why arent there aftermarket side seals?
Thread Starter
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 22,465
From: California
mazda wants $100 for a set of 12 @dealer cost, seems like the price could be beaten, and the application is less material depentant than the apex seals, and since you have to fit the stock ones anyways, thats not really an issue either.
so why doesnt anyone do it?
so why doesnt anyone do it?
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Joined: Dec 2001
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From: Jacksonville, FL
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Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 10,906
From: Peoria, AZ
Originally Posted by fc3sboy1' post='852673' date='Jan 10 2007, 06:41 PM
no real demand for it im guessin. shoot 100 bucks for a set of side seals aint bad at all in my book
I know a company locally that has done it before, and said they could do it for me. Just isn't a big enough demand...
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 3,108
They don't look like easy to make from scratch. You would need to get the bend right, the hardness right... etc etc....
100 for a set now eh? THat is what mazdaspeed motorsports wants too. I finally going to attempt building a new motor for my dead rx7. It's been dead too long.
100 for a set now eh? THat is what mazdaspeed motorsports wants too. I finally going to attempt building a new motor for my dead rx7. It's been dead too long.
Thread Starter
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 22,465
From: California
Originally Posted by Cheers!' post='852796' date='Jan 11 2007, 02:21 PM
They don't look like easy to make from scratch. You would need to get the bend right, the hardness right... etc etc....
100 for a set now eh? THat is what mazdaspeed motorsports wants too. I finally going to attempt building a new motor for my dead rx7. It's been dead too long.
been a year and a little bit?
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 524
Originally Posted by j9fd3s' post='852643' date='Jan 10 2007, 01:42 PM
mazda wants $100 for a set of 12 @dealer cost, seems like the price could be beaten,
Have you priced out a set of piston rings that thin/small? They aren't all that much cheaper.
Fabricator
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,322
From: Central Ohio (Hebron) Zephyrhills Fla.
Originally Posted by j9fd3s' post='852643' date='Jan 10 2007, 02:42 PM
mazda wants $100 for a set of 12 @dealer cost, seems like the price could be beaten, and the application is less material depentant than the apex seals, and since you have to fit the stock ones anyways, thats not really an issue either.
so why doesnt anyone do it?
Because they are sand castings in iron. All surfaces are finished to size by grinding. Lots of labor and machine time involved.
Nobody is killing themselves trying to get into the side seal buisness. They seldom fail, and last for years and years. I often use them through a rebuild when clearance is below .002", where apex seals and corner seals are replaced. I start them at zero clearance. If a wet nasty happens you can file the worn edges with a diamond file and if the wear marks from the spring are not too bad, flip them over and run them on the spring side. Works real good.
Lasts a long time.
And you thought you were cheap.
Lynn E. Hanover
