well, I have had a disassembled t2 motor sitting in my basement for about a year and decided to clean up the irons and housings because I was bored. I had wire brushed and soaked the engine rotors in simple green and cleaned maybe 17 months ago and put them up expecting to get my rebuild kit soon so I didn't oil them or anything. I got laid off so no rebuild money so they have been sitting.

They have been in a basement with some humidity and, due to lack of any lubricant, have developed a little bit of minor surface rust. should I just wire brush it off, should I be using any kind of solution on it for getting rid of the surface rust? and what is the best stuff to put on it to keep it from surface rusting again, just regular motor oil or something else? thanks, maybe stupid questions but I have never really stored anything where rust was a big problem.

 

http://www.rebuildingrotaryengines.c...leaning_rotors

 

that website is awesome

 

ah, yes. I have seen all those videos some time ago and have the site bookmarked. should have checked there first or just remembered the video, thank you for the link.

 

Scotch brite pad.

 

just about any kind of oil will protect them, preferably some sort of assembly oil that you will be assembling the engine with.

 

well, I have no idea when money is going to allow me to rebuild this thing so it might be sitting for a while longer still. I don't know how long the engine was sitting apart before I got it so rather then bother checking all the metal o-rings, I am replacing every o-ring, seal, and all the regular wear items to be sure I have a good build. that means more money but more piece of mind. thanks guys, I was mostly just unsure if there was anything special for rust on rotors but wire brushing or even just the scotch bright should get it all off good enough. its barely there at all.

aaron- I saw in one of your vids from another thread that you were using scoth bright pads to clean irons too, good to know they work well for that. my irons faces are pretty clean so I think I'm just going to clean the outside and then get them lapped to make sure they are flat. I don't have a height gauge so am unsure of how else to check if they are flat all over. feeler gauges and ruler show warpage but that won't tell me if they are flat in conjunction to the rotor face when assembled, correct?

 

Not sure what you are asking. By using the straight edge and feeler gauge, you can determine if the iron is warped by measuring across several points. Irons generally do not warp unless exposed to a LOT of heat. Any variance you are measuring will probably be just wear.

Oh, I hope you oiled up your eccentric shaft! Surface rust on the machined bearing surfaces will ruin the shaft unless very, very slight.

 

yes, the eccentric shaft I have not cleaned as there was no need, it was clean enough to check and is in pretty much new condition according to tolerances. all other parts still have oil on them.

ya, I was talking about checking the warpage. what's the purpose of lapping then?

I don't remember if I mentioned in this thread already, but the front iron was missing a section of the coolant passage wall (metal part that separates the coolant from combustion section outside the coolant seals. it might have been overheated but not sure. the eccentric shaft and rotors all check well within tolerances and are in usable condition, housings and irons were given a quick check. no major warpage has been found on the irons (got good used front iron), housings passed a quick check with micrometer for width. I need to thoroughly check them still. chrome facing on the housings is in great condition though and nearly no scoring at all or nicks. if its all warp free then should hold good compression.