Questions re seals
 

Hi
I have an '83 rx-7 that has seal problems - orignally it was just the intake seals - 1st question - is there a way to recondition the rubber seals - I heard of this being done using something called AT 202?
Some background - I've owned 3 RX-7s over the years so I know a little about rotary engines. I bought the car last spring - test drove it and it ran smooth and had good power - no smoking that I could notice. 4 days later the oil light came on, I checked the oil and it was barely registering on the dipstick. I called a couple of rotary specialty shops in town and got informed about the oil intake seals. So I got by by using 30 wt oil and adding it every few days. Then I had a clogged cat - there is a thread I added to "can't rev past 4500 rpm" - check it out if you want more info. Anyway, the cat was clogging - I was unaware of it at first, I started it one day and got a large ploom of smoke (whitish blue) and since then the car smokes a fair amount esp if I drive it hard and while shifting at higher speeds. I've heard both symptoms can be attributed to worn apex seals. I believe that the back pressure from the clogged cat did a number on the apex seals- one shop told me that clogged cats in their opinion is one of the largest contributers to blown apex seals. I dont know if this is true but in my case it seems likely. I was on the highway when the clogged ocurred - all of a sudden the car wouldnt rev past 4k. I drove it abit b4 I figured out it was the catalytic converter.
I read the article suggested about using things to remove carbon - I also realise I need to adj the fuel mixture. I know the mix is too strong b/c it smells and I get a backfire sometimes right after shutting the engine off. I'm using HYPERSEAL NO SMOKE FIX additive and it helps a bit. 2nd Question - Other then doing things to prevent carbon build up is there anything short of a rebuild I can do to help restore the apex seals? Btw, the car runs and idles smooth and has a fair amount of power. I had a compression check done by HAYES ROTARY before the cat clogged and found the first rotor had 30% less compression than normal but the rear rotor was fine- I'm sure things have changed since then - I notice less overall pwr since the cat problem although it was offset some by now having a 'clear pipe" Some the performance is probably due to the rich fuel mix but overall the car moves when I step on it - I'm just leery of driving it hard b/c thats when it smokes and I'm afraid of doing damage- What I want to know is - should I run it hard a while to clear out carbon or would that just stress the apex seals more? Any help greatly appreciated and Thanks for reading all this!

The loss of oil and smoking can be contributed to very worn oil control seals. I don't see how a clogged cat could damage the apex seals. Your engine is simply old and tired and needs a rebuild.