Engine expert Eric Berg gets an unexpected surprise when he takes apart a Wankel engine. Previously it was in a Mazda RX-8 from 2004.
– There is only one real king of unreliable engines and that is the Wankel engine, says Berg.
Eric Berg from the Youtube channel “I Do Cars” often takes different engines apart. Usually he does research on more common engines, but recently he received a wankel engine from Mazda. It was the first engine expert had seen in quite some time.
– It was three years ago that I took apart a Wankel engine, says Eric.
The motor type creates motion with a rotating piston instead of a piston with linear motion. Like a four-stroke engine, the wankel engine has four phases: intake, compression, stroke and exhaust. Something that is a disadvantage for the engine type is that in many cases it consumes a lot of fuel.
In 1991, Mazda won Le Mans with a wankel engine, but the unit Eric Berg will investigate has never been in a racing car, but was previously in a Mazda RX-8 from 2004. In total, the engine should produce 238 horses.
– This engine has been abandoned in my brother’s garage for a long time, says Eric.
He then removes the engine’s spark plugs and takes a closer look at them.
– They actually don’t look that bad. I would rather say they look new, says Eric.
After that he takes off the huge flywheel and then unmounts the oil pan. He doesn’t find any metal scraps there, but that wasn’t what Eric expected either.
– I would have been very confused then, he says.
Eric then removes the engine cover and finds nothing of note under there either. Hans then unscrews several tension bolts in a special order so that the engine will not take any damage.
He then sees the front piston of the wankel engine. It is both rusty and dirty.
– I didn’t think it would be this rusty, says Eric.
When the engine expert then takes a closer look at the second rotor, it is also filled with dirt and rust.
– It is much better than the other, but still not good, says Eric.
What caused the engine to fail remains a mystery. Sometimes even a motor detective goes bet. Eric then summarizes his investigation as follows.
– Wankel engines’ biggest problem is that the owners treat them like ordinary engines, he says.
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William Karlsson is a qualified journalist and has worked at Sveriges Radio and Sörmlands Nyheter, among others.
