S4 13b won't spin when tension bolts tightened
 

I have a S4 Turbo motor with new rotor housings, atkins corner seals, new oem 2pc apex seals, new oem side seals, new oil control rings and o-rings, and all new springs.

I spent my evening yesterday putting my motor together with all new seals and rotor housings. I checked to make sure things were spinning fine as I stacked each housing. I set the rear iron on and spun the shaft just a little bit to make sure it was ok and it was. So I begin to torque the tension bolts to only 8 or 9 ft-lbs and then I checked to make sure it spun like it should and this time it was stuck. So I loosen the tension bolts and am able to spin the motor ok. So I try to tighten again back to 8-9 ft-lbs and it won't spin. I used plenty of lube and my side seals are clearanced good. I even rechecked right before I put them in the motor so they are not the cause. Now I can see one of the apex seals through the exhaust port. If I try to spin the motor I can see the rotor tip through the exhaust port and it moves the slightest little bit, but the apex seal doesn't. My hunch is that the new OEM 2 piece seal is too wide to fit in the housing while it is still stuck together (still one piece). :confused:

Tonight I will take the motor apart and reassemble without the apex seals and see what happens. Has anyone ever had this happen with new OEM 2 piece seals? What else might cause this?

did you put new bearings ???maybe a side seal fell out and is stock open it again

Yes, new rotor bearings installed, but they spin ok. I already verified that beforehand. I even removed the rear stationary gear while the tension bolts were tightened a little and then tried to spin the shaft with the same results, no spin.

I took the apex seals out of the rear rotor and put rear iron back on and was still no go. Then I took the rear rotor out and put rear iron back on and tightened tension bolts a few ft-lbs and I can spin the motor just fine now. There are no *harsh* markings on the bearing from any forced movement. There is one light spot, but it doesn't seem like it would be the cause. I'm going back to troubleshoot now.

I bet it was the front e-shaft washer/bearing set up. What happens is it shifts out of place w/o any notice then as you tighten the bolt it lockes everything up. Thats what happened to my 4port 13b at least.

I will check that too. I am going to check and see if the gear has somehow worked it's way out of the rotor just the slightest little bit. Who knows, worth a shot.

It was the apex seals. I reassembled the motor after trying 1 assembly with corner seals only, then one with corner seals and side seals, then next with apex seals. I got it to spin free with very little torque on the tension bolts. I went ahead and tightened down to 13 ft-lbs and then I stopped to spin the e-shaft. It was a little tough, but as I did it, I heard a slight *tink*. Then the motor would spin nice and easy, relatively speaking. So the OEM 2 pc seals had to break apart to allow the motor to spin correctly.