Okay....

The TOP holes are the trailing plugs.
the BOTTOM holes are leading.

Look in the holes.

The top one is closed off almost all the way because of the way that the compression stroke works.

It has an opening only the width of the apex seal.

The leading holes are open all the way, and its the resistance of the smaller hole thats changing your readings.

You really need to visit the Rotary Engine Illustrated website and learn the mechanics behind this.

Also any repair manual will tell you the right way to compression test your rotary.

Good luck.

 

What daofunk is talking about is an earlier post he made about his engine which was running good one day and the next it barely started and has no power. One suggestion was to pull the top two plugs and(I had the feeling he did not own a compression gauge) put his finger on the open holes while someone spun the engine. If one hole blew his finger off and then the other did squat, then its possible that he has a blown apex seal. Trouble is not being there we can't feel just how weak that weak rotor is. It could be a apex seal or it could be weak because all the oil has been washed away while trying to start it. I think you ought to spend the twenty bucks for a compression gauge and see what you get for compression. If not that I'd spend money for the two lead(lower)plugs and try again. I remember the 82 I had that blew a seal. When I tried to restart it, it took some time. Just had to keep spinning the engine until the good rotor finally got up to speed. Then the power was just enough to get me home if I kept the revs up and slipped the clutch a lot and ran stop signs. When I pulled the plugs the bad one had virtually no compression in that it would not blow my finger off the hole at all. REally hard to say what is the problem on daofunks car without being there.

 

The more I think about it the more I just know that you need to either borrow a compression gauge or borrow one from a friend. Write back what the compression was. If its some really puke figure like 20 or 30 psi, I think your ship has been sunk. Then again I could be very wrong. Compression check out. Yes. Does not sound good right now, not blowing your finger off.

 

Go for it. You have nothing to lose. Have not done that fix myself.

 

Yes, try the ATF trick. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. You can get the specifics at www.mazspeed.com Look under the Facts section. It has a step by step procedure.