12a Rebuild issues
 

Hey guys, I finally rebuilt my 12a and got her running but I have an issue.... The car hasn't ran too long and honestly. I can't start it without dropping a little atf in the carb and a dash of starting fluid... Also, choke has to stay on... So me being me it's obvious the motor has really low compression... I asked around a few more experienced rotary guys out here in LA and they said I needed to put some miles on the motor and that should help with it.. But then I read somewhere else that solid corner seals from Atkins kinda kill compression. So I'm not too sure.. And quite frankly I'm broke n tired.. So I'm asking you experienced guys everywhere else to see what's up..

First off,what all did you replace seal wise.it could be that it needs to break in more,certain brand seals take longer to break in than others. That could be the reason why it could have low compression. I had one that wouldn't start on its own at all,I had to push start it, after a couple hundred miles,it was fine.putting atf or oil in it to start it is telling me that the seals aren't seated and broke in yet. I wouldn't put atf in it,is would only use oil

ATF should never go into your engine. Ever. Why won't that myth die?

The engine is supposed to burn a slight amount of oil, so next time, please use that instead of ATF.

I replaced all the rotor seals, apex side, solid corners and springs, including soft seals.. I used atkins seals and used housings... And sorry jeff.. When i read "why wont that myth die" i imagined a pissed off demonic voice

Motor oil or 2 cycle oil? If I have an issue I use 2 cycle oil seems to clear up smoking faster. Motor oil hangs around and doesn't burn quick.



Sometimes the first rebuild don't go so well. It didn't for me; I tried again and failed again. Then I got it right. Its a great learning experience and isn't at all hard once you've figured it out. :D

And use Atkins seals they seat WAY better than the oe ones did. At least in my experiences. I'm sure there are better quality seals out there and maybe brand new oe seals are great.

Trust these guys they know.. I assume the old ATF in a old V8 or something that was sat for years is what people equate to, I know I did. So follow their advice its better to put oil in there its a lubricant. ATF is a detergent. So oil will actually coat the internals better and well, lubricate the internals. ATF was a dumb move I did on some bad advice... DON'T USE IT.

Second time I rebuilt was better... So it sounds like I need to use different lube and seriously put some miles on it

Oil,not transmission fluid

Im confused. When installing the water seals I used Vasoline and did not use RTV. But I have seen that others use RTV as well. I did not use the RTV due to having Vaseline all over the housing. I assumed the rtv wouldn't stick with the Vaseline holding the orings in place. Maybe I messed up. But I didn't see the guy on Youtube use RTV with these O-rings either. He was building a 13b.
Here

You should have used hylomar for the water seals,I never use Vaseline for anything,I use oil to lube everything,and hylomar on the mating surfaces of the housings,and ultra black rtv for the front cover,oil pan, water pump

I use vasoline personally. I only need it for the water and oil seals the rest I can assemble the rest dry.. I also dab a little vasoline on the bottom side seals. Then I use some quality build lube... Still haven't put any miles on it >_>

Well damn... I guess Ill just see how it turns out. I watched this video a while back and was like thats simple enough. So hopefully shes water tight. If not I guess its a pull and rebuild. Right now it has coolant and oil in it and I have only ran it long enough to adjus the carb. I am still waiting on that dude JUSTINFOX to send me the header so I can build the rest of the exhaust.