Super glue to hold Apex Seals together during rebuild?
 

I've heard that you can use super glue to hold the apex seals together during a rebuild? I know you have one piece which is the long part of the seal and then you have that triangle piece. I watched the rotary resources video by bruce terrentine(really good video) and the apex seal he had was together. But he was putting together a block from the turbo II models(I don't know if that matters or not). So is that true? I can use crazy glue? I know that the smaller piece goes on top of the rotor when you're assembling it on the engine stand(toward the flywheel), so should I just put it in place and hope it doesn't move out of place? Any techniques? Suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Jeremy

P.S. I have no problem with you guys posting other rebuilding tips/tricks or things to look out for :).

The corner(triangle) seal is glued to the main part of the seal. If it comes off, super glue is perfect to reattach it.

I did this for the first time on the last rebuild I did. It's not too bad.

First off, make sure the apex seals are clean - no carbon buildup on the mating surfaces you wish to glue. Get an Xacto knife - it's VERY handy for this whole process. Use it to lightly scrape the mating surface to get the carbon off.

Clean the mating surface with brake cleaner to make sure it's nice and clean. Get some Superglue, and put a small dab on one of the mating surfaces. Lay both pieces on a flat, smooth surface and press the parts together. Make SURE they're lined up properly and flat on the surface. You only need a little dab of superglue - you can also rub the two pieces together to make sure it distributes all along the mating flange.

Wait an hour or so for it to cure. It may be glued to the table when you're done (don't use Grandma's antique dining room table :)) - the trick I found to remove it is to put the Xacto knife up against it and lightly tap it with a hammer. If you do it right, it will come off nice and clean. Use the Xacto knife to scrape any excess superglue off that leaked out of the joint. Just be careful with the glued joint - it will be a bit brittle, but if you handle it carefully it will do just fine.

Hope this helps,
Dale

we just used rubber band to hold them in and then cut them with a knife when we put the rotors in.

thats what we did but just pulled off the rubber bands as we installed them into the housing.

But, you want to keep the end piece of the corner seal in place so you can install the apex seal springs. If you don't superglue it, the tip of the corner seal can become caught between the iron and rotor housing when you stack the iron on top.

Dale

Superglue works for me, just have to get the surfaces clean. It also aids motor assembly to be very precise on alignment of the corner seal to the apex seal before the glue sets.

The apex seals that I'm using are brand new. They're part of the rebuild kit I got from Rotary Resources. And I cleaned out the Apex Seal area on the rotor with an old apex seal. That's what you're talking about right? Making sure the Apex Seals and the groove they go in are cleaned well?

I saw that method in the video and will probably use that. But what I'm concerned about is making sure the smaller triangle pieces of the Apex Seal stay intact expecially when putting in the springs.

BINGO!

Thanks for the tips everyone! I'll update this thread when I actually get to this part of the assembly... right now I'm waiting on a rear stationary gear that I got from shawnk so I can put in a new bearing and start :).

Jeremy

I love the superglue trick:)

1 drop of Gorilla Super Glue, 2 hours later I tried to install apex seals. As soon as there is too much tension because of the spring, the corner piece breaks loose. Happened 3 times out of 3 already. Should I wait longer? Apex seals and springs all brand new.

Double post

I use regular Super Glue but use the gel version. You have to have both surfaces clean with brake clean as well, from the factory there's a little oil on there that can prevent the bond.

The package instructions should say how long it takes to cure. I'm not sure about Gorilla Glue, you want to use a regular super glue (cyanoacrylate). I know Gorilla Glue (plain) is a different type of glue that's water-activated or something.

Dale

superglue is common, only thing i'd add is it may also be a little tougher to start on the initial start up as you have to break the seals free- In the past a good kick start broke them right free.

Use the original superglue. Although I have never built a motor, I am familiar with the original superglue and gorilla glues version (this is more gel like and does not work as well IMO)

Here's the throtl video, so you don't have to go hunting: This thread cropping back up is good timing. I have this task in my future.