If I were to come across a motor , and wanted to store it long term, is there anything special to do to the internals to keep it clean of rust? What about the seals, do they need to be lubricated prior to storage?

 

Spray WD40 or some other lubricant into the engine through the ports and spin it over by hand a few times. Then tape off the ports completely. It'll be fine.

 

I don't have any experience with the storage of rotary motors, but I do with piston motors. I just put oil in the spark plug hole and turned them over a few times, then replace the plugs. If the engine is still in the car, the boat industry has a oil fog that is used on a running engine. If the engine is new, you would also add oil to the crankcase. Then run the oil pump for a couple of minutes to lube the internals. Seal the intake and exhaust when done. Also, used oil has acids that build up from engine use. Drain all oil and replace with fresh before storage.

I don't see how a rotary would be any different.

 

ATF has been a favorite here for years. We refer to this as pickling the motor. Get an oil squirt can and remove the lower sparkplugs. Using ATF, prime the pump and then apply approx 2 squirts into whichever housing will allow you. Turning the engine by hand you will hear and see when you can apply some in the next housing. When you have done this 6 times, she's pickled. Drain all fluids if you can also (Coolant/ Antifreeze) using the drain in the center flat housing.

As RG said, tape your ports off and you're ready to store it.

Paul.