In a message dated 04/15/2005 1:44:52 AM Central Daylight Time, lendich@optusnet.com.au writes:

The slot is perfectly straight. No taper at all. If you stand a new or near new apex seal on end in the slot, the exposed end should not move more than (about) 3/16" total. New slot and new seal gives nearly no movement. The 3/16" would be end of life span. For aircraft use, new or nearly new is the way to go. You can take engines apart that have been running fine, and the apex seals are just about to fall out of the slots they are so short. The slots can wear into obvious "V" shapes, and the engine is still running fine. My wife's RX-3 did that. I was just sitting at a stop sign one day and whack!!  A seal came out of what was left of a big "V" slot and the rotor crushed it against the housing. There was no chrome left on the rotor housings. Big grooves in the irons. The only piece I could use was the crank.
The whole thing was scrap.   The rotors are made of cast steel. You can weld on them. I have TIGed holes shut and built up gouges and smoothed them off. Again not for aircraft but for a dune buggy or any non critical application, I see no reason for scrapping a piece I can fix quickly. I grew up during W.W.II and you were literally not allowed to throw anything away. So I don't (until recently). Lynn E. Hanover

 

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