I pulled my motor apart because I lost compression, and I found I had warped apex seals. That's a fairly common problem, and I think I know the cause -- too much heat and too little pre-mix.

While I was going through all the other parts, I noticed that most of my side seals had a small chip. Effectively the tip of each seal that was in contact with the side housing was gone. I have seen this in pictures of other engines.

Is this common?

Is it a problem?

Is the cause known?

Since the clearances are good, I'm considering just flipping them over and reusing them, so the chipped side is down in the slot. No sense replacing replacing them if the same thing will immediately happen to new ones.

 

is the engine ported?

 

There could be small wear areas that were in contact with the spring. These all could add up to less compression over all. But if you're troubleshooting, yes go ahead and flip them. If it happens again we know your ports aren't beveled enough/properly.

 

Yes, it was ported by MazdaTrix. I'll have to check and see if the corner seals are running across the ports. If they are, what should I do? Bevel the edge in the offending zone?

 

I don't understand. What small wear areas? Which spring?

 

Side springs. They leave little wear marks on your side seals.

 

yes.

 

Thanks everybody.