Often people reuse the side seals and corners seals. Personally I'd just get a master kit to replace it all or if your going OEM replace everything minus oil control ring springs and the rings themselves if they are in good shape considering the mileage on your engine. The only springs you'll be reusing with a master kit would be the oil control ring springs.

thewird

 

great thanks, I think I'll end up replacing everything. Going to start the cleaning today will post more pictures soon.

On a lighter note check out what I witnessed today

 

on a bad note, it looks like the lower driver side of the front iron coolant seal wall was compromised, by seeing it bulging into the coolant passage i have a feeling as soon as you poke it it is going to flake off in your fingers..

could just be some crap in that channel but it looks strange being directly in the middle of that passage clinging to the iron wall.

start there and if necessary look for a replacement used front iron. unfortunately the front irons seem to be the first to go and i am out of just about every series front iron. oddly enough ebay has dried up for internal rotary parts, check the for sale section on this forum.

 

**** Ben! Why do you have to be right... after a couple scratches with the pick, a nice gouge started to form... well at least you caught it and I didnt reassemble it like that and I thank you once more. About how much do they go for used?

 

This is probably a stupid question but would it be possible to have someone weld up that gouge?

 

Do you want to risk it breaking and having to open your motor again? It's like that cause of corrosion, they're are probably other jackets that have been weakened even if they haven't shown any signs of breaking yet. Just replace it. Used irons are cheap anyway.

thewird

 

I definitely dont want to open it, I already started a wtb thread so hopefully someone will come through.

 

If you do choose re-use the side seals and/or corner seals, I would still get new springs.

 

you can repair the irons but that is a last ditch resort. you can usually find irons used for $75-150 depending on their condition.

one of the products i'm still working on development for is to help eliminate the issue of coolant seal failures in case of iron seal wall breakages like this.

make sure you go over all the seal walls in the same manner by poking them to see if they hold or not, usually they will fail visibly when you are cleaning the channels though, running a scraper through them. once the irons get severely overheated and then cooled off quickly, the rapid expansion and contraction causes those walls to crack fairly often in these engines.

 

Great pictures, keep it up!

 

Ok Ben, if I could find a housing for under $150, that would be great.

What should I use for a straight edge to check housing warpage?

It looks like I need to replace my main bearings after taking measurements, it difference between the shaft and bearing is about .006 and mazda specifies the max at .0053




Do new bearings have to be pressed in at a rotary shop? or can a machine shop do it?
if rotary who in nor cal could do it?

did some cleaning of the front cover with a brass wire wheel

 

if you can't find a real straight edge, sometimes a very well machined aluminum level works(preferably at least 1.5" wide). they're fine so long as you treat it with respect since it is aluminum and gouges easily.

 

Wow, nice pics.
Not the worst condition I've seen one come apart in thats for sure.
Those housings look pretty gnarly though.

 

Im guessing a hardware store probably wont have a real straight edge?

What about the question on the bearings? does a rotary shop have to press them? or can a machine shop do it?

Ok Im done for the night at 10pm, side housing faces have been cleaned and are waiting to be inspected, one rotor housing is cleaned, and you can see the comparison and thanks for the nice comments and help everyone!

 

would this work? accurate to .003

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...70000P?prdNo=5

 

Ok so the second housing is done being cleaned and they have both been mic'ed with in tolerance.

A couple questions still:

1. does a rotary shop have to press new bearings them? or can a machine shop do it?

2. mazdatrix sells about 10 bearing sizes, how do I know which to buy?

3. will the straight edge from the above link be accurate enough?

 

as far as a straight edge, you could have a machine shop make you one for relatively cheaply and it will be %100 accurate, you can also have them make a set of V-blocks so you can check the runout of the e-shaft. you can ask them if they can press the bearing while you are there.

 

Ok thanks I'll ask around

 

go to an art store and pick up an aluminum architecture/engineering ruller for a straight edge, works great and is way cheaper than many other options. Get an 18" or 24" one.

 

Watching closely, gotta do this as well. Thanks for the clean tips.

 

will that be accurate enough though?

any time, glad that this thread can be useful for others

 

I would think an aluminum ruler would not be that acurate, i mean if for instance the spec for something is .005", even the straight edge that *RX007* linked that is accurate to .003" that is a 60% margin of error, and an aluminum ruler can't be much more accurate than that straight edge. My opinion would be to spend the money for the straight edge, after all I am sure it is cheaper than a rebuild kit.

If you are worried about measuring everything there are only a few Precision Tools you should need, a set of 3" outside calipers, vernier caliper, straight edge, dial indicator, and of course a set of feeler gauges.

 

if you don't think its accurate enough, take it to a machine shop and verify it or check with a known quality straightedge.

 

I have, calipers, a dial indicator and base, and the micrometers already, just need the straight edge now, I think I'll buy the one from the link, $40 aint too bad as long as it is accurate enough