Bridge Port / Coolant Seal Question

[classicauto]

Originally Posted by staticpat

I found a picture of the internals after the port work was initially done. To me it looks like what you just described, where the seal still has a place to sit and shouldn't leave the groove.

Yep, if the pics you posted are the plates in the engine with no additional porting, the inner o-ring groove is still 100% intact, and therefore the seal should be in place there.

As mentioned previously, its likely (especially given the pics) that the seal fell out of the groove druing assembly. Its an easy enough mistake to make, but one that should be caught as soon as it happens and corrected - not after assembly and 100 miles of useage.

Hope you get it sorted, keep us posted.

[RETed]

I'd still like to know who did this.
I do not want to be paying money to a shop who can't do BASIC things like this.
If you can't be making sure the o-rings are in place, you should not be charging people for rebuilds.
The procedure is the same for any rotary engine rebuild, and it is not specific to BP's.


-Ted

[jtbshaw]

The fellow that built the engine doesn't really have a shop any longer. The builder is a very knowledgeable rotary person and has been building these things longer than most people on this board have been alive. Everyone makes mistakes at times, and this would be the first of his builds that I have ever seen anything close to this. I've been knowing this builder now almost 10 years. Phil, I believe, has known him longer.

The photos that Pat placed above are the actual housings and porting in this engine. The reason this engine only has approximately 100 miles is, like Pat described, it came out of a dedicated track car. This engine was in a very good friends Miata and the car was a trailer queen that only ran autoX. The engine was only ran for this past season. My friend has decided to go into a different class next year, so out went the rotary & IDA.

Hope that helps shed some light on things. If Pat wants to state who the builder is, then have at it. I personally don't feel that it is necessary.

Todd B.

[85rx-7gsl-se]

^So this is Phil's builder eh? Ok, yeah mistakes happen and as we grow older, they will happen. Best of luck to the OP.

[jtbshaw]

I don't know if I would say that he is Phil's builder, but I know Phil has used him in the past and will be using him on an upcoming project. I've been working on and building rotaries since 1986 and this guy has been doing it much longer than I have been. He knows what he is doing.

We started the engine on Friday and it runs fine at the moment. Only some seat time will tell.

[85rx-7gsl-se]

Oh ok, I just know Phil talks about an engine builder down there that is doing his 20Bs.

[jtbshaw]

This is the same builder.

[dakar318]

oh ok so this was branch's motor. i should have bought it as a back up for the rx3.

but now the 3 is getting the 13bt finally

[12arotary]

just curious but did the engine ever get broken in? I've always followed the slow break in procedure of first 250 miles keep it under 3500rpm then go from there

[staticpat]

We ran the car and it seemed fine. The car is incapacitated until I get a driveshaft. Should know something real soon.