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I recently rebuilt the engine in my 05 RX-8. I had bought the Atkins full rebuild kit with all the gaskets, seals, and the solid corner seals . It didn't work so I tore it all down again to find weird side seal wear on one face of one rotor. Here is what it looked like:
The wear happened at the same spot on all three corners but this one was the worst, the compression test showed 30,50, and 60 psi. (these are well-used housings, I know that's not what a fresh engine should make)
I'm hoping someone might have insight on what could cause this wear and if they had seen it before. The ports touching that rotor face are on the rear iron.
Thanks anyone for the help before I put it all together again!
side seal spring upside down or not positioned in the end slot properly? That iron is trashed.
.
It was definitely installed correctly with the taper on it. I don't know what you mean by end slot and how I would position it, do you mind expanding on that?
Definitely looks like an iron issue. There must have been something on the port when the engine was started. The seal it looks like the damage is deeper on the outside face, which would point me at the exhaust port stroke. Could have broken off and went out of the engine by now.
Or
Did you happen to also buy the cryo side seals from atkins? Improper side seal gap + binding + exhaust heat causing. I would expect the brittleness to decrease with the cryo treatment, but I am unsure about their process/material. (side note, choosing a hardened seal 250$ would probably only eat the used irons $3000+ faster)
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At the same time with the solid corner seals you really need to be sure of your side seal gap or you will run into binding issues across the whole face of the rotor. Too tight and thermal expansion ruins your fun quick.
I tried the solid corners on my first rebuild when my father had bought the parts. IMO they are a complete waste of money and offer only downsides for the Renesis application. Perhaps mixing the mazda side seals with the solid corners is the issue? The solid corners will not be as giving to the thermal expansion of the mazda side seals compared to the 2 piece corners seals. Perhaps the cryo side seals have reduced thermal expansion and will not expand into the non compliant corner seals, but again I am unsure about their process and material. I would think that if this was the case it would be clearly stated on their website. Just saw they also offer cryo solid corners, so plenty of properties and materials that could not be happy working together. Having wasted my own money back in highschool with my first rebuild attempt, first thing I learned was that mazda is smarter than you. Use stock seals for a stock application. I would advise against trusting some third party company that just wants your money with no care for your end result.
It was definitely installed correctly with the taper on it. I don't know what you mean by end slot and how I would position it, do you mind expanding on that?
One man's trash is another man's drift 8
Thanks for the reply
do not reuse that iron, buy a replacement even if used. The Renesis is much less tolerant to bad sealing than the prior engines. Which the Mazda 2pc side seals for the Renesis are better than those solid ones imo.
I was probably thinking about something else like the oil spring seal wrt the tab/slot comment. It was just off the top of my head. The side seal springs do have a specific orientation though:
Definitely looks like an iron issue. There must have been something on the port when the engine was started. The seal it looks like the damage is deeper on the outside face, which would point me at the exhaust port stroke. Could have broken off and went out of the engine by now.
Or
Did you happen to also buy the cryo side seals from atkins? Improper side seal gap + binding + exhaust heat causing. I would expect the brittleness to decrease with the cryo treatment, but I am unsure about their process/material. (side note, choosing a hardened seal 250$ would probably only eat the used irons $3000+ faster)
--------------
At the same time with the solid corner seals you really need to be sure of your side seal gap or you will run into binding issues across the whole face of the rotor. Too tight and thermal expansion ruins your fun quick.
I tried the solid corners on my first rebuild when my father had bought the parts. IMO they are a complete waste of money and offer only downsides for the Renesis application. Perhaps mixing the mazda side seals with the solid corners is the issue? The solid corners will not be as giving to the thermal expansion of the mazda side seals compared to the 2 piece corners seals. Perhaps the cryo side seals have reduced thermal expansion and will not expand into the non compliant corner seals, but again I am unsure about their process and material. I would think that if this was the case it would be clearly stated on their website. Just saw they also offer cryo solid corners, so plenty of properties and materials that could not be happy working together. Having wasted my own money back in highschool with my first rebuild attempt, first thing I learned was that mazda is smarter than you. Use stock seals for a stock application. I would advise against trusting some third party company that just wants your money with no care for your end result.
No cryo treatment upgrades. That's interesting about the solid corner seals, I was definitely not 100% when doing the side seal clearance.
Hopefully, it was just too tight, and putting it together again will fix the issue.
Thanks for the insight
01-06-2023, 03:30 PM
. It didn't work so I tore it all down again to find weird side seal wear on one face of one rotor. Here is what it looked like:
