So i tore apart my spare s4 n/a (popped my rotary cherry). And of course the front eshaft bolt was insanely tight, having no access to air tools, and a 1/2" electric impact wouldn't budge it (even heated with MAP gas). I did a nono and put a screwdriver in the exhaust to stop the rotors from turning breaker bar and pipe and it came loose

Can i save this rotor (pretty sure i know the answer). I would like to because whoever rebuilt this engine before replaced all the bearings, but if not, lesson learned i guess

 

Nope. That rotor is toast.

 

if something seems like a bad idea, it probably is.

 

It was alot like premature ejaculation. I am a virgin rebuilding one of these, so i was getting excited and put things where they don't belong

Alrighty than, add that to the list of things to get, gonna measure everything, think i can reuse almost all hard parts, besides the apex seal i broke in half.............

 

guess you're lucky you didn't stick your weiner in it instead then.

 

don't think it would've reached the apex seal

 

^^^Lol! It's all good man. That's how you learn. One thing I have learned throughout the years is that having the right tools makes all the difference in the world when working on anything. Mazdatrix sells a flywheel stopper on e-bay for 34 bucks shipped. It would have held the flywheel in place while you cranked on the e-shaft bolt. But lucky for you, an used N/a rotor can be bought for fairly cheap. Now Apex seals? That's another story.

 

I already had the flywheel off before i brought the engine in my dining room

And MAYBE i can get lucky and find A apex seal? Doubtful, if the only hard seal i gotta buy is apex seals, won't be too horrible, i'd have to guess this engine doesn't have many miles on its rebuild already

 

most places you can buy just 1 apex seal, you just have to ask nicely.

 

I may do that, but, i don't know what brand seals these are, i THINK they are mazda replacements, was gonna clean one up and see if you guys could tell just by looking tonight

Unless mixing brands won't hurt?

 

i wouldn't really recommend mixing seals

 

Is it 3mm seals? I would try and save it,seriously. As long as you have access to the right milling equipment. I would build up that damaged are with a welder and re-mill the slot. It could then be used for a budget build.

 

I don't know, The actual gash is small. I bet if you got the groove clear, it might work indefinitely. File, stone, maybe rotary tool at first, If you could get the groove clean enough to pass a stack of feeler gauges the size of the groove without feeling it catch on the displaced metal, i don't see why it wouldn't work. I mean, just look how effed up the factory set is when you take them out, they worked.

 

totally, cause spending $200 to save a $100 rotor is worth it.

 

And its just a n/a budget build, wouldn't be worth it to me, may as well try and find a good rotor for about $100, least the rotor i didn't screw up is a B weight, so at least i have some options

I'll try and get a pic of a seal tonight, On my way to look at a vehicle for the youngest daughter thats about an hour away

 

Alright, couple pictures of the apex seals, any ideas of what brand they are so i could source one?

I also attached pics of one rotor housing for ***** and grins, they look good to me, i can't feel any rough spots and nothing catches my fingernail, so i think i can just clean them up and use them

 

looks like mazda OEM to me.

you can get a single seal for about $65

 

Im curious how you got the flywheel nut off

 

I got it off at a friends house (that has air tools) where it was sitting before i brought it into my house, i didn't think the front e-bolt was gonna be that stubborn or i would've loosened it there

 

QUOTE: I'll try and get a pic of a seal tonight, On my way to look at a vehicle for the youngest daughter thats about an hour away.

HMM..Found one for ya..argh,argh!

 

That is a stock mazda 2 piece seal. Most likely that engine has been rebuilt before because mazda used 3 piece garbage seals at least on the S5. It also seems like it hasn't been beat to hell for over 25 years as well.

As far as seal preference, I like the Mazda seals. I have 2 piece S6 mazda seals in my car now. I have scowled the internet for years researching seals, reading threads and basically came to the conclusion that while OEM Mazda seals aren't perfect, they do a damn good job for everything. Some of the harder seals (Mazda is the softest) may take a detonation event better in a boosted application, but they EAT rotor housings like groceries. The only real problem with the soft mazda seals is they tend to warp if the engine is overheated and cannot take any form of detonation. I would say though in stock form, they are the best "well rounded" seal in terms of how well they work in extreme circumstance.

 

I knew it had been rebuilt, the car it came out've the odometer read over 200K miles, and it was WAY to clean to be a stocker

I've gotten as far as measuring the apex seals, and they seem to be averaging 7.5mm, so i think i could order one seal and be in the clear since new are supposed to be 8mm from what i read

I was happy to see the housings have the coolant jacket mod done to them

Been trying to clean up a housing, but where the o-rings sit is being extremely stubborn to clean off, i really don't want to hand sand them, but i may have to

 

I would personally just order all new seals as having to break the engine apart is a costly procedure in time and money. Would you reuse a pressure plate when replacing the clutch? It's one of those things you should just replace while your there.

 

ill add in some information and correct some misinformation:

all seals from 1986-2002 were 3 piece, none were series specific. in 2004-ish mazda finally threw in the towel for the reman engines and went back to 2 piece OEM seals, the 3 piece seals were discontinued.

OEM seals are harder then aftermarkets, not softer. the bendable indestructable seals are softer. however due to how hard the OEM seals are they tend to shatter vs warp or simply crack in one spot.

OEM seals are very resistant to warping, i haven't ever seen an OEM seal warp. they do however crown due to the heat at the edges of the housings.

 

Would like an opinion on the rotor housings also, this is the one i cleaned up, found out that 3M makes a scotchbrite pad the goes on a drill. Got the sides cleaned up, but what worries me is pitting on both sides of the housing where the o-rings sit against, should i bring them to machine shop and have them milled for flatnees to take out the pitting? Or is my rebuild quickly shooting up in price? Can apparantly only upload one picture from my phone