Hi Blake, is there any reason why cermet is not applied to apex seals? The carbon/steel seals could be ground down 1 or 2 thousandths, and then a layer of cermet applied to meet specifications. I do not know how JHB applies cermet, hopefully it is hot sprayed for durability's sake.

Another possibility is SiN coating (which technically is cermet). There is a company USNicom (www.usnicom.com) that does this, typically for bike cylinders and pistons. In fact, I think SiN coatings are used currently in high performance sports bikes. They say they are able to electrodeposit thicknesses up to 0.025".

I have also found another company that does coatings for rotors. Three compression surfaces (thermal coating CBC2) and two sides, (dry film lube CermaLube / DFL1 or TLTD). I don't know what CBC2 is, and I am guessing by two sides they mean the top and bottom face of the rotor oil passages (those fins inside the rotors, think you know what I'm talking about).

Hey Blake,

Over a year ago I rebuilt myself an engine. New rotor housings, lapped side housings, new side seals, springs, apex seals, oil control springs and seals. When I fired it up it bellowed smoke, bad. It consumed all the oil until the engine seized.

When I cracked the engine open I noticed that the side irons were scratched deep from the side seals/corner seals. At that point I threw in the towel and got a rebuild from you guys. What went wrong?

Did you send that one in as a core to rebuild or was it another one? In other words, is this something we had the opportunity to look at, and I should ask Rob what he found, or are you asking what we would suspect from your description of the problem? From the description alone -- and presuming it is not a turbo problem -- I would first suspect the oil control rings/o-rings/springs. If those were in good order (good parts and properly installed), I would suspect a cracked center plate or perhaps a crack in the rotor at the bottom of the apex seal groove (hard to spot unless you are really looking for it). If it was a turbo motor, I would suspect the turbo before even looking at the engine, however. Even if it was rebuilt or never seemed to smoke before.

I didn't trade it in as a core. I ended up selling rotor housings. The only thing that this doesn't explain is the gouged up side irons. I used that viton crap in there for the control rings, and I used new springs.

I'm doing an engine rebuild and I was wondering how critical it is that i check the endplay on the e-shaft after it is all assembled. I don't have the tools to do it myself, nor do i know where i could get it done, so I was wondering if I could just not check it. I'm replacing all the seals and I replaced one housing and one rotor, everything else is the same if that makes a difference.

This should NEVER be skipped. It will let you know if your front roller bearings are worn, and I think changing a housing introduces a variable also.

Order this right now
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...ProductID=1593

20 dollars is all this is, I know you put more than 20 dollars in that engine.

I'm sure Rob has a video of them checking endplay.

Endplay is critical. Too little is the worst problem...perhaps you pinched a water seal or a thrust bearing or everything is bound-up for some other reason. Those are killers. Too much is not as bad, but you don't want your eccentric shaft slamming back and forth every time you use the clutch and it will affect ignition timing on a distributor/CAS engine, because the gear is moving back and forth. To be honest, if you know exactly what it should feel like, a dial indicator is not absolutely necessary but you still should measure the endplay and swap spacers as necessary (usually the one that was in there before is going to be the right one or close enough for a home-build). Endplay can also be measured somewhat more crudely with a set of feeler gauges. If you want to see the proceedure, check out our video on the proceedure here:

http://www.rebuildingrotaryengines.c...tting_end_play

Thanks for the quick response guys! I've got a set of feeler gauges and they seemed accurate in the vid (if that was Rob he said it was accurate and he knows more than i do lol) so I'll use those to save some time and money ordering a gauge I'll only use once. good thing i asked!

btw, if my endplay is off, can I get an endplay spacer from a mazda dealer or napa or something? or would it only be available through mazdatrix or pineapple or atkins?

sorry for asking some noob questions, but I just want to do this right!

We sell Mazda endplay spacers, so just shoot me an email or call. I was actually about to add them to the web site, since I just stocked up on them recently. But, the one you remove is almost always at least very close if not exactly the right size. Try it first and see if you are in the ballpark. If your endplay is too tight or non-existant, start by checking everything else first, because you probably pinched something.

ok, I'll be sure to email you if i need another spacer. thanks again.

is water wetter safe for your heavy duty seals?

Yes, it is fine.

-emailed. You guys wouldn't happen to know / sell the bolts that connect the motor and tranny would you? I seem to have . . . lost mine. :wallbash: Thanks

No, we don't sell those. I tried finding them in the Mazda catalog, but they don't seem to list them...at least not in the Manual Transmission Mounting, or Manual Transmission Case sections. If it helps, the threads are 10mm x 1.25 pitch (fine-pitch for a 10mm), except for one which is 10mm x 1.5 for the starter.

BTW, as a tip, if you leave out the one tranny bolt that goes under the starter, if you ever need to pull the engine you won't have to take the starter off the tranny, which saves a lot of hassle.

Thanks. I'll check McMaster-Carr and see if they have anything. Also, did you get my email about the gaskets etc? I'm ready to order I'm just waiting to hear back from you guys. . .

Blake,

I'm finally installing my new Pineapple built motor (a high end job I purchased from another forum member--note that this motor has been sitting for a while). I've talked to Rob at length about the build, but I still need to know what your recommended break in procedure is.

Thanks.

Blake-
What you say would be better: rebuild/streetport 12A or 13b swap for my 85 rx7?
The 12A I have is in good condition with over 150k miles. Price wise, what would be cheaper/easier install? Also which would have more power/ daily drivability. Thanks

First, sorry for the late reply...I didn't notice the posting until now. Second, do you have a fax machine? I can fax you the two pages of instructions. These are pages Rob made up, so I don't have them in electronic format to email right now. Or, I can put them in an envelope and mail them to you.

Either would do well but the 13B is no harder, more parts are available and will make more power. Fitting into the chassis is absolutley a no-brainer...anyone can do it. You either grind the engine mount slots a little or you buy a GSL-SE crossmember with the extended mounts (I have one here at the shop I can sell you, if you want). Slotting the mounts, however, is no big deal and presents no safety or durability issues. After that, you have to consider the rest of the system. If you are going with, say, a Weber 48 IDA, then it's really easy. If you want to stick to the stock carb, then you are better off with the 12A, of course. If you prefer to swap over to fuel injection, that's a whole 'nuther ballgame.

Once your endplay is set and you have fitted the front cover, dont take the front main pulley off and rotate the engine on the engine stand. I did this the other day. Endplay was spot on. I then removed the front main pulley, did some other stuff, fitted waterpump,omp,front cover,sump, refitted the main pulley, tourqed it up and realised the Eshaft was really tight. Got the dial indicator on it and the end play was something like 7mm! I was gutted to find out that the spacer had moved forward whilst i was turning the engine upside down with the pulley off. The needle roller bearing ended up geting squashed and it has now put me 3 days behind schedule trying to get a new one...all of this trouble simply because i removed the front main pulley. Set the endplay and fit front main cover whilst eshaft is vertical

Lesson number 309876. Set the endplay and fit front main cover whilst eshaft is vertical.Once you fit the front main cover, Fit main pulley and do not remove it.

I'm trying to figure out which part i should start first. Remove clutch and flywheel to send flywheel out for resurfacingl and then do the front cover or do the front cover first then the clutch/flywheel. Although I won't know what front cover parts to order until its off and I plan on getting all the parts from the same supplier. I guess I could just do the front cover stuff first then the flywheel, then set the end play? Or don't I need to set the endplay after removing the flywheel? Does that make sense?

I guess it wouldn't matter if the flywheel was on or not because the eshaft is going to move regardless of the flywheel being there or not. Thanks for the replys!

the first part gave me confidence, but that last sentence freaks me out. im going to be doing an s5 tII swap this summer in my 85 gsl; i bought a new -se frnt cover from you guys this summer and an -se pan. i'll be buying a -se fuel tank soon and a watts linkage. but is it going to be a considerable amount harder with the fuel injection and all the wiring? i know the wiring will be hard but i guess what im trying to ask is: are there shortcuts, can it be done in a relativly short amount of time and on a scale from 1-10 (ten being the hardest) how hard is this swap?

Well, it's not all that tough if you have a complete wiring harness and you are not getting too cute by eliminating a lot of the extra connectors and wires. However, it requires an attention to detail and level of patience that is, frankly, beyond the capacity of a great many people who are used to bolt-on simplicity and instant gratification. While it is possible to do the job and have everything work on the first crank of the key, it is far more likely that you will have some troubleshooting to do before it will run. Unless you understand fuel injection, are litterate with wiring diagrams and have the skill and patience to follow proper troubleshooting proceedure, it may cause you frustration and dissapointment. You might get lucky and do everything right the first time or be gifted with wiring skills, but be prepared to face challenges. It is much harder to screw up a carb setup, though fuel injection is better in every respect once you have it running.

Hi Blake,

Im planning on getting a street engine built by you guys in the near future. Pineapples view on the use of new rotor housings, your water seals/ecentric thermal by-pass kit, and the emphasis on doing everything right the first time has really made me beleive you are the best rotary shop.

I plan on doing a 13b-rew ~400rwhp project on the stock twins if they are efficient enough. Large street port, doweled and pinned, oil mod and all the fuel/intake/full standalone and exhaust mods to go along with it. One of the things i love to see with any rotary build like this is a strong Hp/Torque ratio. A good friend of mine has a streetported engine with full microtech standalone he is at 286rwhp and 260rwt. Another rotary on you tube is 480rwhp and 440 torque on c-16. I would like to maximize my hp/torque ratio on my build. I have researched a little bit into this, one of the interesting things i have found, althought i dont know how accurate it is, is that the shape of the ports plays a big part in torque numbers. ie. porting the exhasut port horisontally to the extreme.

With all of this sayed... with what attitude are your ports shaped? Im assuming a 'large streetport' means porting the intake and exhaust ports? How can i maximize my hp/torque ratio? Are their any issues with maximizing hp/torque.. ie. should i change my focus to more important things?

In general i just want to know what pineapple thinks of this idea.

Thanks for your time blake.

Regards,

Ben