Hey guys I have a rotary works billet throttle body on my car and it is leaking from the shaft seals with less than 1k miles on it. Just wondering if anyone has run into this before and might possibly have a part number for the seals or what you have done to fix it.

Thanks
Nick

 

Call Rotary Works, they should fix that for you. On a part that new I'd imagine they'd warranty it.

Dale

 

I am having the same problem. I called them and they said I could send it back but they might not be able to fix it. How significant is your leak?

 

Mine is fairly large. I can't get it to boost test past 10 psi using a standard tire pressure inflator and it just starts leaking out. I am scheduled to tune it on Thursday but I need this fixed first obviously. So they want you to send the throttle body back to them? Did you ask if you could just buy the seals from them?

 

Steve, did you just tune your car with the throttle body leaking?

 

Well when they told me I could send it back but they probably couldn't fix it, I declined. I didn't ask about the seals and yes I just got the car tuned as is.

Hopefully we can get this fixed somehow.

 

I got an email back at like 10:30 last night and the guy is being pretty cool about it. I will let you know what I come up with.

 

I also had the same issue with mine. I still have not fixed it, I personally was just gonna let it leak or swap out to the stock one.

 

All I'm going to say is go into the Bad Business section and read about the reviews of Rotary Works and their products. Maybe all the bad press is starting to change their minds about "Customer Service" but until I hear they've made things right with you, I'll be shocked.

In my opinion one of the worst businesses providing products to RX7 owners.

 

yea i read that thread about them and it made me nervous. But they have been in quick contact with me all day and said he would take care of it under warranty even though I bought it second hand. He knows I would like it fixed by wednesday to get on the dyno thursday and even offered to sell me a new one at a very discounted price just to get me up and running. He also is helping me out if I want to fix it myself. Very easy going and prompt replies.

Nick

 

I'm making over 500 rwhp on my FD with a stock throttle body that BDC ported out for me..... sometimes going to aftermarket parts can be a step in the wrong direction. This may be one of those times

 

that sucks that a new part like that is already having problems and that you may not getting the support you're looking for. It's not like they're selling a different company's part but it's their own brand correct?

 

Yes it's there own brand. Mine was never use either. I put it on and pressure checked my system and that was the only leak I found. 0 miles on it, and it's leaking.

 

Alright, so here is what I found out. These throttle bodies done use a "shaft" seal, they use a sealed roller bearing that fits into the throttle body then the shaft goes through that bearing. the shaft has an oring on it that seals the shaft to the bearing, but the outer surface of the bearing where it goes into the throttle body is not sealed. When they first began making these they did not use a sealant on that outer bearing surface and had some of these complaints. Since then they have been using a high temp silicone around the outer edge of the shaft bearings to seal them to the throttle body. I took mine apart today to find no silicone in there, so I cleaned it, siliconed it and put it back together. I will pressure test it tomorrow to see what I find. Very easy job to do hopefully it works.

Nick

 

Details and pics....

I have been running their TB since it's inception and have never noticed a leak. I would like to seal it just to be safe....

Thanks

 

lol i just pulled it into the shop when I had some spare time today and did it. It's really pretty easy. I would check it first if its not leaking just leave it. but if you want to do it

remove throttle plate(3 screws)
remove tps
remove nut underneath where tps bolts then remove tps actuator? lol
pull the shaft out from the opposite side of the tps
no you can see the keepers that hold the bearings in on the tb, remove those with a small screwdriver or pick
remove the bearings by gently tapping them from the back side(keep track of where bearings go, they are different sizes)
Seal outer edge of bearing using high temp silicone
reassemble in reverse order

If you really need a more detailed run down just pm me and I will help you out.

 

Well I pressure tested it today and it still leaks. I am going to send it back once I get time.

 

Any update on this?

 

in all honesty, it's probably about as average of a leak as the stock throttle body plates bypass. almost all throttle bodies have a leak at the end of the butterfly shaft to some degree.

if you need it to seal better for higher horsepower applications then you'll have to do some R+D on your own.

put the stock throttle body on, pressurize the system and spray it down and watch the bubbles commence! usually they're not too bad unless high mileage but still leak regardless.

 

Good to know. Unfortunately I sold my stock throttle body so I am gonna stick with this one. I have already reached my horsepower goals with the car so I guess I will live with the leak.

OR if Chappy figures it out, we all win!

 

well, in all honesty i've just been a little bothered by all the whiney attitudes here lately about things not living up to expectations where expectations levels aren't even known.

it's a rather cheap throttle body that has a common flaw.

not pointing fingers but i'm rather surprised that even RW can't cargue with a small degree of knowledge about their own products so i suppose they might be one of the exceptions.

for higher boost applications you will likely have to figure out a way of placing a shim and square cut seal on the end of the shaft, this would require partial disassembly. generally it is almost impossible to get rid of all leaks completely though, and i am only assuming that the throttle bodies here aren't having massive leak issues.

bubbling(minor leaks) in 1 or 2 spots in the intake tract is no big deal, if the air leak is large enough that it's simply blasting off your solution without bubbles then that is another story.

 

No whiney attitudes here. I thought $395 was a little high for the part until I received it. My initial impressions were that it seemed very well built and I was happy anyone was even making such a nice part for these old cars. That's why I'd like to fix the problem if necessary and continue to use the part.

Also I didn't use solution but I think the leak is more than just bubbles. I can hear the leak over the 25psi constant I am putting into the boost leak tester with my compressor.

 

pushing that boost level requires a bit of extra emphasis on upgrading sealing points.

 

I had a feeling those would leak, just like the cheapie units on Ebay.

 

It still leaks, I just dealt with it for now. But the car is down now, so I may try to figure out a way to use an actual shaft seal in front of the bearing.