I just have a quick, kinda dumb question.
I was just wondering how often apex seals go out on 2nd gen motors, both s4 and s5. For a bone stock n/a motor.

Spoke to a Mazda tech and he said that back in the day, the dealerships would be doing S4/S5 rebuilds at the 160,000km mark.

There'll be exceptions of course and NA will last longer than Turbo, and it'll also depend on how well maintained the engine is, whether it was modded, etc.

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This.

Previous owner maintenance is the biggie. There are some that have over 200,000 miles. It needs to have had good oil that was changed regularly and have never overheated.

A compression check is a good way to determine seal health.

okay thanks for the info.
im looking to buy an n/a rx, but i dont wanna have to do anything with the motor right away, I dont really have the money to.
How much would it be for a rebuild on one of those motors?

Buy one cheap with a blown motor - and then get your own rotor built with new housings and seals... known quality then (not someone else POS)

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Savanna 10a-PP racer...

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2209107

whats a rough estimate for how much the rebuild would cost?

Unfortunately, engine builders vary greatly from place to place, but for a straight, normal engine expect around $2000. If you do it yourself, a kit with all the needed seals should be around $1300.

New housings will give best performance and longer life, but adds considerable cost since they're over $500 each. If a housing passes inspection it will work. Maybe not for 100,000 miles, but plenty of life.

Check www.mazdatrix.com and www.racingbeat.com for pricing on OEM rebuild kits.

If this isn't going to be a your only car and you have a garage, I recommend doing the rebuild yourself should the time come. There are books and at least 4 DVDs showing the procedure. I did mine myself in a borrowed garage.