Ok so like the title says, i have an 85 12a with stuck side seals. Ive soaked the rotor in carb cleaner, thinner, and wd-40 and i can't get the seals out of the rotor. any ideas?

 

soak in sea foam. dump it in the plug holes then turn the engine over by hand every now and then. might take a few days but keep at it

now that a re read that it sounds like the engine is apart. Sea foam should still do the trick though.

 

yup, engine is apart... and i probably should have mentioned that. i actually broke my dental pic trying to get the stupid seals out. Front rotor's seals came out by hand, but the rear had a nasty oil problem, and it must have sat for years after losing comp. It's even been soaking for like a week in different solvents... pissing me off.

 

I soaked mine for months before finally breaking down and letting a ham-fisted machinist tear them out with a screwdriver. I did get several out by taking a gallon-can of GUNK carb cleaner / parts solvent, put it in a plastic sealed Fresh Step cat litter pail, and soaking each face of the rotor in there for a few days. The rotor won't fit in the GUNK pail, so you'll need to find something else. You can try removing the corner seals and using a hammer with a punch or flathead screwdriver to slide the sideseals into the corner seal spot. If they'll translate a 1/4", you're nearly home free.

 

thanks, i didn't think of punching from the side... i actually read your thread a little earlier. i might try and grind down a screw driver, why do i never think of these things?

 

Use other side seals if you have any. That always works for me.

 

Something that worked VERY well for me is to take an old box cutter razor blade, you know the trapzoid shaped ones, break it in two places (it helps when it's the type with a couple holes for certain boc cutters) so the crack doesn't extend all the way, but makes the razor bland bendy/flexible enough to fit in the curve of the corner seal groove. The 45° ramp gets under the broken side seal piece and you can tap the other side of the razor blade with a tack hammer and it will lift the side seal and break it into small manageable pieces in the process. It made short work of a long unpleasant job. I wish I would have figure this out sooner.

 

thanks for all the ideas, this is my first rebuild so i expected some issues, but didn't expect them to be this stuck. I'll get these damn things out if it kills me. stay tuned for a build up thread...

 

PB Blaster soaked rag (not wd40) laying over the side seal overnight then using a box cutter like Jeff mentioned working underneath the seal prying up at the end till the box cutter blade can fit underneath the seal laying flat against the rotor face and across the side seal groove. gently work the blade down the face of the rotor under the seal and over the groove, if you hit any resistance... hit it with the PBblaster again directly in the groove and let it sit. Work a bit at a time from both ends.

 

well if anyone cares, i got 'em out last night. A combo of PB soaked rag and Jeff's razor method worked wonders. Thanks for all the replies. I like it a ton better here than the 2nd gen section.

 

We get that alot. I think it has something to do with first gens kicking ***, so the owners must also kick ***.

 

Glad to hear that you freed up the seals, I must agree with the first gen section guys being very helpful and knowledgeable!

Good luck with your build!

 

thanks guys, I will definitely start a thread very soon, i already have pics and such but there is just too much damn work to be done...

 

I'd love to see your pics, especially if you have pics of Jeff's razor method. I'm kicking myself for allowing mine to get screwed up, and I'd like to learn the right way to have done it.

 

yea, i didn't get pics but i can take pics when i get home... just for you

 

ok so here you go. first, I soaked the hell out of a rag with PB and let the rotor sit for a while.Then, I bent my own shape in the pick to fit it in the corner seal recess and pry up the seals. Most of them broke off after an inch or two, so i used the razor from an exacto knife. Then just hammered it lightly, until I could get another section out. I did break the blade hammering, so you probably want to wear some eye protection. Thats about it. Oh yea, i also tried Jeff's method but i didnt fare so well with the blade breaking. I ended up just breaking one in half. It worked pretty well until it kept breaking about half way through.