I don't mean to hijack the thread. I find it interesting that people talk about the rotary engine as if it were a plug and play module. Surely if there's a problem it means that some part of the engine has failed and needs to be renewed or replaced or is it simply more expedient to replace the engine? The whole issue of reliability is unbalanced when I compare my RX8 with any number of British and Italian cars and motorcycles that I have had over the years. They were far more maintenance intensive.
It's an expedient to replace. The engines are simple but different and people tend to fear different. (Look at the number of people who still think of automatic transmissions as voodoo boxes) Plus, IF you hurt one rotor and rotor housing, you've just tacked on the order of $2000 to the expense of rebuilding if you can't source good used parts.
Which is why it is far, far more sensible to rebuild before that happens. Piston engines are more complex but a lot more rebuildable. You can overbore cylinders, even sleeve them if the block is really rare/valuable, you can pretty much get aftermarket pistons for anything ever made, cylinder heads can be more or less infinitely rebuilt as long as they aren't TOO far gone... Rotaries, when the slots in the rotor wear out you replace. When the chrome on the rotor housings starts coming off, you replace. And so forth. And there's just one source of parts, and they don't seem to be too interested in making any.
Thank you for the straightforward answer.
