while rebuilding the rotors up i broke two side seals because i did not read the manual and it said custom fitting may be required. i chose not to read the manual because the first seal i put in fit and i was like oh okay then the next two were the broken ones. i have now 10 side seals made by rotary aviation. they said that they cannot sell me just 2 seals and it'll cost 90 for a new set. my question is can i use any other side seals because they told me to use other places seals like mazdatrix or atkins. i'm thinking i should stick to one maker but i dont really want to spend 90 unlesss i have to .

 

I would just call Ray and get two OEM side seals. I doubt its going to matter.

 

seconded.

take your time with the sideseals. They dont have to be absolutley perfect, but keep them in spec. All you really need is for the seal to be able to spring up and down freely without binding.

 

thanks guys you probably saved me lots of money because i thought it wouldnt work. so pretty much keep the RA springs and then just use oem seals?

 

You have to make absolutely sure the slots for the side seals are clean of carbon. If you don't they will stick effectively making your rebuild useless$$. Use one of the old broken seals and carb cleaner to ensure they are clean. Most people don't realize how important and time consuming the prep work on a rebuild is. I spent more time cleaning than assembling by far. Don't waste your time scrimping on parts either it pays off in the long run provided you use caution during the break in and use (tuning).

 

Yep. FWIW, I have probably 2-3 OEM side seals in mine mixed in with the RA side seals. I didn't like the tolerances on a few of them when I started machining down the RA side seals (took off a little more than I wanted), so I ordered a few from Ray.

 

Order 2 of the OEM side seals and clearence the corner to side seal gap to .002-.003.

 

so do i do the clearances with the feeler gauges?