Dowel pin leak?
 

My 81 gsl has been leaking oil at a moderate pace for a while. Probably about a quart every 300-400 miles. I've been looking around and it looks like it may be a dowel pin leak. Judging by placement and spread compared to how it was explained on another forum. I was gonna try and tighten the tension bolts around it to see if I could get it to hold back on the leak. Unfortunately, I'm not totally sure what I'm looking at. Anyone have a diagram/way to get to the bolts?

to get to the tension bolts, the engine and tranny need to be decoupled. the flywheel needs to come off also.

that said, if you're losing a quart every 300-400 miles, then it's best to start saving for a rebuild.

I was afraid it was gonna be something like that. Oh well, my plans to rebuild a different engine fell through so I guess I'll learn all about rotaries this summer.

OK so I'm looking to do the rebuild soon. There are a lot of options for kits. My motor has ~155k and I don't think it's ever been rebuilt. From what I've read it doesn't seem the apex seals are having any trouble but I don't know if it would be a good idea to replace them too along with other things. I do know it would be cheaper to not do it and that's kind of important. It seems like my only real problem is the afore mentioned leak and its getting worse. Anything else I should look for to help make a decision or should I just get the whole thing?

I would recommend buying a full rebuild kit, with apex seal oil. from racingbeat.

I was looking at the Atkins "master rebuild kit" it's cheaper for what seems to be the same stuff (I'm probably missing some important details), is there a reason to go with the racingbeat one.

Lookup Aaroncakes rebuild videos, he says the atkins oil control rings are a real pain to push in

And i've been reading some issues with their corner seals

"A real pain to push in" is worth $400. The corner seal issues might be something to worry about.

there's nothing wrong with a budget build, but it's best to see what you actually have first. disassemble the engine, inspect everything and see what can be reused and what needs to be trashed. make your purchases based on that. in other words, you can buy the soft seals, gaskets and springs first because you will NEED them anyway, but you may need more parts and you won't know that for sure until the engine is apart and spec'd.

on a different note - when dealing with Atkins, i find it's best to buy parts in piecemeal as opposed to kits. i haven't taken any issue with any of the soft seals so far, but things like apex seal springs can be an issue.

Yeah, time is an issue, but I do live like 30 minutes from Atkins. Do they have a store you can walk in and buy things or do you have to have it shipped?

Alternatively what would it look like price and time wise to do an engine swap? 12a or 13b, probably junk yard.

Once you get the technique down to get the Viton O-rings in place, they aren't that bad. That video was the first time I had used non-OEM oil O-rings. I think the Viton rings are just slightly longer. The technique is even pressure with all 5 fingers in one hand, then using the other hand to press between each finger and force the ring into place. Don't let up until it has popped into place otherwise it will pop back out.

Not a huge deal with some practice. Just allocate a little more time your first attempt.

So I went in and saw a guy about it today who's supposed to be some sort of guru. He said that at my mileage he figures the housings are shot and would need replaced. Is that a reasonable guess or does that sound like a load of crap?

let me posit this ...

you started this thread about a month ago because you have an otherwise running engine that is leaking oil at the dowels. correct?

now someone, a guru, is telling you the housings are trash based on ....

AMEN

housings being trashed has nothing to do with a dowel leak unless somehow your engine torqued so hard it broke, which isn't gonna happen with a n/a, now if you over boosted its possible

basically he said in his experience a car with as many miles as it has (about 159k after actually checking) that the housing is all torn up and needs replaced. I told him only everything I said on this post and the mileage which I realize I neglected on this post.

You never know until you crack it open. Theres been 160K housings reused before and they run fine, just not ideal for high power applications.

Rotary is NO different than any other engine, if it is TAKEN CARE OF, it will run a long time

well I know it was taken care of really well for the first 80k miles or so. I have the original warranty and service book. I guess I'll just have to see. If it isn't so nice, anyone ever tried goopy or any other resurfacing services they like?

look, at 159K it's anybody's guess ... and as i alluded to, and as Lduley stated, until you open the engine and go over everything, that's all it is ... a guess. i can't speak for your guru's experiences, but in mine 12A's don't wear out in 159K miles. the housings don't get torn up unless you just happen to be one of those "special" souls that blows up a 12A or you decided to run the Baja 1000 without an air filter or something. if it was cared for, as you said, then you'll probably be looking at good housings - maybe some missing chrome in the exhaust stroke area, but probably not much more than that.

don't take your guru's word or even my word on it. pull the thing apart when you're ready to rebuild it. see what you have and go from there.

as far as resurfacing goes, i have had Goopy do a set of housings for me a few years ago and i was very pleased with the outcome. i would gladly have him do more for me in the future if i ever need to. the one thing i will say about it is this though, don't bother unless your rebuild will include new apex seals.

Thanks a lot, you guys have been a lot of help. If I get it resurfaced I will certainly be getting new apex seals. Right now the plan is to do it over the memorial day weekend if I can. From what I've read it shouldn't be too long if you've done your homework. time to get a video and stock up on tools.

Ok so this weekend is finally the time to do it but I need to pull it obviously. I realized I don't know where to grab it with the cherry picker. What should I be looking for? Also this plastic on the bottom of the front end is in the way of the crane, what is the best way to deal with that?

there should be 2 eyelets. staring at the front of the car, there should be one at the front of the engine on the right side and one at the rear on the left.

the lower valence can usually be manipulated to let the legs of the lift slide under the car. in the event that yours still has a clearance issue, you can just jack the front up enough to clear it and proceed.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...c328776e03.jpg
That double sided bolt below the ac unit? Haha, yeah i guess a jack would work, probably dont need to remove the plastic then huh?

no. look near the alternator for the front one and carburetor for the rear one.

Dowel pin leak?
 

another tidbit, if your pulling the engine and trans as one, make sure you have more chain towards the firewall than the front of the engine so it will angle itself more easily