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Picked up a GSLSE that had been sitting for more than 15yrs with 85k on the odo. The engine turns by hand freely so the seals definitely need to be freed up. Planning on making updates every once and awhile as I get things done. Got the upper intake off earlier today, and so far besides everything being a little crusty, and the fact that there's no coolant, everything else seems fine. Definitely need injectors rebuilt, definitely needs gaskets all around. Any advice helps. So far not terrible.
Looks like you've got a good start on getting things diagnosed. I wouldn't try and start it until you drop the tank and inspect the contents. It will certain need cleaned and the if the pump hasn't frozen, you may need one as well. The fuel system cleaning is sometimes the biggest job when bringing these cars back to life! Do you have any more pictures of the car?
I will be dropping the tank, and giving it a good cleaning. Probably going to try feeding it fuel from one of the vacuum lines to see if she'll fire off before tackling that. Here are some more pictures!
Surprisingly it's a complete car, just in pieces.
That poor thing. Looks like it's in good hands and I hope you can get it back in good shape once again.
The only advice I can offer is try focusing on one thing at a time. I have a long term project that I've stalled on too many times because I get distracted and don't finish something before moving onto the next. It looks like you've got your work cut out for you, but definitely getting it running would by my first action too. Once it's driving you can start addressing all the other little things along the way.
Uh oh, this might be a major problem. Pulled this part off of the throttle body and discovered the coolant passages we're rusty/gunked up. There's also no coolant in the radiator, so it's time to prepare for the worst. Also, does anyone know what this part is? Rusty and full of crystalized gunk.
Im beginning to think it is a thermowax fast idle for when the car is warming up.
can anyone confirm?
I would try removing the brass vacuum line tree and bore out the coolant lines with a drill bit, maybe soak it in some dawn dish soap or something aluminum friendly
Richard is correct, that's the thermowax. Its easy to remove and to replace. When you get the engine back together, you may to do a cooling system pressure test at the radiator and confirm that the cooling system holds pressure. Just to be safe. If it does and the radiator looks good, you may be able to get by with a good cooling system flush. I have some great stuff I can recommend. I'd give you some but I'm not sure if I can mail it.
While you've got the dynamic chamber removed, you will want to replace the vacuum lines one at a time. The original lines are no doubt brittle and disturbing them will only serve to weaken them.
The injectors can be sent out to be cleaned and flow tested. be VERY careful around the oil metering pump lines. By now they are brittle and will break very easily. You do not want to break one. I would not disturb them if possible.
Your car is a project for sure but it would be very enjoyable to work on and to restore! I'm into restorations and that car will be amazing once its complete!
My kids GSLSE is in a similar state. Btw, thanks again for the headlight motor and other bits.
I would deeply consider dropping the tank and cleaning and sealing it. I have used KBS Blast and KBS Klean for prep and coated the tank with Caswell fuel tank epoxy.
getting the injectors serviced is a good choice as well. Go to a shop that will print the flow rates . We did ours at https://www.mrinjector.us
Very good advice, I will be pressure testing the coolant system for sure since you can't see any of the freeze plugs on the keg. Previous owner was pretty sure it had coolant when parked 15 years ago. I could smell the varnish coming from the tank when I pulled the fuel lines from the rail, so the tank is 100% coming out in the future. Vacuumed up all the dirt and poop sitting on top of the lower intake, so that will be removed this weekend and then the intake will be filled with ATF. Once the seals are freed up I'll throw it all back together and then do a pressure test on the coolant system. Also in the case of injectors, mine look pretty rough. So I might just have them rebuilt and cleaned since they are kinda falling apart.
If you fill the intake with ATF, it will smoke for the rest of its life. Don't do that.
I know you're new, and welcome aboard. There are TONS of great posts from me and "gslseforme" on this forum, with threads spanning 20+ years of experience and mistakes. Do a quick search on those, and everything you need to know is right there for the reading on YOUR time without having to wait for one of us to see your thread and respond. Good luck with the restoration. That car is going to need a lot of work and lines on parts that are NLA to the masses...
Thanks for the advice, this ain't my first rodeo when it comes to rotaries, but this is my first gslse. I'll have to check out gslseformes posts.
In other news, if anyone needs FB parts lmk
So sorry to see what happened there...
I would be interested in the interior a-pillar trim pieces, and possibly the rear-view mirror if Toruki doesn't go for it. (I sent you a PM)
Best of luck with that GSL-SE rebuild - looking forward to following the progress!
I was very lucky to come out with no scratches or bruises. Lost the front end and tapped the side of the only metal plate bridge in Alabama when it was dewy. I returned both of y'all's messages BTW, thanks for reaching out.
Long overdue update. The engine was adequately lubricated and all six seals were freed up from their frozen apexes. Hooking a battery up to the car resulted in evident power and revealed that the started still works! The engine spins over really well! I'm getting six good similar sounding puffs when turning it over. At this point, I'm torn on how I want to try and start it. To clarify this is not a start and run but to see if the engine fires if I feed it some gas. Easiest way to do this would be to just spray some gas in the ports and see if she fires. Or should I reassemble the intake assembly and feed gas through a vacuum line? Tank smells like varnish so once engine is confirmed to do wankel things that's getting dropped and cleaned. Things are progressing well!
I would not attempt to run the engine with the intake manifold removed. Imagine what it would suck in if it even did run. It likely would not though. Reassemble the engine and spray some starting fluid into the throttle body and reattach the intake tube. Ensure the fuel feed line is disconnected and the fuel pump unplugged if the tank is full of crap and bad gas. It should fire up for a second on the starting fluid.
Hello again everyone! Today I started the car for the very first time and she fires up with no complaints. I've also cleaned her up, gotten rid of a good bit of the graffiti, and done some other random things. Now that I've finally parted out the majority of my previous 7, I can focus all of my free time into this new car. I'd been having an issue with leading spark but after giving the dizzy a good cleaning she zapped good. Moving on to fuel system, brakes, tires, and then (hopefully) around the block. Looking much better Ew ... crusty
Glad to hear the engine runs!! That's a huge step!! I can tell that you've made progress on the exterior as well, nice job! Will look forward to more updates and more pictures of the car!
Today I started the car for the very first time and she fires up with no complaints. I've also cleaned her up, gotten rid of a good bit of the graffiti, and done some other random things.
great stuff! congratulations. that step (the first fire) never gets old. random things are underrated.
I used Goof Off specifically formulated to remove graffiti. It's a gel spray that does a pretty good job, but I wouldn't recommend using it on a car with decent paint. This cars paint was already terrible and the graffiti had probably been on it for at least a decade so I needed something strong and this did the trick. Today the tank and fuel pump come out and receive a good cleaning.
Pro-tip: replace the high pressure fuel filter while you're under there. It's not expensive, and will alleviate any number of problems down the road that will prevent good power and fuel flow. Also, any fuel lines that need to be replaced due to age, are brittle, or cracking MUST be replaced using Fuel Injection Hose. Standard, low pressure fuel hose will flex under high EFI fuel pressure and develop pinhole leaks, which create a fuel mist - ideal for burning with any spark. Be very careful about this, as he different types of fuel tubing are not interchangeable.
Also, the -SE fuel pumps have a very long service life; the one I pulled was original to my car at 245k miles and still going strong. I only replaced it as PM to ensure reliability into the future, which will probably be to the end of my life...
Thanks for the advice! I've got a wix filter sitting on my desk ready to go. Also do you have any tips on cleaning the pump, I'm pretty sure mines gummed up from all the old fuel. I've got some B12 to soak away some of the grime, and I'll go from there.
Not much to clean with the pump. Be sure you reinstall the filter screen back in the feed inlet fuel line. This cone-shaped filter screen is plastic and the last line of defense when it comes to keeping grit and debris out of your fuel pump. I run a full can of seafoam through a full tank of gas about 1× per year and never had any problems with the fuel pump, or injectors. Also, I don't recommend fooling around with the Fuel Pulsation Dampner (*mushroom shaped thing with the plastic cover), as it is necessary to match the FPD on the fuel rail at the engine, and there is not adjustment or need to remove it.
I can appreciate the simplicity of a stand-alone Fuel Pump which is easily accessible under the car compared to today's in-tank pumps.
12-01-21, 09:00 PM
