Disassembly of Internal Components

ALL ROTARY ENGINES

1. Invert the engine.
2. Remove the oil pan retaining bolts. Remove the oil pan and the oil strainer. It may be necessary to drive a scraper with a blade at least 1.2 in. (30mm) wide and 0.06-0.08 in. (1.5-2.0mm) thick between the pan and the rear housing to free the pan. Be very careful not to damage the housing or the pan while removing.
3. Remove the oil strainer and gasket.

   Fig. 1: Oil pressure control valve assembly

   Fig. 2: Balance weight and bearing housing assembly — 1979–85 RX-7

   Fig. 3: Balance weight assembly — 1986–89 RX-7

   Fig. 4: Rotary engine tension bolt loosening sequence

4. It will be necessary to lock the flywheel/flexplate to remove the pulley from the front of the eccentric shaft. For manual transmissions, Mazda offers a brake device (tool number 49–1881–060 or equivalent for earlier models, and tool number 49–FO11–101 or equivalent for later models). For automatic transmissions, Mazda offers a stopper which fits on the counterweight (tool number 49–1881–055 or equivalent). With the flywheel/flexplate locked, remove the bolt from the eccentric shaft pulley and remove the pulley.
5. Identify the front and rear rotor housings with a felt tip pen. These are look-alike parts and must be identified to be assembled in their respective locations.
6. Turn the engine on the stand so that the top of the engine is up.
7. Remove the engine mounting bracket from the front cover.
8. Remove the eccentric shaft pulley. On 1986–89 models, remove the eccentric shaft bypass valve and spring. On 1985–89 models, remove the O-ring from the eccentric shaft lockbolt and discard it. Remove the eccentric shaft pulley boss (1986–89). Turn the engine on a stand so that the front end of the engine is up.
9. On 1986–89 models, unscrew and withdraw the oil pressure control valve and actuating spring from the bore in the front cover. Unbolt and remove the front cover with the gasket. Slide the distributor drive gear from the eccentric shaft. The gear is retained with a key. Remove the key from the keyway and tape it to the gear.
10. Remove the O-ring from the oil passage on the front housing.
11. Remove the oil slinger and distributor drive gear from the shaft.
12. Unbolt and remove the chain adjuster.

    Fig. 5: Rotor, apex and side seals are identified by a number which corresponds to the number on each rotor face seal groove

    Fig. 6: If a seal sticks to the housing during removal, put it back on the rotor

    Fig. 7: Rotor side seals

    Fig. 8: Removing the rotor from the intermediate housing

13. Remove the locknut and washer from the oil pump driven sprocket.
14. Slide the oil pump drive sprocket and driven sprocket, together with the drive chain, off the eccentric shaft and oil pump, simultaneously.
15. Detach the baffle plate from the oil pump (turbocharged engines only). Remove the keys from the eccentric and oil pump shafts. Remove the oil pump.
16. Slide the balance weight, thrust washer and needle bearing from the shaft.
17. Unbolt the bearing housing, then slide the bearing housing, needle bearing, spacer and thrust plate off the shaft.
18. Turn the engine on the stand so that the top of the engine is up.
19. If equipped with a manual transmission, remove the clutch pressure plate and clutch disc. Remove the flywheel with a puller. Remove the key from the shaft.
20. If equipped with an automatic transmission, remove the drive plate. Remove the counterweight. Block the weight and remove the mounting nut. Remove the counterweight with a suitable puller. On 1986–89 engines, remove the counterweight stopper.
21. Working at the rear of the engine, loosen the tension bolts evenly in small stages to prevent distortion. Mark the tension bolts to replace in their original holes during reassembly.

    NOTE: When removing the tension bolts, refer to the appropriate removal illustration. 1984–85 carbureted engines do not have a No. 6 tension bolt, so delete that bolt from the illustration if it is not applicable.

22. Lift the rear housing off the shaft.

    Fig. 9: Remove the intermediate housing while applying upward pressure to the eccentric shaft

23. Remove any seals that are stuck to the rotor sliding surface of the rear housing and reinstall them in their original locations.
24. Remove all the corner seals, corner seal spring, side seal and side seal springs from the rear side of the rotor. Mazda has a special tray which holds all the seals and keeps them separated to prevent mistakes during reassembly. Each seal groove is marked with numbers near the grooves on the rotor face to prevent confusion.
25. Remove the two rubber seals, two O-rings or oil seal from the rear rotor housing. Remove the pressure regulator and the rear rotor housing side pieces.
26. Remove the tubular dowels from the rear rotor housing using puller tool 49–0813–215A or equivalent.
27. Lift the rear rotor housing away from the rear rotor, being very careful not to drop the apex seals on the rear rotor. Remove the O-ring from the upper dowel hole.
28. Remove each apex seal, side piece and spring from the rear rotor and separate them accordingly.
29. Remove the rear rotor from the eccentric shaft and place it upside down on a clean rag. Do not place the rotor on a hard surface.
30. Remove each seal and spring from the other side of the rotor and separate them.
31. If some of the seals fall off the rotor, reinstall being careful not to change the original position of each seal.
32. Identify the bottom of each apex seal with a felt tip pen.
33. Remove the oil seals and the spring. The outer oil seal is removed with the use of special tool 49–0813–225 or equivalent. Do not exert heavy pressure at only one place on the seal, since it could be deformed. Replace the O-rings in the oil seal when the engine is overhauled.
34. Hold the intermediate housing down and remove the dowels from it using an appropriate pulling tool.
35. Lift off the intermediate housing, being careful not to damage the eccentric shaft. Slide the intermediate housing beyond the rear rotor journal on the eccentric shaft, while pushing the eccentric shaft up. Lift out the eccentric shaft.
36. Repeat to remove the front rotor housing and front rotor.