I've done searching and seen a whole bunch of things people have done to clean the carbon off their rotors. What are some really good methods and or cleaners that you all have used.

 

Pour a full can of SeaFoam into your gas tank when you reach about 1/4 left. Then, redline the snot out of the rotary. There have been some methods of people "steam cleaning" the inside of the engine by having water get sucked inside. I did research on that but it seems to be a "Do at your own discretion" as some people say to do it, it worked fine, others say not to do it, and they had issues.

I just occassionaly take my 7 up to redline and pour in a can of SeaFoam into the fuel tank when it gets low. You can also have the engine suck it in to clean it, as well. As per Trochoid's words:


You may want to check out this thread I made years ago that covers a lot of your questions.
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-archive-71/engine-internal-engine-cleaning-what-one-can-learn-when-he-searches-717039/

 

No idea why this double posted.

 

engine apart? or together?

together is easy, start car, find open road, take right foot, push gas pedal. if you want a tamer method water works great, although you have to be a little careful how much you use

apart? use old seals to clean the gooves, with a little carb/brake cleaner. the faces i use a razor blade, and then a stiff brush. if i'm feeling bored, i might sand it so its shiny, but really this is optional, cause its dirty again after about 5 minutes of running

 

Oh I probably should have mentioned haha. The motor is apart. Doing a full rebuild with the master kit for atkins

 

Very fine grit sandpaper, if you want. Brake cleaner is win. Brass bristle brushes to help scrape off carbon. You can also get some engine grade cleaning solvent and let the parts soak in it for awhile.

 

cleaned the faces of mine with a bench-mounted wire wheel - came out clean as a whistle. Follow up with parts wash to get loose stuff inside the rotor, around the gear, etc; like j9fd3s sez: use an old side seal to run thru the side seal channels to clean out carbon there....
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

Thanks for the tips guys! So the wire wheels I'm grabbing at lowes today to clean my housings would be ok to use on the rotor faces as well?

 

Easiest way I found was to soak them in Greased Lightning, carb cleaner (make sure it's babbit safe) or some other degreaser for a couple of days. Only a minimal amount of scraping the seal grooves was needed after that. A plastic box from The Container Store was the perfect size for a rotor, so I didn't need to pour more than 1 bottle of the stuff.

 

Yep - according to Atkins (rotor-motor rebuilder in WA) How-To DVD, - the rotors are iron so a med/fine wire wheel will work fine.

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

Woah, I would never touch a housing with a wire wheel ever (if you are talking about the chrome interior). That just seems too abrasive to me. Also, look for a brass wheel, and not a brass coated wheel or steel or anything.

If it is for the outside, then go for it

 

make sure your carfull around the tips on the rotor when on the wire wheel .

 

"Babbit-safe?"

 

maybe hes saying "rabbit-safe" lol

 

If your not replacing the rotor bearings, then do not soak in just any chemical cleaner. It will eat the coating off the bearings. I personally use the brass wire wheels. That way your better safe than sorry. With a little time, you can go over the outside of the rotor housings to give you that bling factor







No polishing. All wire wheel.

 

it's a soft alloy, similar to the rotor bearing surface. Make sure the cleaner you dunk it in doesn't damage it.