I was cruising down the freeway at about 70 in 5th when the engine noise got louder than usual, and I seemed to noticed lack of power. A minute later I was getting off the freeway, coasted in neutral, and the engine died! I was like , the engine has just been rebuilt, and the rotors and housing were in excellent shape. Yet it felt like it was when it had a blown rotor. So I barely made it home, car would not idle under 2k rpm, power was for ****, and once it died it was very difficult to start again. Don't know if it was overheating, as I don't have a temp sender connected right now, but there was no indication of overheating. B4 anybody says vacuum leaks, all the vacuum lines were replaced when the engine was dropped couple of weeks ago, with high temperature silicone hoses.

What in hell could be wrong?

Edit: ghetto compression test was done successfully. All spark plugs are providing spark, though they are black with only 700 miles in them. Dizzy didn't exhibit any symptoms of malfunction.

 

Sounds like your running really rich if the plugs are black.

Is this a SE on carb?

 

12A. I agree on the rich based on the plugs, but how is that related to the problem and how all of a sudden the mixture would shoot up high like that by itself?

 

Check your ignition. It kind of sounds like you have no Leading ign.

 

Yeah, that's what it feels like, but all four spark plugs are providing spark.

 

any 1?

 

somehow the apex seals stopped doing their job i duno i dont know if this could happen but what if an apex seal or two are stuck ?

 

Try a compression test. Or you can also take the plugs out and crank it - you should be able to here if there is anything wrong.

 

That's what I did when doing the ghetto compression test. Got 3 regular powerful whooshes from both rotors.

Apex seals stuck on an engine that has 700 miles since rebuilt, aftermarket seals? somehow I doubt it.

 

it could be the apex seals if something was done wrong on the rebuild. if you trust whoever did the rebuild, then it may not be that. i agree with the ignition. it could still spark but it could be a weak *** spark, electronics are wierd and do whatever the hell they want to do on their way out. they work, then they dont. try switching the leading and trailing ignitors to see if that fixes anything.
oh, when you did your compression test, did you actually use a Psi guage? much more accurate. sound tells you a lot, but not to dead nuts on accuracy. you want even compression (or close) on all three rotor faces.

 

You know, I've seen many threads over the last few months where 7 owners get desperate when they cannot figure out the problems they're having with the car, or just a number of things go bad in sequence, one after the other. I never quite understood why these people got so frustrated and even got rid of their 7s, instead of figuring things out and resolving them. But after having this problem right after I paid double what I originally paid for the car to get a newly rebuilt engine dropped in it, I'm starting to get VERY frustrated

/rant

 

why not do a real compression test. What kind of set up do oyu have on your car? If it's a 4bbl then your secondaries might be stuck open.

 

speaking of one bad thing happening after another.....my friend hit a deer in my seven, i wasn't in the car. We replaced all panels, then another friend backed into the same spot! again i wasn't even in my car. Before all this stated happening i had a beautiful mint GSL....twist of fait i guess but now i gotta drop a good $800 in bodywork.

 

Well, I tested compression using a conventional tester, and the max read I got on both sides was 70 psi. Since for some reason when cranking was been a little slow, and taking into account the engine has a mild streetport, that is not too bad.

 

12A, so it's carburated.

 

won't start huh, but perfect c/r and engine cranks... it could really be leading ignition OR blown 20A engine fuse

if you're not direct fire, check the +/- (i believe) wiring(s) in the 2 coils

excuse me if i'm not being specific on the last statement

but if you're direct fire, check the fuseable links

either way, they could be blown.. might as well check

 

Engine does start, when cold. After 2-5 mins it tends to die, i.e. I have to press the accelerator more and more, and if it does die, then it's very difficult to re-start for a few hours. As stated earlier, there is sparks in all the plugs.

 

I re-read your post in the west section. How many miles do you have on that rebuilt motor? And how high did you rev it during the break-in period.

 

Bad leading coil? It might start to misfire when it gets warm.

 

700 miles. For the first 500 miles it was not revved past 4k rpm. After that I increasingly went up to 5 and 6k rpm when shifting, and redlined it a couple of times. The more I think about it, the more the gloomy words "spun bearing" comes to mind... I'm gonna drain the oil and inspect it.

 

Maybe but I doubt it...

 

exactly. if thats the case, Erwin will not warranty it, NOR any other builder.

good luck.

 

check fuel pressure? maybe it has something to do with the fuel pump.....runs only when cold, tends to die from exhaustion, only stays on by reving. i dunno though

 

check fuel pressure? maybe it has something to do with the fuel pump.....runs only when cold, tends to die from exhaustion, only stays on by reving. i dunno though

 

fuel pump is new and better than stock...