"How can you screw this up?"

 

Given enough time, I'm sure I can figure a way.  ;-)

 

Mark

 

The little problems that often get blamed on the rotary are also common to all engine installations. There are parallels all along the way. So the light at the end of the tunnel is the same for everyone. The engine type, I propose makes little difference.

 

The advantage of the rotary is that it is rugged in the extreme. I bought my wife an RX-3 many years ago for $500.00. It was as new inside and out. It had been purchased used by a well off fellow for his daughter to drive to OSU. It served her well. The oil in the sump was the same oil that was in it when they bought it. It had become hard to start. The sump oil (the few cups left) was as thick as axle grease and had a bitter foul smell. It was hard to start with low compression even though it was summer time. I took it home on the race car trailer. I took off the pan and scrapped out the muck. I put on a new filter and installed oil mixed with a quart of auto trans fluid. I installed a used OMP with some good plastic lines, and ran the engine for a few hours. I dumped that out and put in some 50 weight Valvoline racing oil and another new filter. The worn out oil scrapers let by enough Valvoline to keep the compression up and made starting easy. The smoking was minimal. That engine lasted another three years. One day it locked up solid without warning. The apex seals had worn down to so short, that one fell out of the groove and got run over. The housings were missing all of the chrome. The irons were badly grooved and even the crank was scored and useless. But almost all of that happened before I bought the car.

 

The learning curve is not steeper. It is just a bit different. The reward is a reliable engine with minimal operating costs. 

 

Lynn E. Hanover