I Finally Did It!
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 96
From: Helena, AL
About 10 minutes ago I finished putting away my tools after completing my first rebuild. Tomorrow I will pull the motor out of my '91 GXL and begin the swap. With any luck I will have it running good enough to drive to work on Tuesday morning.
I did it with the help of the Atkins rebuild video and a Haynes manual (I am too cheap to buy the FSM). I was slightly disappointed in the video because it just glosed over which direction the oil seal springs went and did not cover fitting the side seals when using new ones.
Looking back I can only name a few things I know I made mistakes on. I know I fitted one of the side seals with more clearance than I wanted (it is at .006" and the rest are at .002"). I confused the bolts for the front and rear stationary gear. I ended up screwing up 3 of the short bolts. Luckily I had spare ones from another core motor and I had the correct bottoming tap to clean up the holes. I am not sure if this classifies as a mistake but I super glued the 2 piece apex seals together so I could fit the seal to with the proper side housing clearance. This seemed a bit inaccurate but it was the only thing I could think of (what is the proper way to do this?)
I can't wait for my next rebuild. Because of cost, it will probably be next spring before I can build a motor for my race car. I plan on using new rotor housings and carbon apex seals in it.
I did it with the help of the Atkins rebuild video and a Haynes manual (I am too cheap to buy the FSM). I was slightly disappointed in the video because it just glosed over which direction the oil seal springs went and did not cover fitting the side seals when using new ones.
Looking back I can only name a few things I know I made mistakes on. I know I fitted one of the side seals with more clearance than I wanted (it is at .006" and the rest are at .002"). I confused the bolts for the front and rear stationary gear. I ended up screwing up 3 of the short bolts. Luckily I had spare ones from another core motor and I had the correct bottoming tap to clean up the holes. I am not sure if this classifies as a mistake but I super glued the 2 piece apex seals together so I could fit the seal to with the proper side housing clearance. This seemed a bit inaccurate but it was the only thing I could think of (what is the proper way to do this?)
I can't wait for my next rebuild. Because of cost, it will probably be next spring before I can build a motor for my race car. I plan on using new rotor housings and carbon apex seals in it.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 96
From: Helena, AL
I will have pics up early next week. I just started a new roll of film just for the engine build and swap. Once I am done with everything I will be able to post them.
I did not port this motor. Because it is my first rebuild I decided not to risk destroying a good set of irons. I plan on keeping this car near stock because it will be my daily driver so there really was no need for it.
The race motor I will build can't be ported either. I plan on running in SCCA Club Racing ITS class and there is a "no touch" clause in the rule book specifically about the ports on a rotary. I can't even hit them with sandpaper and still be legal.
I did not port this motor. Because it is my first rebuild I decided not to risk destroying a good set of irons. I plan on keeping this car near stock because it will be my daily driver so there really was no need for it.
The race motor I will build can't be ported either. I plan on running in SCCA Club Racing ITS class and there is a "no touch" clause in the rule book specifically about the ports on a rotary. I can't even hit them with sandpaper and still be legal.
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From: My BIG ol TURBO-DIESEL
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 96
From: Helena, AL
One step closer..
I pulled the bad motor out of the recipient car today. It has to be the worst motor pull I have ever done. It took me 7 hours from start to finish. The motor I pulled had lost its front pulley bolt and was apparently driven that way for quite a while (before I bought the car). Everything was covered in a layer of goop. Just the mess slowed me down. Then when it came down to separating the tranny from the motor things went from bad to worse. They separated about 1" and then stuck. I spent over 30 minutes just getting the motor free from the transmission. It finally gave but I have a feeling the input shaft of the transmission is bent, that is the only thing I can think of that would cause the problem I had.
Now it is out I will start swaping over the accessories to the new motor. Tomorrow I will hose down the engine bay with some simple green to clean it up. If thigns go smooth I may still be on track to getting it running tomorrow.
I only hope it will not be as difficult mating the tranny back to the motor. I will check the runout on the transmission input shaft but even if that checks out ok I may pull the transmission and mate them up out of the car and put them in as a unit. I hate installing a motor that way but it may save me some time overall.
I pulled the bad motor out of the recipient car today. It has to be the worst motor pull I have ever done. It took me 7 hours from start to finish. The motor I pulled had lost its front pulley bolt and was apparently driven that way for quite a while (before I bought the car). Everything was covered in a layer of goop. Just the mess slowed me down. Then when it came down to separating the tranny from the motor things went from bad to worse. They separated about 1" and then stuck. I spent over 30 minutes just getting the motor free from the transmission. It finally gave but I have a feeling the input shaft of the transmission is bent, that is the only thing I can think of that would cause the problem I had.
Now it is out I will start swaping over the accessories to the new motor. Tomorrow I will hose down the engine bay with some simple green to clean it up. If thigns go smooth I may still be on track to getting it running tomorrow.
I only hope it will not be as difficult mating the tranny back to the motor. I will check the runout on the transmission input shaft but even if that checks out ok I may pull the transmission and mate them up out of the car and put them in as a unit. I hate installing a motor that way but it may save me some time overall.
