Don't know anything about this 86 engine with standard flywheel , I bought 2 cars at the same time used the one for my DRAGONS' BREATH bike build and now I want to do the second engine .

Front rotor has compression , the rear rotor has none as the apex seals are stuck all the way in on all three faces ( not rusted ) just stuck . Not much carbon build up in the exhaust ports Could this have anything to do with the flywheel nut being loose ? very little carbon visible and the little bit of the inside housing that can be seen past the rotor looks ok from the little I can see . the apex seals look like they are not beat up and have a nice shinny edge when they appear but the seals are for sure stuck all the way in . that said I can take a piece of plastic and push lightly on the seals and I can see the oil film move on the seal edge where it is inserted into the rotor so they aren't totally stuck . Anyone have any thoughts on this before I start taking it apart . Yes I know this could be another nagging experience for everyone . but I am eager to learn and I am a good learner . Thank-you Gerald m.

 

pour some marvel mystery oil into the chamber and rotate the engine in reverse direction about 5 full revolutions. let it sit for a day and then go in with your plastic tool and press the seals in and out at each end a few times, rotate the engine to the next tip rinse and repeat.

flywheel nut wouldn't cause the seals to stick, it would cause a catastrophic event if it did come completely loose though.

no point breaking the engine apart unless you want to do it for preventative maintenance or porting.

 

^Good advice from a well known builder.

 

Actually gringo grande imo Karack has better than good advise , your right for sure .

Thanks Karack I was hoping someone like you would enter . What I am doing is just getting #2 engine ready in case the bike engine blows next year then I have something to use while I rebuild #1 engine . There are too few grass drag meets here to be missing any .. Thanks I'll try that if I can find some and let you know what happens . Gerald m.

 

actually if you're going to pull it apart, be glad its loose!

 

normally for stuck seal engines i use the oil as a compression aid to get the engine running and then do a decarb treatment on the engine after it's running, in the case the engine is out of a car at the moment then you will have to do it the old manual way, assuming there isn't an alternate reason they are stuck like a piece of debris pinched the seal slots ever so slightly.

look the rotors over thoroughly while working on the seals to make sure that isn't the case.

 

this one time, at the dealership (better than band camp!), our driver bought this super roachy 87 FC, and god knows why it was parked, but it was missing its coolant, and cranked but no start, looked dead.

so we hooked it to the parts truck and towed it back to the dealership

since it had no brakes, i left it in gear, after about a mile or so it started smoking like a train, and then very shortly after that the throttle started working, and as we pulled up to the dealership it was actually idling just fine, and of course it being a Mazda started right up the next day, like it hadn't been abandoned on the street for weeks.

if there is a point to that story its that, A, Karack is right, if you can get it running it might be ok, and B don't tow a car with no brakes using a rope!

 

^??? The way I read that it looks like towing cars without brakes makes it better!

 

Please don't anybody try this at home Here is my story .. 60 miles to the nearest place that might have the mystery oil so I start going through the shelves looking for anything that might do the job and heal up #2 engine .

Came up with all kinds of **** to drench the poor little engine with ,you know how it is got stuff that you don't even know you have .. started with the more friendly stuff first a little gasoline conditioner , nope , some kind of stuff for engine cleaning , nope , butane ? certainly no froze my finger . Starting to get a little stinky in the old shack by now . a little camp stove fuel Maybe helped a bit.

It's not like I'm using cup fulls of this stuff just a tad on each seal and then wipe it off to try the next thing . By now I have picked and cranked that little **** a thousand times ( got a long bolt screwed into the pressure plate bolt holes and locked it to use for a crank. spark plugs are in so I can hear if anything is happening .

Only had one thing left to try , I go out to my spray foam rig and get my jug of industrial gun wash not giving any names here , like this is potent **** . ( the only thing that I know off that will dissolve polyurethane foam but does nothing to metal , It just turns it to jell almost right away . ) poured a tad on each seal kinda turned it back and forth maybe for ten minutes wiped them off did it again wiped them off poured maybe 2 cap fulls on each face ( the engine was on it's side plugs down and I can see everything through the exhaust port . The **** that came out of that engine was unbelievable , almost like dirty engine oil but thick . any way dobbed the **** out through the port and intake side ports and spark plug holes with lacquer thinner drenched it with engine oil cranked it over a bunch more and it's puff farting just like a new one . did the same to the front rotor .

Don't know what it would do to soft apex seals but it sure cleaned the **** out of the inside of that little engine . as far as coolant seals if anything could even get there it would soften them a bit and maybe make them swell just a tad if they were soaked in it . I don't think any harm was done and I bet that there are tons of the little engines around that just need a real inside cleaning.

I feel the same way about this **** that Kentetsu feels about alumiseal . too bad people can't buy it in the auto shops . Well there's my story an I'm stickin to it . I'm a little dizzy , I wonder what that funny buzzing sound in my ears is ? Gerald m.

 

lol, i was going to say to try some various chemicals before driving 60 miles but you got it taken care of. mystery oil is good for dissolving carbon which is why i use it for unsticking seals to get engines fired up, carb cleaner in larger quantities also usually works but this new stuff we have isn't like the carb cleaner i remember from 10+ years ago, damn eco friendly crap..

 

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