i sat half of my front iron in simple green overnight, standing up in the parts washer, so the "dull" part of the iron is the one that sat in the simple green, "shiny" part NOT in the simple green. the dull part isnt nearly as smooth as the shiny part, is this bad? we're planning on just putting the rest of the iron in the simple green, but is this normal?

 

I never used simple green, but it probably just removed lubricants that might make the metal shine, and feel smoother than it really is...

 

Thats how irons look when they are lapped.

 

New Irons also have a dull surface.

 

so... its all good? we can use them? (those are my irons btw)

simple green cleans well enough to take the shine off an iron? dang.

 

wait what was the point of having only half of it sitting in simple green overnight?

 

i wasnt planning on leaving it like that...

..... come on.

the rest is sitting in the simple green tonight

 

Simple green oxidizes aluminum and other metals and its used on aircraft has been banned by the military.

 

thanks

so can i use these?

 

Just use them...
I think apathy is right - it pulled all the oils and gasoline from the metal.

Also, I think it did "eat" some of the metal, as homebrewer is also right - the Air Force banned Simple Green when they found out it was eating into the aluminum surfaces of their airplanes!

I don't think the damage is significant.

If you're worried I would go over the entire surface with fine sandpaper (400-grit or finer) and some motor oil to act as a lubricant, and lightly sand the side housing surface.
This should even out the surface if you're worried about cosmetics.

I do this all the time when housing sat around and start to surface rust.
Sandpaper + oil gets them prepped for a rebuild real quick.


-Ted

 

the iron is sitting totally in the simple green right now which should even it out, but i'm worried about the new surface... can i just assemble it as is?

 

well we put it together and the engine has about 200 miles on it now. seems to have over 100psi on both rotors since it fires on the 3rd turn, so i guess the irons turned out ok

 

You guys worry too much.


-Ted

 

i have about 200 miles on the engine (about 5 hours of run-time total) and the engine seems to have low hot-compression, doesnt flood or anything, but takes another rotation o two to fire up... this has not happened on my previous rebuilds (like i've done this before or something) yeah this is rebuild #4. hopefully its just those irons wearing in since the simple green ended their shiny lives.

 

They should wear in soon don't worry about it!

 

how long does it take a typical engine with NEW rotor/sidehousings to reach full compression?

 

In my experience?
Something like 5,000 to 7,000 miles...


-Ted

 

well i'll have about 1000 miles before i head to rx7store this weekend

 

Hey Jacob... are we going to keep this one in one piece this time? LOL, I'm kinda hoping not so I can be there to help with the next rebuild. I'd like to get some hands on!