Hey, Im looking into getting this second gen but it has a broken water seal.. I dont know a hell of alot about rot motors. I know cyc moters so i dont think i would have too much problem if i got my hands on a good book..

Maybe you guys can give me an idea of what kinda work is it and how much i will be needing for parts?
Or would i be looking into just replacing the motor?

I heard that these motors tend to do this alot.. so please give me some ideas.. thanx

 

To fix it means a rebuild. Unfortunately, if it has been pumping water for a long time, the damage may be severe enough that a new engine may be cheaper than rebuilding the old one.

An no, these engines don't "tend to do this alot". Broken water seals are very often due to damage from overheating.

 

I picked up a motor from a guy not to long ago cause it had a broken water seal. The rotor by that seal was trash, but the rest was salvage able. I got a gasket kit for $115. That kit is the minimum rebuild kit for replacings gaskets and the water seals. It doesn't have any seals for the rotor (apex, side, corner, oil seals). If you are not familiar with the rotary engine, www.atkinsrotary.com sells videos on how to tear them down and rebuild them. Its not as difficult as a piston engine, but it is too involved to explain by typing.

 

yep your gonna need a basic rebuild. your looking at around a grand or so to it all cleaned up. i wouldnt just fix that, replace it all while it is apart!!

 

Is it just a rubber seal? that needs to be replaced?


Aswell, is there any other possibilities that it could be, Its burning rad fluid.. I just worried that this guy is just quessing that its the problem.. and that the block walls have a hole in it. cause if i am going to do a rebuild I dont want to do it on a junk block.

 

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They already told you that problem required at least a partial rebuild and they are right. IT is just a rubber seal, though there may be other damage such as cracked water jackets in teh irons. See the mazdatrix.com homepage under FAQ for information on this.

I know what you're thinking and it wont work. A rotary is put together in a certain order, front to back, and taken apart the other way. ONce you begin tearing one down, you have to take it totally apart...once tension is taken off of the "stack" all of the sealing surfaces in the rest of the engine must be cleaned and re-sealed with new parts, or you'd have the same or worse problem than you had before you took it apart. Think of it as a headgasket on a piston engine...they keep water, oil, and compression all seperate, and when one fails, they mix. INstead of being metal, theyre rubber, about like 1 foot diameter rubber bands. and instead of there being one like a piston motor(4cyl) there are 4 sets, each set at a mating surface in the stack. IF you take tension off of the stack, you violate the seal of all 4 sets in the stack. Therefore you must take it totally apart, which, if you think about it, is a rebuild.

The MINIMUM I would do in this case is the gasket kit, apex seals, oil seals(rubber rings only) and the oil bypass pellet for the e-shaft. These parts will cost you about $400-450 from atkins rotary. Apex seals are what makes the engine go, like piston rings in a boinger, and even when in factory spec can snap later, so I always replace them with upgraded 2pc seals, it only costs $200 to do it right. The other stuff usually reuseable provided you handle it carefully.