capn

hey all

since i just got my flywheel off i started to fly through my engine and now i am on the first rotor housing and its all apart. BUT i noticed that only one apex had something wrong with it, the apex seal only had 2 peices yet mine is an 88 that came with the 3 peice seal, i just dismissed it as complacency of the person that rebuilt it before, but then i saw my worst nightmare. the housing had a deep gouge ALL around and theres little holes in the housing from where the seal i guess exploded. and the rotor has some damage too, but im not sure if its enough to render it useless. so from what you see do you think i could salvage the rotor?

RotaryWeaponSE7EN

iTrader: (6)

The rotor doesnt look horrible, just make sure theres nothig there thats going to interfere with the housings or irons went put back together. From the pics it looks ok. Basically smooth it out the best u can. And cleaning them is the best part. Have fun. Lets see the housings too.

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

i would check the apex seal groove for any damage, the rest of it looks like it can be polished out. make sure the irons also don't have any nicks or scratches in them.

capn

hosuing carnage

those little dark specs are actually holes caused by that damned apex seal

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (8)

Haha, wtf? ^

Your rotor housing is junk. Any imperfection other than normal 1/8" of grooving on either end is not really acceptable. Your rotor...well, if the damage has interfered with or pinched any of the side, corner, or apex seal slots, then it isnt useable either. Apex seal slots can sometimes be filed out or even milled to 3mm, but corner and side seal slots cannot be repaired most of the time unless it's VERY light distortion. That doesnt look too bad though. The scratches on the face of the rotor don't hurt anything, the rotor floats and never touches anything so those scratches won't hurt, if the seal slots are all okay then it's fine.

cmjaure

check the sideseal make sure the apexseal did not smash it. I had this happen to one of my 7s but i think mine was a little worse. I rolled a apex seal at 3500 rpm.

kevlar999

Your not using your moms purple undies to hold that rotor are you? :/

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

they're diversified nitrile gloves...

Rx7MPGUY84

wow i wish my rotor looked like that. my edges on my rotor is REALLY F*%@%# up. I dont relaly know what the housing looks like for mine, i can only see throught the exhaust manifold cuz i cant get the damn flywheel nut off

RotaryWeaponSE7EN

iTrader: (6)

Flywheel nut....as yes that was an experience. I had the hardest time getting it off. Then all the the sudden it came off so easily.

capn

exactly. im allergic to latex



j/k thier cheap


but i just took my engine to a local mechanics shop with my 2-1/8 socket and asked them if they could spin that off. and that was easy, now the flywheel i had to beat that thing like a bad habit. buts its off now.

fcrx88

damn is that bulge in the housing supposed to be there? ive never seen that before. also how long were you running it with the seal busted?

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (8)

Yup, it's part of the design of the engine. To create compression in an engine, you must have a period of time where the chamber opens, and a period of time when it closes, or compresses. That is accomplished partially by that curve.

Doesnt matter if it was 1 second or 1 year. That damage happpens the instant that the seal breaks and flies apart, while the engine is running at speed. 3 rotations with seals flying around is all it takes, and at a modest engine speed of 4000rpm, this happens in 45 thousandths of a second. After that, the pieces exit the exhaust, the that rotor is just freewheeling...dead weight, not producing any power, but not doing any further damage either. There are little or no seals left to touch the surface.

capn

well the front iron doesnt look good either it has some deep grooves and the coolant seal passasge is broken too, making coolant seep into the housing causing the front rotor to rust and well be a bitch at taking apart. but luckly i have patience. is it better to buy new hosuings/irons or buy good used ones?

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (8)

At a cost around $400 each for new or $100 each for used, what do you think?

BTW, if the rotor is rusted enough, the seals won't come out of it, and you'll have to buy one of those, too. This is what happens when you have a water burning motor that you just shut off and let sit for a few months. IF you put oil or atf or something into the chamber and turn it over every so often this will displace the water and prevent rust, making the rotor useable in the future. Many people make this mistake, and often the rotorhousings and eshaft are the only parts that come out of a water seal motor that was left to sit for a while.

capn

well this thing sat for a while. i bought it after 2 years of sitting. but the seals are coming out, slowly but surely thier coming out. im soaking the rotors in ATF overnight to loosen up the carbon and make it a bit easier to clean.

but all i wanted out of the motor was the rotors anyway so its no big loss anyway

RotaryEvolution

iTrader: (30)

if you got the money go for new, if you just want to get by for another 100,000 or so miles then go with decent used.

ddub

You could buy some high mileage used housings (that are still in somewhat useable condition) and get them repaired/cermet ceramic coated.

capn

bruce, the owner of east coast rotaries sends off his housings and stuff to like south carolina somewhere and he gets them polished and refinished and like heat treat coated or some process to harden it and such. but is that a fairly good thing to do? how much would it usually cost? and is it reliable?