Shamrock.James

Now i havn't actully pulled a rotary apart myself, but hoping to get one in the not so distant future.

I have a question about the oil seals as these sukers are from what i have understood so far the main thing which goes in a rotary and the destruction of the seal is pretty much casuedby over heating.

Now i understand the oil seal is just a big rubber seal pretty much just sitting in the middle and the seal goes becuase it's rubber pretty much and heat just destroys it soo quickly.

now much question is would it be possible to put in wo seperate metal rings (like piston rings) one smaller than the other have them split (like a piston ring) having the small split in different positions so oil can't really seep through.

so pretty much like two piston rings one smaller than the other (one inside one one outside one) they would remain still and slide over the face of the intermediaty plate.. just like the oil seal now, although these would not be affected by heat..

only problem i can really see is being to much friction, but they would be pretty much the same as the side seals.

Oh and one last question.. would it be possible to invert the planatery gears?

i.e. have the inside cog atched to the rotor and the ouside gear a part of the intemeditary plate.

rotaspec

As soon as you get to see the actual oil seals in a rotary, you will see that Mazda has already encased them in a metal carrier which takes all the friction.
The carrier is a circular piece of U-section with the o-ring sitting in the U.
The main failure mode of the o-rings is age and heat. The material simply disintegrates with time. The carrier wears as well, but Mazda has a simple measurement you can do to determine whether they can be re-used (most can). The springs and the o-rings should be replaced on a rebuild as a matter of course.