Ok well i might have made an amateur mistake, no biggy i just need some insight on what to do about it. I dont have a front cover gasket and i been waiting forever to receive one so i finally got sick of waiting and put my engine in, in my build thread someone pointed out that i might end up with a pinched thrust bearing because of installing the engine without a front cover torqued on. What do you suggest i do about it? I have the engine in the car now and there is plenty of space to work on it in the car.

 

Check the eccentric shaft end-play in the following manner:

Attach a dial indicator to the flywheel. Move the flywheel forward and backward.
Note the reading on the dial indicator, it should be 0.0016-0.0028 in. (0.04-0.07mm).
If the end-play is not within specification, adjust it by replacing the front spacer. Spacers come in four sizes, ranging from 0.3150-0.3181 in. (8.00-8.08mm). If necessary, a spacer can be ground on a surface plate with emery paper.
Check the end-play again and, if it is now within specification, proceed with the next Step.

Remove the pulley from the front of the eccentric shaft. Tighten the oil pump drive sprocket nut and bend the locktabs on the lockwasher.
Fit a new O-ring over the front cover oil passage.
Install the chain tensioner, if equipped, and tighten its securing bolts.
Position the front cover gasket and the front cover on the front housing, then secure the front cover with its attachment bolts.
Install the eccentric shaft pulley again. Tighten its bolt to the required torque value.

ROTARY ENGINE OVERHAUL

Anyone know what happened to Rebuilding Rotary Engine Videos - The Wankel Motor Seems that the Videos don't work...

 

soooo, should i just continue to assemble the front of the engine then take my measurements with a dial indicator? I could put the needle on the dial indicator on the front of the eshaft bolt instead of the flywheel right?

 

I'd pull the engine back out and re-assemble the front stack with the engine turned so the front pulley is facing up. Keep it that way until you attach the front pulley bolt and hub.

It is possible to do in the car, but it doesn't look like much work to pull the engine. More info on it here: Front Pulley / Thrust Bearings

 

Do it with the engine out and faced up, if its sideways it will easily drop and you'll be doing this over again.

It won't take much for that bearing to fall from where it should be if the bearing isn't centered face up.

Thats the only fool proof way to do it, otherwise you're taking a huge gamble with the stakes against you.

 

You don't HAVE to pull the engine out and have it facing up. That is the proper way...but you can properly do the job with the engine in the car.

Remove EVERYTHING under the front cover all the way down to the front stat gear...leave that in place.

Now, using the exploded view above, install the parts in this order:

thick thrust washer, inner bevel goes toward the back
endplay spacer
thrust/needle bearing
thrust plate/bolts
thrust/needle bearing (you may want to use some vaseline etc. slathered all over it to help hold it in place, being sure it sits AROUND the spacer and not on top of it)
counterweight (being sure that the shiny thin contact washer is still in place on the back)
oil pump sprockets/chain (being sure that the key on the oil pump does not slip out during sprocket install, you may need to superglue the key into the oil pump keyway)
timing gear (inner bevel goes toward the back or your timing will be off a few degrees if you put it in backwards)
front cover
hub
hub bolt with red loctite on the threads
check endplay, you should be at 1.5-3 thou. IF you are too loose you can try to use an impact and overtorque the main bolt to tighten it up a little. IF you are too tight you can try to loosen the bolt a hair to get slightly more play. If you loosen the bolt to where you feel you are no longer at the proper torque value for the bolt, but it is where it needs to be for endplay to be correct, then there is a locking plate that you can buy for about 15 bucks that will install over the bolt and main pulleys which will hold the bolt from ever backing out.