ok, a lil about the car first,its a 1980 LS and ive only had the car a lil over a week. when i bought the car the motor was stuck, the po said it last ran a year and a half ago, but would only run if you poured gas down the carb (gas in tank had turned to varnish, now im useing a hose run to a gas can so i know im getting gas). for the first couple days i kept spraying marvel mystry oil in the spark plug holes and got it spinning freely. then i spun it over to get the crap out, and put new plugs in. to save time with the carb problem i replaced it with one i had off a running 85 gs as well as the black carb plate so the throttle linkage would fit i also had to file the corner of the intake a lil so it would clear as well. also the fuel pump was not working so i replaced it with a working one i had off an 85 as well. then i pulled the rats nest and capped the ports so i wouldn't have any leaks. spinning the motor over with the key with no plugs inn it sounds like it has decent compression i know i have fuel and spark, but the dang thing wont start, it sounds like its trying to hit but it just wont start. all ive got so far is a back fire out the muffler once and a good bit of smoke like its flooded as its trying to start. ive searched and tried just about every way ive found to get it deflooded but nothing works ive just ran out of ideas and dont know what to do. any help would be greatly apperciated.

 

Recheck the plug wires are routed properly.

I spent two days trying to figure out why my new rebuild wouldn't run only to discover that I had the front wires on the rear housing,and vice versa. Which does exactly what you describe as symptoms, being as it's sparking 180* out of phase.

20+ years experience on rotaries, and I looked right past that problem for two days. #1 is front!

 

what did the fuel filter and gas tank look like? and if its flooding check the ignitors those things are a menace.

 

Sorry I cant provide any more assistance than those that have already posted but can you tell us more about your LS? Any pictures availabe? How about color, mileage, condition etc?

thanks

 

ok i rechecked the plug wires they are on correct and i just tested both of the ignitors as the way mar3 posted to check them and they light the test light up and when you remove the "switch" wire it stays lit for about a second then goes out so they are working good. the gas tank looked as if it had about two gallons of gas in it that just turned to varnish but no rust though, its not in the car now im useing a 2 1/2 gallon gas jug to supply gas for now while i'm letting acetone soak in the tank to clean it. i also put a clear in line gas filter right before the carb so i know its getting clean gas cause you can watch it fill up.

 

pull the plugs after you try starting it, are they soaked with gas (and I mean soaked)?

 

the first atempts they were like turn them upside down and drop or two of gas would drip off but it changes with each different way i've tried one of the ways thats suposed to unflood it, now its just a light coat of gas. every time i spin it over several times i've been taking them out and cleaning them with break cleaner and drying them off they are brand new.

 

i had an issue earlier this summer with mine where it felt like it wanted to catch but wouldn't; turned out to be an electrical issue. I originally thought it may have been a fuel pump issue(as the previous owner had warned me it may be bad).
Just a thought

 

i just put the fuel pump on it with a know good one, im going to check to make sure nobody has screwed with the wires going to the positive and negitive on the coils. other than that i dont know what else to check.

 

Ok so they're not soaked with gas, thats good. Have you checked for spark? pull all the plugs and connect a plug to the L1 wire and with insulated pliers lay the plug so it's touching the block and have someone crank over the car. You *should* get a light show at the end of the spark plug. Repeat this with another plug in the L1 wire and then do 2 plugs in the L2 wire.

Remember and engine only needs 3 things: fuel, air and spark all timed correctly. It's best to check one system at a time when working on cars, otherwise you may cause more problems than you fix.

Leks

 

i do have a spark coming from the plugs, i checked that the other day. also word to the wise dont hold it with your bare hand it'll shock the crap out of you, dont ask how i know lol.

 

thats why i cant figure out why it wont run the carb will spray clean gas, plugs have fire, and with the air cleaner lid off the air is a no brainer, technally it should run.

 

Compression on all three faces on both rotors?

 

instead of just going by ear i used a piston compression tester on it. and with the engine cold and not warm cause it start here is what i found. on the front rotor the max psi it would build is 25 psi without holding the valve in and with holding it in i got 15 on all three. on the rear rotor the max was 80 and i got 50 on all three. i no the front one is bad but how bad is the rear? i sprayed more mystry oil in the spark plug holes hoping to free it up more. wouldnt it still run on one rotor though, even if it did run like crap?

 

Don't run on one rotor... If you are running low compression because of a blown seal you are SCRAPING THE CRAP out of the housing.

Even the rotor with 80 max and 50 on the other sides is low.

 

the engine when i got it was stuck so hopefully its just the seals are just stuck in and hasnt released yet. hopefully if i keep soaking it with the mmo, or i'll probally go to aft now itll free up more and have more comp.