does anyone have any tips on installing the apex seal springs?

 

assuming you have new apex seals with the corners 'glued' up still..

Simply start with just the large one in place, and when you get it about 2cm into the groove, slide the small spring in, and then fully insert the whole seal. Takes some practice but becomes clockwork. I used petroleum jelly to keep em in place while working.

 

I just put the big one in and then put the little one in. If you are using new parts there's no trick to it because there's so much tension that everything locks into place.

 

is this with new parts?

im re-using my seals

 

I re used the apex seals (which were low mileage and in good shape) but I replaced the springs. Did you measure the free height of the big springs per the FSM? Spec is 3.5mm . It says to replace the smaller springs only when you replace the apex seals, but I replaced them anyway given that I had only 6000 miles on my apex seals.

 

nope haven't done that yet.

do you put the seal together while inside the rotor housing?
do you use any petroleum jelly or dressing to assist in putting it together?

 

Some people just follow this procedure in the FSM, except now the apex seals are two piece:



i've only built one motor, but I first tried super gluing the corner piece to the main piece. then I installed the seal. then I put the short apex spring in, then the long one. That order of installation contradicts my earlier post (which said large one first then small one), but I just wasn't thinking when I wrote that. After gluing it, the corner piece of the apex seal broke off on a couple of them during spring installation, although I admit I didn't give the glue much time to set. This isn't a big deal though--they are supposed to be free moving anyway when the engine runs.

So I ended up doing what's in the Bruce Turrentine video. I inserted the large apex seal piece. Then I inserted the small apex spring. Then I inserted the large apex spring. With new springs, those click together pretty good and have a lot of tension. I placed the corner piece on top, making sure it was oriented correctly with the larger apex seal piece. The corner piece should always be facing the rear of the engine (which would be on "top" while you are stacking the motor). Look at the last picture there and make sure you have the springs facing in the proper way.

DO NOT DROP A CORNER PIECE OR YOU WILL HATE YOUR LIFE.

Be extremely careful with the e-shaft and middle iron or something will end up coming loose like an apex seal piece. Get a helper for those, do not attempt it on your own if you aren't experienced.

Don't use vaseline on the coolant seals. It works, but it is pretty much a time bomb situation because the seals will swell, and you need as much time as possible on your first engine. Use the thick Crisco stuff that comes in the blue tin. I put a small amount of vaseline on the apex, side, and corner seals. If you have tight clearances you don't need much at all. The more assembly lube you use the more crap you will have to burn off on startup. I always wiped off excess assembly lube/vaseline/Crisco etc with my finger. My engine burned all the crap out in about a minute on startup.

 

haha yes dont drop a corner piece.

I dropped one and it went into a coolant passage and I had to start all over again lol

 

dude I dropped a corner piece into a coolant passage like 3 times. And then I thought I had forgotten a dowel pin o-ring. So I must have stacked and unstacked the motor half a dozen times before I finally put the tension bolts in. But it worked out in the end and I didn't have any problems. Just make sure you turn the motor over pretty good and listen for compression.

 

friggin awesome .. thanks for the tips and the picture

 

what I did with the coolant seals:

The grooves must be perfectly clean by using a set of picks. I set the iron on my work bench. I put my finger into the tin of crisco and spread Crisco evenly into the whole groove (a small syringe works too). Then i cleaned my finger. Then I wiped all the excess off the edges of the groove and on the iron. Then I put the seal in. As you place the seal in, more Crisco will be pushed out. So I wiped the excess off again with a clean finger. The result is a coolant seal that is secure in the groove and with no more Crisco on the engine than is necessary. Repeat the process for each seal.

I did the same type of thing with vaseline on the other seals. I put some vaseline in, wiped the excess, installed the seal, and wiped again. I use a clean finger because I didn't want paper/rag fibers on the motor.

 

This is a good tip, Thx.