View Thread: How does a Rotary get its lubrication?


kcg795
Ok. I've looked around on How Stuff Works and looked around at the Mazda website. So, here's the #1 question that is bothering the hell out of me. How does the Wankel get lubricated? There's GOTTA be quite a bit of friction in there and I'm pretty sure a Wankel will wear out pretty fast if it's not lubricated. So, how does this work? Does it pump oil into the chamber and possibly get burned with the gas, making it so you have to add oil every once and a while? Does the oil get mixed in with the gas like a 2 cycle engine? I'm just really curious to how this works. I know the concept of the operation of the engine. But the subject of lubrication is just bothering the fuck outta me. Please explain!

Les /Vipers Rule
Rotaries are generally simple engines with few moving parts. No valve, no springs etc. They do receive some lubrication by injecting oil inside the rotor housing and cumbustion areas. This helps to lubricate seals. This was problem with early gen rotaries of the 70s' This is one reason why roatries go through oil and find it harder to meet emissions.

Rotary Boy
and it's why you don't want synthetic oil in a rotary, also alot of highpowered rotaries that are street driven are given a little 2 stroke premix whenever the tank is filled (just a dab 'll do ya)

kcg795
Hey, thanks for the info. The Mazda sounds like a fun car to drive.

mrgokou
yeah.. lil lube and it'll stick right in.. i mean move aroun..


lol

kcg795
That new Mazda with the Rotary is RWD, right? If it's front wheel drive, I want nothing to do with it. I feel FWDs don't have the fun factor like RWDs do.

Rotary Boy
Originally posted by kcg795
That new Mazda with the Rotary is RWD, right? If it's front wheel drive, I want nothing to do with it. I feel FWDs don't have the fun factor like RWDs do.

yep it's RWD. remember it's Mazda, and like I always say they are the company least likly to screw us enthusiasts over.

Rotary Boy
on a off note

did anyone else see the title of this thread and think they saw
"how does rotary get his lubrication"

...no...really

oh must just be me :D

SLP Addict
Dont worry man, your not the only one with a sick mind.

Rotary Boy
thats good to know

kcg795
OMG. I never thought of that. I've only been on this forum for a couple days, and I'm already having a good time.

Les /Vipers Rule
Rotaries are cool. They don't like a very cold climate though, at least the older ones. But the concept of the RX-7 series was a good one. :cool:

Rotary Boy
your avatar is freakin awesome by the way. I love those goofy little vans

87 Supra Turbo
One of the guys here at work has one of those vans. I feel kind of bad for him because the heater doesn't work and the average temp for the last week has been -25. Poor Guy. :nope:

SLP Addict
Damn man, that would suck, its bad enough driving in 100+ temps with no air, but that cold?

kcg795
My heater works, but I got no AC. Damn pump is shot. I'll take it in someday and have it fixed. It's has a climate control in the back seat area too so the passangers can have whatever temperature they want. Some of those vans also have a refridgerator. Unfortunantly, mine doesn't. Oh well. For such a little van, it can sure haul a lot of shit in the back. It's gotta go in the shop for a new fuel pump. At least I think that's what it needs. Other day, it almost didn't get me home. Acted like it was running outta gas and kept dying on me. It's been missing for a few days now. But, when the problems gets so bad that it'll barely run, it's time to stop driving it and use my mom or my dad's car in the time being, both FWD, until it's fixed. When we take it into the shop, I'll be driving on the highway. At higher speeds, it should be able to get enough fuel in the system to keep it running, maybe with a few misses here and there.

I also gotta get a new mechanism for the heat adjuster because this one piece broke and now I have it held together with a zip tie. So, when I adjust the heat, I have to do it carefully. Cruise needs to be fixed too. Before the engine got rebuilt, it worked perfectly. But, it don't anymore. I looked all over the place for a loose wire. Can't seem to find one.

One thing cool about my avatar is that it's in the letterbox format to preserve it's original panoramic format. :D So, in case you're wondering, I prefer widescreen. Fullscreen sucks major monkey balls. Just say NO to Pan and Scan. :D

I did post some pictures of my rig in the Pictures area. Got some of the interior and the engine, which is under my seat. I know some people who won't go NEAR these things, because of the design of having no front end. But, I do know some people who like it and will ride with me if they have to. My brother drove it to school one time and he and his teacher had to haul the class to some thing they hadda do. My brother got mostly girls. They were like, "Oh man, this is so fucking sweet!" "Hey, let me drive damnit!" "Sweet van!" One icey morning, my brother took the van to school and he ended up doing 2 or 3 180s acrossed the road and ended up in the ditch over there facing the other direction. When he started feeling it slip he did slow to about 20 MPH, then that's when it went outta control. It hit pretty hard in the ditch and now I have a dent on the side behind the right rear tire. I'll have that and a bunch of other dings removed as well as the rust it has in places when I take it in and get some body work done. Yeah, it make cost a lot, but, I like this vehicle and I wanna keep it as long as I can. My uncle gave it to me a while back. I didn't have a license at that time, so my dad drove it back and forth to work. Then when we were on our way back home from visiting somebody up North past Seattle, the water pump blew. After the shop replaced one thing, they hadda replace another, and another. And yeah, it turned into an overhaul. They only replaced the mechanical stuff. Pistons, camshaft, crankshaft, bored the cylinders. So, I'll still have some problems. Such as my fuel pump going bad, if that's the problem I'm having now. By the time we finally got the repair shop to let us fianance the bill, and let us have it back, 1 year later, I was just getting my license. I have just failed my drive test when I got my van. First time I drove it, it felt very weird. Like driving a bus. But, I got used to it. Then a week later, I used IT to do my drive test, and I passed, only because I can see MUCH better. I failed last time because there was a blind intersection and I cut someone off. I thought they hadda stop sign too. But, in my van, I saw the intersection perfectly and I didn't cut anybody off this time. I'm so used to driving that thing with the 4 banger and the RWD, when I drive my mom or my dad's car, I gotta remember I have a nose in front of me, a much more powerful engine, and, gulp, Front Wheel drive. My engine may not have a whole lotta power, but after that rebuild, it'll hold 70 MPH easily on the freeway going up the same hill it always had trouble on before the rebuild.

masestylez
I would cry if it was -25 degrees where I was, and then watch the tears freeze to my face.

Rotary Boy
I had to drive to sterling a few years ago and it was that cold, I remember walking back to my car and my boxers kinda shifted and my D was able to contact my freezing cold zipper. I jumped like I had been shot right there in the parking lot, let out a wild yelp too.


and guys with no AC don't feel bad, I have AC but it smells like somthing is burning or rotting in there, have tried to fix it three times, have never found out what the deal is.smells so bad I would just be really hot

masestylez
Sterlings were cool, my ex girlfriends little sister had one, had an old Acura Legend engine in it if I remember right. The back seats were automatic and fold down with a switch and such. She hit a garbage truck going 50 sadly, I wanted that car. :D It was a Rover platform I believe.

masestylez
Originally posted by Rotary Boy
and it's why you don't want synthetic oil in a rotary, also alot of highpowered rotaries that are street driven are given a little 2 stroke premix whenever the tank is filled (just a dab 'll do ya)

The local Rotary shop here said that synthetic was like the godsend of oil for Rotaries. :?: I don't think I really trust those money grubbing bastards though.

eric
I had been going from since before thanksgiving untill this tuesday without any heat in my jeep. It was pretty painful, esp considering that a wrangler isn't very well insulated, and half the time it felt it was colder inside it than out.

kcg795
We had to ride a shitty conventional school bus back and forth to school with no fucking heat. It put out heat, but not enough. I hate those conventionals with nose in front. They ride so rough. I like buses with the flat face and the engine in the back. They ride so much better and sound much quieter.