I own a 1980 rx7 with 54k miles. The car will start when cold and run fine. After going for a drive and turning off the car it will not start again unless you pump the **** out of the gas pedal while cranking. When looking into the carburetor it seems that only a small amount of gas is being dispensed. So i checked the fuel line going to the accelerator pump and it seems to push out enough gas. So i'm planning on buying a carburetor rebuild kit so i can replace the accelerator pump. The only thing that bothers me is that even though it is hard to start when hot, once it is started it runs fine with no problems. So what do you think?

 

when was the carb rebuilt? if you dont know you could try rebuilding it to see if that will help.

check your timing marks. and see if they are in spec.

or you might need to richen your mixture but thats a guess. ...

 

richening the mixture is not a good idea at all at this moment. checking timing is ok but not necessary right off the bat. it seems to me that the fuel is draining back out of the carb when it sits. odd that its harder to start when hot..this can indicate poor compression. you may want to run a compression test first and foremost. how old is the fuel filter? is the fuel pump running when the key is turned on?

 

first off the carb has never been rebuilt, it is completely factory. I've checked the timing and tuned the carb to the full extent. I've already replaced the fuel filter and the fuel pump works fine. I havent had the chance to get a compression test done, but i'll look into it.

 

80's can be hard to start when hot.

There's a device on the left strut tower called a "hot start assist;" it's a small motor and geartrain attached to a cable to the carb, that pulls the throttle open when you are cranking and the engine is above a specific temperature (as sensed by the thermo switch, on the water pump.) You can see the cable retract when you first start cranking a hot engine, & usually you can hear it (a little 'vvvvip" noise) when it pulls in. Like anything else, they can fail.

If this is not working, the best thing to do is open the throttle fully (just press the pedal to the floor and hold it) just before you start cranking, & let off when she lights.

If the engine won't start hot with WOT, you've likely either got diminished compression, or more likely, the accelerator pump in the carb isn't delivering a full squirt when you floor the pedal. You should see gas shoot out the accel pump nozzles in the primary barrels when you open the throttle. If not, the check ***** have probably got gummed up, or one of the passages have gotten plugged.

 

I had the flywheel on my car resurfaced and when it gets warm, the starter smacks the face of the teeth. Starts great when it is cold. Tried another starter, and it did the same thing. What could that be caused by? It sounds like 2 cats going at it and finishes off with a huge plume of smoke and might start.

 

check the compression of the motor when hot.

 

In the hanes manual it says that you need a special compression test or can i just use a regular tester?

 

just use a reguler tester.