Hi Rusty,
The apex seals in this engine were the stock 3-piece. There were all still in great shape. If it was detonation, then the stock seals held up pretty well. Everything else is undamaged as far as I can tell.
At this point, I think I have (by far) the highest time on a turbo aircraft rotary - and that is still only 150 hrs. There are a lot of questions I have now... did I do something wrong when I built the last engine? Were some of the parts worn out without me knowing about it? Am I running too rich or with too much continuous boost? Should I do something different with the next engine like break in, different oil, different amount of oil etc.???
The really cool thing is that this re-build is taking a couple weeks (of very part time work) and costing less than $1000. And that includes paying an outrageous price for 9.7 rotors ($300 each - used, uncleaned, worn out looking bearings.) Still there is another RV-6 on the field undergoing a re-build as well (lycoming). The engine has been off the plane for 2 months so far and I am sure he is paying more than $10,000. That plane had only been flying slightly longer than mine.
I am also very pleased with the failure mode. I had major failure of compression and breakage of some of the only parts the actually break... and I could hardly tell because the engine kept running pretty well. I was still making enough power to outrun a lyc 360 powered rv-8. I ran it for at least 3 hours in that condition. Cool!
A am disappointed that I have had so many problems lately (broken ECU, broken RD1-B, broken fuel pump, broken side seals, not to mention the broken turbo and previously rusted solid engine.) Sigh...
Still, looking forward to the new ported engine with 9.7 rotors....
On 10/10/05, Russell Duffy <13brv3@bellsouth.net> wrote:
Busted side seals is the short answer. Why is now the question.
Hi Dave,
Well, that certainly explains the pressure you were seeing. Are you using Tracy/Bruce apex seals? If so, could they be so resistant to damage from detonation that the side seals are the next to go? That's my only guess, detonation.
Did the broken seals damage the side housings any, or will everything else be re-usable? Once again, this goes to show how forgiving the rotary design is.
Good luck,
Rusty
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