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Oil for compression

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Old 02-16-2012 | 08:18 AM
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Oil for compression

I'm trying to get my '8 started and i think i've lost oil seal around the rotor. How much oil do i need to drop in through the sparkplug hole and what should i use? Thanks.
Old 02-16-2012 | 08:21 AM
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how did you "lose" the oil seal.
Old 02-16-2012 | 08:23 AM
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What should i use to apply the oil? A turkey baster?
Old 02-16-2012 | 08:26 AM
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surely that didn't answer my question... try once more.

I am trying to find out how you managed to "lose" an oil side seal. Pretty big piece to magically lose. And lets say by some act of god you did actually manage to lose it, do you understand what the purpose is of said seal?

I have a feeling you are referencing something incorrectly, try explaining exactly what the issue is here a bit more in precisely
Old 02-16-2012 | 08:36 AM
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Reminds me of dropping oil in the cylinder for checking the condition of compression rings in a piston engine during compression test. Is that what you are talking about? I don't know for sure but I think that trick doesn't work for rotary engines.
Old 02-16-2012 | 08:44 AM
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We have 2 service nipples that may serve your purpose.
What oil seal have you lost? how did you determine it was an oil seal? Because if that's really the case adding oil to the chamber to restore some compression shouldn't work.

That's also a bandaid to get from point A to point B and have the engine rebuilt anyway.

Last edited by bse50; 02-16-2012 at 08:57 AM.
Old 02-16-2012 | 08:48 AM
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Point A being the top of his driveway, Point B being the bottom.


Injecting oil through the service ports will either get burned off fast, just clog up the port, or foul the plugs.
Old 02-16-2012 | 08:50 AM
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That's where I always poured atf fluid.
Old 02-16-2012 | 08:54 AM
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Yes, but how long does it last in there before it's burned off

The only way to prevent burn off is to inject so much you can't start it.


And if the op means that he has a failing oil seal, well, that means too much oil is getting in anyway. Adding more oil manually isn't going to do anything.
Old 02-16-2012 | 09:02 AM
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Yeah, pouring oil inside the chamber is just a last "oh ****!" stand to get to the rebuilder... sticking seals aren't that common so it's generally a major compression loss.

Given the lack of symptoms description i'd just bring it to somebody who knows what he's doing btw..
Old 02-16-2012 | 09:07 AM
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^ agreed.
Old 02-16-2012 | 09:50 AM
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Sorry to be so brief but am typing from phone. The engine got flooded and sat for a few days... I beleive the film of oil around the apex seals got diluted and so i lost some compression and with the cold weather and higher octane fuel a start-up has been elusive. I pulled the plugs and evacuated the chambers... But no dice yet so i'm wondering about my compression. And yes i pulled the fuses. So i'm wanting to re-establish a "oil seal" with a few drops in the chambers to get everything coated again. I'm asking for quantities and methods... So i'm sorry to be brief here on my phone .. I hate touch -typing.... But don't think i don't know what i'm doing.
Old 02-16-2012 | 09:54 AM
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That makes more sense, and is completely different than your earlier posts

yes, you can add a bit of oil through the plug holes, and it will help out the initial compression slightly when you are firing it up.

It's likely not really your problem, but avoiding a dry seal sweep until oil gets re-introduced has value.
Old 02-16-2012 | 10:06 AM
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Your previous posts sounded like something totally different!
Do what as riwwp said, if it still doesn't start and it's a manual car just tow it
Old 02-16-2012 | 12:54 PM
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The way he explained it in his third post is exactly what I thought he meant in his first.
Old 02-16-2012 | 01:17 PM
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use MMO, or if you like lots of smoke use ATF.
it it's a 6 speed, save yourself the trouble and tow-start it.
tow-starting a rotary is the easiest way to get around low compression until a rebuild.... or starting a rebuild.
Old 02-18-2012 | 07:58 AM
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Originally Posted by xexok
The way he explained it in his third post is exactly what I thought he meant in his first.
Haha, I was on the road (in the passenger seat) typing on my tiny phone screen while the sun was blinding me.... In a way it's lucky what I said made sense to anyone.
Old 02-18-2012 | 09:57 AM
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What if i added the two cycle oil i normally add to my premix? Wouldn't that lower the octane of incoming fuel and also create better compression?
Old 02-18-2012 | 11:43 AM
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Got her started.... In a puff of glory

Alright, so i connected the battery to my running vw golf and sat down for the long haul with the ignition. Alternated the full throttle method and got the car started about 20 minutes in. Huge amount of smoke. Ran it, warmed up, spun it up (it sounds sooooo good) ran it some more and revved into an engine switch-off. No engine light issues, no back pressure from the exhaust or anything.

The original reason the car had flooded was because a spark plug wire had been bounced off the plug... And the unburnt fuel dumped right into the cat. When I pulled over, the cat was glowing. The dealership said they would warranty replace the cat... If I fixed the ignition issues with no codes, as I have done since I replaced the coils and the whole deal.

So now I'm wondering if a should tow the car to the dealership, of if I can just drive it the 20 miles there since there are no codes and no back pressure. The cat seems to be working, although I fried it with the unburnt fuel. Thoughts?
Old 02-18-2012 | 02:07 PM
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If you saw the cat glowing then its for sure on its way out. Generally dealerships wont even inspect or look at the cat without having a p0420 code or something else that says the cat is toast.

If you were able to take it into higher rpms then the cat is not completely dead and you could probably drive it there fine. I am surprised they are even going to look without a code, let alone replace it.
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