just finished a rebuild, now ive got problems...

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08-15-09, 04:20 AM

#26

arghx

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clearancing side seals is like parking a car. The only "bad" parking jobs are the ones you decide not to correct before you walk away from the vehicle, no matter how bad your initial angle of approach. You just have to check everything over and over again and keep trying.

It is not "hard" in the sense that it requires really specialized skill. It just requires patience and a willingness to buy spare seals when you screw yours up. I just followed the Pineapple Racing video on www.rebuildingrotaryengines.com . I used a junk iron as a working surface and duct taped sandpaper on there. Then I just tediously filed down the seal until the .002" feeler gauge would barely fit in the gap.

I junked six in the process. Two I overfiled to nearly .004" , which is in spec but twice the gap as the other ones. Since I didn't want uneven compression, I discarded those. Four of them I under filed. I somewhat forced them into the groove while trying to measure clearance, and when trying to pull them out they snapped. After a while I got a feel for it... I ended up buying 18 side seals and spending 15 hours on it. After clearancing every seal on one side of the rotor I double checked everything again by using the feeler gauge and physically making sure the seals moved up and down smoothly. If you get a tight clearance the corner seals are much less prone to falling out when you are trying to position the rotor in the housing. The car started quickly on the first try with good condition used housings.

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08-15-09, 12:53 PM

#27

scrip7

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Quote:

Originally Posted by arghx

I junked six in the process. Two I overfiled to nearly .004" , which is in spec but twice the gap as the other ones. Since I didn't want uneven compression, I discarded those. Four of them I under filed. I somewhat forced them into the groove while trying to measure clearance, and when trying to pull them out they snapped. After a while I got a feel for it... I ended up buying 18 side seals and spending 15 hours on it.

You would be amazed at how many side seals that gave you a .004" gap in one slot would either be a perfect fit at .002" or even a snug fit in a different slot or even a different rotor altogether. Before you toss any side seals, take the time to try each "too short" seal in a different slot. I make a neat pile of "too short" and "too long" seals and mix-and-match until I only have a few way-too-short ones left. There isn't anything dimensionally perfect about an engine rotor, hence the need for 5 different weight stamps.