageshack.us/img90/662...0004bs7.th.jpg

I went to Magic Muffler to have my wastegate washer welded on so I could port it more. They only charged me $5 and it took about 15 minutes in total. Sweet. It gave me more time to perfect my port job.
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/9...0005rd2.th.jpghttp://img224.imageshack.us/img224/7...0006wt0.th.jpghttp://img224.imageshack.us/img224/8...0007su7.th.jpg

Figured I'd get rid of that pesky pipe in my exhaust manifold.
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/7...0009vz5.th.jpghttp://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9...0011la4.th.jpg

Mock up to get stuff fitting right as I go along. I drastically shortened the vac line to the wastegate (compared with the ~3' that was being used before).
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/8...0013sp5.th.jpghttp://img225.imageshack.us/img225/9...0014dp4.th.jpg

Is this flywheel ok to use? It came off a different '87 TII and the marks around the edge are from my grubby hands, and it's only surface rust. I can't currently get the flywheel nut off the old motor so it's actually quite fortunate I had this (I just hope it's good to use), as has been the case with a lot of things in this build.
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/3...0015hq0.th.jpghttp://img153.imageshack.us/img153/7...0016jq7.th.jpghttp://img225.imageshack.us/img225/5...0017oi3.th.jpg

I have a bunch of parts cleaning left to do, then I will start building. Anyone know a fast/easy way to get rid of old, hardened paper gaskets? Wire wheel maybe?

If it's just surface rust, just knock it off with a wire wheel.
Make sure there's no "bluing" of the steel, and the surface should be even.
It's highly recommended to get it resurfaced from a machine shop.


-Ted

Cool. I'll probably look into a resurfacing tonight, if it's less than $30 I'd definitely do it...

So I apparently missed this in my initial inspection. This stat gear bearing has some copper showing and a few little grooves in the worn spot where it looks like a piece of sand had some fun. The picture shows the spot, it's not worn across the whole bearing nor more than a quarter of the way around, which makes me think it's only worn because some crap got in there and was eventually removed. I need to know what kind of bearing life I might expect from this if I reuse it. I think some would reuse this one while others would not. The FSM is vague about how much wear Mazda deems acceptable. I'm ready to build this bitch, I would like to reuse this bearing if I should be able to get 40k+ miles out of it. By that time I will probably have had enough time to work on another rebuild geared toward more power and an upgraded turbo.
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/3...0001hg3.th.jpghttp://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3...0010ds0.th.jpg

Just finished a 12 hour shift on my motor, the shortblock is completely assembled, everything is clean. Sorry, no pics of the process, I would have taken the time to do a more detailed account if my car wasn't broken while I rebuild.

I need to install my clutch slave and master cylinders, then some peripheral parts on the block, map the new OMP lines, and call for help because it's nice to have some extra hands when doing the heavy lifting/maneuvering.

What did you do about the above stat gear (bearing)?
I forgot to tell you to...molest it. :)
Feel with your fingers to see if you can detect any change of the surface.
If you can feel anything, I would recommend to change it out.
Replacement bearings are not that expensive ($20?); labor usually costs more to press it out and then replace.

Good luck!


-Ted

I replaced the bearing, and it only took the machinist about 5 minutes and cost me ~$15. $50 for the flywheel though, but it looks so sexy. If a flywheel can look sexy. I think it can. Anyway an rx7club member who builds motors said I could reuse it, but I didn't want to risk it... there were some gouges in it from particles, not just even wear.

Currently I'm rebuilding the OMP system, I had to break to come in and get lengths.
http://rotorwiki.com/index.php/Custo...njection_Lines
I also really need some food... With the wife moved out right now and my car broken, I hate the thought of taking the bus to go grocery shopping, it could take me like 3 hours if not more. I hate using the bus, it takes forever.

Moving on, after the OMP is done I'll bolt up the turbo, brackets, and the rest of the stuff that needs to come off the old block. Like the little sensor next to the oil pressure sensor, what does it do? It looks like a thermocouple.

My endplay turned out surprisingly nice, I thought I was going to have way too much and then I'd be screwed, because all four spacers (a few spares and a new one) I have happen to be the same size :o10:

Oh yeah, I also had two outer oil control rings break during block assembly. One was broken before it got out of the package, and one broke during pressing. Is that common? Makes me question the quality of the Atkins oil seals, if nothing else. Should they get stronger with some use? I reused old ones, as they were mostly in good condition and just needed cleaning and new o-rings.

I would be pissed if the oil seal came broke. I bet if u called up atkins they will replace them.