finally here, about to start pulling the car apart... if i pull the exh manifold off the car, should i be able to see the apex seal lodged in there if thats the problem??

 

If you have the exhaust Mani off and you could get the motor to turn, you should be able to visually inspect all 6 apex seals. Just turn the motor until they line up with the port. Corner seals or the other corner would not be seen with this method.

 

hehe yeah, but the motor aint turnin' !!! thats why my diagnosis is what it is.

 

pulled the exhaust manifold off, i can feel one of the rotor faces, but there isnt an apex seal lodged in the port, as far as i can tell... are the intake ports the same as the exh ones? could it have gotten stuck in there? i havent pulled the intake manifolds yet, but im getting ready to pull the motor, im on spring break finally.

 

The intake goes in at an angle. You won't be able to see much. Feel the housings for scaring. If you can see a rotor face then you should be able to put your finger in and feel around 11:00 and then rub back and forth that should be the "g" spot.........wait wrong forum, sorry flipping back and forth from one forum ot the other......back on track. Feel the inside of the rotor housing it should be very smooth.

The Apex could be lodged anywhere. It could be rolled against the housing and not lodged in any port. It could be in the intake port and the spark plug port or down in your pre-cat.