i was driving my 84 gsl-se down the street, when it started to die like it was running out of gas. i pulled over when it died completely and tried to restart it, but the only thing that happened was a big cloud of white smoke that smelled like gas came out of the exhaust. there was over a 1/4 tank of gas still left in the car, and after several attempts at restarting the car, all i got was a couple more plumes of the same smoke and a slightly deader battery. someone told me theres something wrong with my throttle positioning sensor, but i'm not sure. i'm pretty sure the engine is still getting a spark, but i don't know what else to check. any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

make sure your getting spark at the plugs. Also, was it working perfectly normal before this? More info on how it was before this maybe helpful. Is it taking coolant?

 

it was running perfectly before this happened. it's not using up any coolant. it's also not using any more oil than usual. and about a year and a half ago it was fully serviced by the mazda dealership.

 

Also how many miles on the engine and how was it driven for the most part? Had it sat for much time and then used again at any point in its life?

 

there are about 136000 miles on the car, and it had been sitting for a little over a year due to a lack of rear wheel bolts. i had been driving it for about a week since it was fixed, and it was driving perfectly. then this happened. but that's how it always seems to work out for me. also before the wheel bolts broke off it was drivin somewhat hard. burnouts and donuts here and there. thats why the bolts broke off, i guess. but it always ran great. and it ran even better after mazda serviced it.

 

also, i had just cleaned the engine before this happened. maybe something shorted out? i'm short on ideas at this point. any kind of basic diagonostics that i can do myself, or will i have to take it to a shop?

 

i experienced the same exact thing, when i got my se, the previous owner told me that it had been sitting for a while, i drove it for about a week and a half, when it shut off on me, same symptoms, 1/4 tank and it felt as if it were running out of gas,...... this might scare u when i say this, but u might have condensation build up in your tank,..... meaning WATER!!! i had to get a new tank, and duesh my motor, then i turned the key an started right up,... if u have spark, and it doesnt start, maybe its b/c its sparking water, and not fuel,... not positive that this is what u have, but your symptoms sounded identical 2 mine,... later

jonathan

 

oh man... condensation in the gas tank? I just picked up a gas tank at the junk yard... it looked to be in pretty good shape but it had been sitting for a while.

Do I run the risk for water in the tank? I dont want to **** up my new motor after the first tank of gas...

 

no, your motor should be fine, just clean that tank out with raw gas, let it dry as long as possible, put it back in, then take your plugs off and turn the motor, a bunch of stuff will come out,...... also, check that that tank doesnt have any unatural wholes, b/c water doesnt just get in there, and u said it looked fine when u got it,... keep us posted on how u r doing,.... later

jonathan

 

thanks for the feedback, J. what exactly did you use to "duesh" your motor out? do you think i can just keep the tank that i have now and clean it out with gas or has the water that may have accumulated inside of it caused some damage to the tank? thanks again for the help.