SC- New member 87 RX-7 Turbo

[gist864]

Hello all I have a 87 RX-7 Turbo. I'm new to the rotary scene coming from a s14. i came across my now current car on craigslist and it was too good of an offer to turn down, the downside is i don't know a lot about rotary's just knew i wanted one.
i got the car as a non running project. My plans are to have the motor rebuilt with a mild street port, BNR stage 2 turbo, FD Intake manifolds, downpipe, v-mount, either rtek or standalone, exhaust manifold (not sure what i'm going to pick) and build the suspension/replace bushing. At the end of the day i'm wanting around 300WHP the car will be my fun work/autoX car.
I do have some questions. When i got the car the PO didn't know much about it just it didn't run i put a battery in and nothing not even the dash lights came on, so i said screw it i going to rebuild the motor anyway and started taking the engine bay apart, but it seems like some parts are missing i just don't know what. In the pic below i have already taken off the intercooler, alternator, and MAF but facing the car something is missing on the right side any ideas?
I have bought S5 trim (needing bumpers and tails) and another set of dash, engine, body harnesses (just incase the wiring is bad) I look forward to learning and driving the almighty rotary.
[IMG][/IMG]

[speedjunkie]

Welcome! I can't see the pics while I'm at work, but I don't know a whole lot about FCs anyway. I'm more of an FD guy so far. Otherwise I'd help.

[RETed]

The motor isn't original...
The car is a 1987 model.
The engine is an S5 series due to the plastic thermostat housing.

Missing on the right side...?
Right side of the engine?
Yes, there is usually a bracket that also bolts down the AC compressor...
(If the car came with power steering, it will also hold the power steering pump, but I don't think that car has PS...?)


-Ted

[speedjunkie]

Wait...was there an aluminum thermostat housing on the S4? And if so, they changed to plastic because why again? lol Now I'm beginning to see where the idea of plastic radiator end tanks and AST for the FD came from haha.

[RETed]

Yes, 1986 - 1988 engines all came with cast aluminum thermostat housings.

Why plastic?
To save weight...


-Ted

[gist864]

OK cool I think having the s5 motor is a good thing. At the end of the day I want to use my fc as the track car I wanna get an FD for my weekend and a rx-8 for my daily. Will the s5 motor work with the N332 ecu?

[RETed]

Originally Posted by gist864

OK cool I think having the s5 motor is a good thing. At the end of the day I want to use my fc as the track car I wanna get an FD for my weekend and a rx-8 for my daily. Will the s5 motor work with the N332 ecu?

The short answer is: No.

The fuel injectors are different, and the electrical plugs for them are different.

There are also some sensors which also have different plugs.

The stock oil metering system is totally different.
Due to this fact, the front oil cover is different, which also makes the water pump housing and water pump different.
Due to that fact, the thermostat housing is different (other than plastic versus cast aluminum) and since your pics don't show the radiator (I assume it's an S4 one WITHOUT the extended neck by the battery), you're going to have a headache of a time trying to get rid of all the air bubbles in the cooling system.

If you are running an N332 ECU, it's possible to take all the original sensors and electrical components and slap them on the S5 engine.
This is a LOT of work.


-Ted

[gist864]

OK, well unless I find a cheap s4 motor. I will be switching forums to norotors.com

[chibikougan]

Bye.

[speedjunkie]

Originally Posted by RETed

Yes, 1986 - 1988 engines all came with cast aluminum thermostat housings.

Why plastic?
To save weight...


-Ted

That's crazy. How much weight could that possibly save? I know the FD had troubles with the plastic pieces and hot coolant. Did the S5 have this problem too? I have an 87 TII that I haven't built yet. If I'm going to do this I need to start learning. I only know the FD so far.

[lt1_fd3s]

hey, where in SC are you? i'm in asheville NC and know quite a few SC people... PM me!

[Pete_89T2]

Originally Posted by speedjunkie

That's crazy. How much weight could that possibly save? I know the FD had troubles with the plastic pieces and hot coolant. Did the S5 have this problem too? I have an 87 TII that I haven't built yet. If I'm going to do this I need to start learning. I only know the FD so far.

Any weight savings are on the order of a few ounces. FWIW, I've got an S5 T2, and the plastic thermostat housing failed. Developed a tiny crack that let coolant out. Rotary13B1.com makes an identical AL replacement of the stock part, that's what I'm using now.

As for the stock S5 radiator, which has plastic end tanks crimped onto an AL core, I never had reliability problems with that. But you'll probably want to replace it anyway with a good AL aftermarket radiator to improve the stocker's marginal cooling, especially if you do a few mods.

[speedjunkie]

Originally Posted by Pete_89T2

Any weight savings are on the order of a few ounces. FWIW, I've got an S5 T2, and the plastic thermostat housing failed. Developed a tiny crack that let coolant out. Rotary13B1.com makes an identical AL replacement of the stock part, that's what I'm using now.

As for the stock S5 radiator, which has plastic end tanks crimped onto an AL core, I never had reliability problems with that. But you'll probably want to replace it anyway with a good AL aftermarket radiator to improve the stocker's marginal cooling, especially if you do a few mods.

Good to know, thanks!