K, I did the search...but the only info I could find about a rotary w/ bad seals was that the motor should either be rebuilt or replaced...right now neither of those options will work for me.

I just bought the car, ext and int is very clean, tranny is smooth, brakes and clutch are all good, only thing wrong is the apex seals...the engine runs good, it just smokes like a bitch on start up and blows smoke @ anything over 3k rpms [so i've been told...haven't had a chance to bring revs above 3k yet]

My question is this: Will doing the 60k tune up and possibly the water injection maintenance help the reliability of the engine at all [i'll have the car in nov and $$ to rebuild/swap around mid-december]? one of the previous owners was a middle-aged woman that never opened her up so carbon built up and messed up one or more of the apex seals. Also, I haven't had a chance to do a compression test on it either..but I figure the seals can't be too bad if the motor runs like it does?

I have a daily driver, so leaving the 7 in my garage won't be a big deal...but it'd be nice to take it out every once in a while just to cruise. Esp. since my dd is a zx2.

 

Dude if you've got "bad" apex seals you will have low compression, or the car will be running on one rotor. Apex seals are somewhat comparable to piston rings...kinda. If they're bad/worn out/ cracked and broken you have no choice but to rebuild.

You could try the water injection idea, if you just want to get rid of the carbon, but there's really no guarantee it will help. I think www.rotaryresurrection.com has info on it.

James

 

Yeah i've read the write-up on the water injection treatment...I just wasn't sure if it would help or worsen the engine.

and the guy i'm buying the car from has been driving it about 60-80 miles almost everyday for the past 3 or 4 months...i'm still new to rotaries but I figured if the seals were BAD, that the car wouldn't be driveable at all

 

They sort of don't go bad. They either break, or get worn. When one breaks, it has the potential to damage the rotor housings (which is $$$) and then your car will basically run on one rotor--- blown engine. When they're worn/weak, you will get low compression...typicall less than ~90 psi. Consensus around here is that anything above ~90 is ok, above ~100 is good, above ~110 is very good, and ~120+ is excellent.

I'm sure others will correct me if I made any mistakes, which is very possible, but with a **** load of reading through the tech sections here and the archives, you will become very knowledgeable abour your new car. I'd suggest reading the FAQ and many of the archives, and using the search button.

Good luck man,
James

 

If the apex seals are bad, there just isn't anything you can do with it besides rebuild. The water injection thing is for carbon buildup. I had the same problem when I first bought my 7. I had my bf pull the motor and I rebuilt it in my basement during last winter. When mine was blowing smoke, I thought that it ran OK, but once it was rebuilt I found out that it really had been running terribly.

ash

 

^^^^Will you marry me?????..... lol jk but damn i wish i could find a girl that could rebuild a rotary....

actually i wish i could find a girl who knows what a rotary is

 

So explain to us why we should listen to you?

The seals are bad, period.
The engine needs to be rebuilt to fix this problem, period.
End of discussion.

I really don't care if neither of those options will work for you.
The fact of the matter is that it doesn't change things.
You want to fix the problem the engine needs to be rebuilt, period.

Talking about anything else is a waste of time, period.
If you don't like that kind of advice, I'd suggest to get rid of the car so you don't have to worry about, and we don't have to put up with your BS.


-Ted

 

exhaust smoke = bad apex seals?

 

OP just mentioned "bad seals".
I dunno how they diagnosed it, or if they believed someone who told them so.
Whatever the case, if you want to stop the smoking from "bad seals", the seals need to be replaced.
To replace the seals, the engine needs to come apart.
This means rebuilt or replacement...


-Ted

 

what color is the smoke?

 

Im suprised no one has brought up carbon locked apex seals except breifly by alritzer. Which more than likely has caused them to break. But you have a small chance (less than 5% probably) that you would be able to break them free and they will be unbroken and work, IF thats even the problem. You can take out the spark plugs on both rotors and pour a bit of ATF fluid into the engine and let it sit over night. Ive also heard people use other strong things, but Id think ATF would work the best. When you first start it up dont be worried when you see a TON of smoke until it all burns out. Might repeat it a few times to make sure. Like I said its a long shot but it MIGHT be your lucky day (unlikely) If that doesnt work its time to drop a few hundred bucks for a rebuild kit

 

smoke is greyish-white

and i'm not spoutin BS...the reason why a rebuild or swap isn't an option for me right now is because I don't have the $$ for either right away...if I could find someone to help me replace the seals i'd def. opt for that...but as far as taking the car to a shop and spending 600+ for a rebuild...i just don't have the funds. All I was simply asking was if there was any way to make the motor last another month or two when I DO have the $$ for a swap [which is what i'm planning on doing]

and the guy i'm buying the car from said the seals were bad...since I don't know much about rotaries yet I just took his word for it, and low and behold this is why i'm on the site, asking for info...you [RETed] don't need to act like such a dick b/c i'm new to the forums and rotaries...i've been trying to gain as much knowledge as I can on the car

everyone else, thanks for the input...Once I get the car i'll do a compression test and if it's less than 90 i'll either try and find someone to help me replace the seals...or i'll just let the car sit in my garage until I have the $$ to do the swap

 

I've been told that Marvel Mystery Oil works real good too.

 

If you plan to "replace the seals" you WILL be doing a complete engine overhaul, which will be a rebuild.

 

Yeah, on carbon locked seals, not on blown water seals.

The motor is gone... The only thing that MIGHT help is the block seal trick.

 

If it's smoking it is probably the oil seals, or coolant seals, not the apex seals.

If you're really on the cheap, take everything apartand just check whats out of tolerance and replace everything out of tolerance, clean it and put it back together, also probably get new seal springs. A gasket isn't too explenxive from atkins and it may just be a bad o-ring or something for all you know.

 

K, well i'll post up again once I have the car in my posession and I can get all the symptoms...i'm just trying to get as much info as I can so I know exactly what to do once I have the car.

thanks everyone