Subject: Parts cleaner
From: ACRE
Date: 7/23/2003, 9:43 PM


What is the best thing to clean internal and exterior parts for the rotary engine that will not hurt babbit bearings? Carb
cleaner works but I worry about brain damage from the
fumes.


I used the solvent tank at work to clean all of the engine parts. To clean teh real tough parts-i.e., the rotor faces, I put a real heavy duty 2inch scotchbrite disc in a cordless drill  disc sanding attachment and took the carbon right off. The solvent will float all the crap off the rotors. Just rinse all the stuff off the rotors  and out of the bearings in the solvent and dry them and you are in business. Plan on taking about 1-1 1/2 hours per rotor. Clean the heck out of the o-ring grooves on the side and end housings. When you think they are clean, take a bronze or brass brush- the kind you buy at a welding shop or hardware store, and clean the heck out of the o-ring grooves. You will suprise yourself at how much stuff was still in there after you thought it was already clean. Everything else on the engine cleans up with little more than a was and a little scrubbing under the faucet in a solvent tank.

I think that all the carbon build up is due to the use of the crankcase oil being injected into the combustion chamber. Hopefully disonnecting the oil injection and premixing 2 stroke oil will radically reduce the carbon buildup on the rotor faces. Tracy Crook can probably give a good accounting of the longer term results of premix on carbon buildup.

I'm by no means an expert, I've only rebuilt one of these engines so far, but this worked well for me.

Brian Trubee

 
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