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Old Aug 16, 2012 | 01:29 PM
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Question Question for our forum elders and racers

Would there be any harm done if I let the engine idle for say 15-20 min with both spark plugs removed from one of the rotors?

Would car run at all on one rotor?

Which injectors are running at idle so can unplug them as well to stop the fuel injection in that rotor?

Anyone want to take a guess why would I want to do this?
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Old Aug 16, 2012 | 01:42 PM
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The engine will run insanely rough, but yes, it's doable. Definitely disable the fueling to that rotor or else you will just be pouring fuel down the side of the engine and into the exhaust. I personally wouldn't because of stress on the bearing and the chance of having each rotor smacking into the housing from the imbalance in pressures.
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Old Aug 16, 2012 | 02:00 PM
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My guess is, you want a new engine and cat from Mazda.
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Old Aug 16, 2012 | 02:31 PM
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mine too.
i drove 100 miles on the highway with one rotor. wasnt by choice.
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Old Aug 16, 2012 | 03:02 PM
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Originally Posted by olddragger
mine too.
i drove 100 miles on the highway with one rotor. wasnt by choice.
driving car on one rotor would be much harder on engine than letting it just idle. was there any harm done to yours?
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Old Aug 16, 2012 | 04:21 PM
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Originally Posted by RIWWP
The engine will run insanely rough, but yes, it's doable. Definitely disable the fueling to that rotor or else you will just be pouring fuel down the side of the engine and into the exhaust. I personally wouldn't because of stress on the bearing and the chance of having each rotor smacking into the housing from the imbalance in pressures.
fuel would be coming out of the spark plug holes on the opposite side of the exhaust.
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Old Aug 16, 2012 | 04:24 PM
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Agreed.

Still not a fantastic idea imo
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Old Aug 16, 2012 | 11:24 PM
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I'll ask again which fuel injector do I need to unplug to stop fuel delivery at idle in the rotor without plugs.
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Old Aug 16, 2012 | 11:31 PM
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P1..the red one...problem is to get at the plug you have to remove the UIM

You might be better to pull the pins out of the ECU connector.....
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Old Aug 17, 2012 | 08:02 AM
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ugh bummer..

anyone want to take a guess why I want to do this?
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Old Aug 17, 2012 | 08:18 AM
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Ruin the car?
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Old Aug 17, 2012 | 08:40 AM
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why not just tell us
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Old Aug 17, 2012 | 08:42 AM
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2 rotors are to much power yo!!
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Old Aug 17, 2012 | 08:44 AM
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Originally Posted by 200.mph
why not just tell us
For real. 20 questions isn't my idea of fun. *shrugs*
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Old Aug 17, 2012 | 09:38 AM
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ok, ok..

Well I have a small coolant leak in one of the rotors that is pressurizing my coolant system, probably in the compression part of stroke. Leak is not big and car runs just fine loosing very small amount of water. if it sits for several days I will get couple of seconds of misfire when I first start the car. at the racetrack after my sessions I will get a bit of water out trough overflow hose, otherwise everything runs fine.

so I want to do one of the bars leak head gasket/coolant system treatments to plug the leak but in order for it to work coolant system has to have higher pressure than engine side hence me wanting to remove the spark plugs on that rotor to allow the fairy dust stuff to get in and seal up the leak while car is running at idle.
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Old Aug 17, 2012 | 09:43 AM
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gl, theres much better stuff than bars leak but its ~$100 and you need to remove the t stat
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Old Aug 17, 2012 | 09:43 AM
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I don't really think that would work. The sealant I mean.

Head gaskets are fixed in place, rotary coolant seals are not. It's a moving ring.

Just a guess though.
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Old Aug 17, 2012 | 09:52 AM
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Originally Posted by 200.mph
gl, theres much better stuff than bars leak but its ~$100 and you need to remove the t stat
Care to share that with me?
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Old Aug 17, 2012 | 10:09 AM
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dont remember the name of it but ill call my brother and ask him
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Old Aug 17, 2012 | 10:14 AM
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bro says stay away from bars leak crap. the expensive stuff is called blue devil. if you get it follow all the directions. iirc you need to pull t stat
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Old Aug 17, 2012 | 10:18 AM
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Those don't really work in a rotary. If the compression is goo buy an o-ring kit nd a gasket set and change out the seals
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Old Aug 17, 2012 | 10:23 AM
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The coolant leak stuff works because there is a positive pressure at the point of the leak. In this case, the pressure is in reverse, pushing into the coolant. You will never get a seal.
There is no fix other than a rebuild or replacement.
I had the failure in my second engine.
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Old Aug 17, 2012 | 10:46 AM
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I know that is why I am pulling the plugs..it is worth a shoot all I have to lose is $30 for the product and 30 min of my time.

I do wonder how long does the rotary keeps the compression in the compression part of the stroke after it is shut off?

did a litlle digging and looks like both products are based on sodium silicate and work like this:

As a Sealant

Blown head gaskets, engine block and cylinder head cracks tend to occur in very hot areas. Such cracks usually aren't very wide (usually less than a millimeter), but are often just wide enough for water to steam through or hot gasses to enter the cooling system. A certain amount of the coolant flowing through the crack gets converted into steam upon exiting the system, leaving behind molecules of liquid glass in the crack. The extreme heat inside that crack melts the liquid glass molecules, helping any subsequent molecules stick together and form a solid sheet of glass.

Drawbacks

Liquid glass doesn't expand or contract at the same rate as steel or aluminum, meaning that subsequent overheating can fracture and/or dislodge the glass repair. This can even happen in the course of normal usage if the area in question happens to get a little hotter than surrounding areas. In theory, there is no limit on how wide of a crack liquid glass may fill, but larger cracks are more prone to fail later.

Use

Sodium silicate is very easy to use; you simply dump it into the radiator and run the car for 15 to 20 minutes or however long it takes to seal the crack (whichever comes first). You must thoroughly flush the cooling system immediately after treatment to keep the liquid glass from building up where it shouldn't. Although many block repair products bill themselves as permanent, the reality is that liquid glass repairs often last between two and four years without reapplication of sodium silicate to repair cracks in the patch.

Last edited by Nadrealista; Aug 17, 2012 at 11:07 AM.
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Old Aug 17, 2012 | 11:14 AM
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alumiseal --Ford used to use it in all production vehicles. Follow the instructions EXACTLY.
I have seen it save a rotary engine, without going to the extreme you are thinking about. If it is a very small leak, it may work for a while, if not you have not lost anything.
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Old Aug 17, 2012 | 11:21 AM
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Hmm.... interesting OD.

If I strike out on getting warranty coverage, I was going to just stick the 8 in storage for ~6 months till I can have BHR build me a solid engine. This might be tempting just to keep it usable for around town for my wife (like maybe 10 miles a week) until then.
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