Can i tear apart my motor (rear rotor just died) replace the apex seals without replacing everything else? motor was rebuilt 40,000 miles ago...I don't know what happened or if they even replaced the apex seals when they did it but my rear rotor is now dead. any help will be appreciated.

 

Can you physically? Yes. Would I recommend it? No. Where the heck is Chuck, anyways?

It's possible to remove the rear iron and only work on the rear rotor, but depending on who you talk to it requires coat hangers, pulleys a lot of clamps and possibly a draft horse to keep everything else intact.

The danger is how to NOT release the pressure on the water jacket seals, side seals etc... and "reseat" them properly. Honestly, a gasket set isn't too expensive and you don't know how much damage you are in for until you open it up. In my mind, if you're in for a penny you're in for a pound when you crack those tension bolts. Be prepared to break down the whole block, it will save you trouble down the line.

 

I'd say apex seals and water o-rings at the minimum + various gaskets for reassembly. You may be able to reuse your side and corner seals/springs and oil control rings etc.. Won't know till you get it apart and measure everything and check against the specs in the FSM.

 

You certainly can and I believe Karak has posted a writeup of how he's done it.

HOWEVER, with that kind of mileage, I'd say just tear down the engine. Yes, I know it sucks. But after 40K, especially if you are unsure as to whether they replaced the apex seals, you may as well tear it all down. The minimal investment in time (engine has to be removed anyway to get at the rear) means you'll have a fresh engine.

Critical though is to determine why the rear failed. Any info about the car? Modded or stock? Did it just up and die? If it's a turbo car at minimum I'd say have all the injectors tested and cleaned.

 

How ghetto do you want to get?

https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...-*pic-1008221/

Same process.

 

If you lost a rear apex seal it's quite possible you lost at least the rear housing too, possibly the rear and/or intermediate iron....

You'll also need at least new rear water seals.

that being said I did something similair to that^ on my 1000 mile engine when I cracked a rear iron and it worked fine. I just used 2 long clamps ment for wood like this:

 

I have done it.I left the intake and exhaust manifold on the engine and only removed the tension bolts and 2 studs bolts on the intake manifold.Pulled the rear iron off and replaced a cracked corner seal put everything back together and engine ran good.

 

After winter hit it had been acting up, I thought it was because of it not having its cold start assists no more but it would always fix itself its just like it has a real bad misfire but again it did it before 2 or 3 times and ran fine for a couple weeks not problems(after it got cold) so its the same thing now i pulled the back rotor plug and listened to it, I haven't done a compression test yet. but its real slow compared to the front rotor but its evenly spaced it just sounds real sluggish and isn't turning fast at all. Hell I could be wrong about my rear rotor being dead but i'm almost postive it is.

 

The rotors are hooked together... they'll spin the same speed no matter what :P

sounds like your battery was going bad?

 

Perform a compression test.

Is My Engine Blown?

But if it is blown, then best to find out why before roasting another engine.

As you suggest that it hasn't been right since being stored (it was stored correctly, right?) then an issue with fuel/injector contamination would be my first guess at the cause.

 

I did a compression test on my car and got 40 psi on each rotor is that good ?

 

Its my daily driver so it wasn't stored it was just after the cold weather hit it started acting up, But i plan to rebuild this motor. I personally think it has something to do with not having a oil metering pump. I premix every tank of gas with 1 oz of 2 cycle oil to 1 gallon of gas(thats what i was told the mixture was) but i don't know if it was sufficient enough lubrication. Also the motor started acting up after this time after I revved the motor, So i'm pretty sure it blew an apex.

 

If the car still runs, then there was something wrong with how you performed the test.

That's the appropriate amount of premix. That isn't the issue.

The only way to confirm is to perform a compression test. "Acting up after I revved the motor" doesn't really mean much.

 

it's turns on than turns right back off I can be turning it on for the whole day but it will turn right back off so I did the compression test bad ?

 

don't think i ever posted a DIY for only tearing apart half an engine but i have given snippets on how to do it before, 7Dust and crew posted the full version of how to do it.

i never did because i still don't recommend it unless you are replacing a faulty iron. replacing only a single rotor/housing/seal set is asking for trouble in an older engine. would you replace a set of pads on the right front wheel and leave the left front pads with 20% life left on them to be destroyed soon after? it gives a false sense of security.

 

Silly to pull an engine, tear it down to keg, and not DO A FULL INSPECTION. Trying to save a few bucks on gaskets might bite you in the *** if something fails shortly after you reinstalled your engine.