Starting up after a few years
 

ok, i'm about to buy a 79 rx7 that hasn't been started in a few years. what should i do to it before its first fire up? i know i need to change all fluids and filters. a mechanic suggested oil down the carb to help lube the apex seals for start up.

ATF it for a day or two.

Nah, you dont need to ATF it, just pour a little bit a oil down the carb to lube the seals and you will be fine. Only do the ATF trick if its locked up. OH, bye the way it WILL smoke pretty bad at first but dont worry it will go away after about 15 minutes.

Yeah, two drops of oil will help all six apex seals that have been dormant for years just fine....

how about atf with the oil. did we lose power to the forum a bit ago?

fight! boston crab!

I would definately do the ATF treatment if I was you.

ATF isn't just for when you have a locked engine. It can also restore lost compression resulting from stuck seals which is very likely if the engine's been sitting for that long.

atf is really only for carbon buildup (is it not?). so i would say just go with the oil at first and see what happens. then, if you think necessary, disconnect the cats and try the atf treatment.

granted atf willnot hurt, but why bother right now if you donot have to. i would imagine that you just want to get the thing running.

how do you do the atf treatment effectively?

Pull the plugs, put some in the holes and hand turn the motor over. ler her sit over the weekend, put thte old plugs back in and fire her up. Stand back from all the smoke and once that clears put in fresh plugs, and filters, oil, air and fuel and you should be good.

exactly how do i hand turn the motor? i know i'm an idiot. not used to dealing with old cars.

just turn the main pully on the front :)

ATF is for carbon buildup, ATF is for locked engines, ATF is for engines that have been sitting a long time.

You should be able to hand-turn the engine with a socket on the alternator pulley nut (really! i turn mine by hand all the time) If the engine won't turn this way then you definitely need to ATF the sucker.

kudos guys.

by the way, how much atf needs to go into it?

So what is the best to do? ATF or just oil??

ATF. It helps clean, unlock, lube etc.
hanman

ok, i put in a quart of atf and a quart of mmo. i couldn't get the car on its side to put it through the lead plug hole so i pulled the air can and put it through the carbs. i used a breaker bar and turned the engine over a few times. turned, filled, turned, filled, etc. where and which fluids for the dif, transmission, whatever i left out.

TWO QUARTS OF OIL!!!?? That's almost twice the displacement of your engine...

oh well, its soaked right? since its a 79 i don't have to wrry about clogging the cat on startup do i?

No, probably just Hydro-locking it. (with ATF/MMO)

Pull the plugs and blow some of that shit out.

ok, next time define soak a little better.

www.mazspeed.com , ATF under the facts section.
hanman

jeremy, if you are doing the atf treatement, i would pull the thermal reactors.

I think its a little late to tell him that now...

~T.J.

thanks for the link. its not hydrolocked as i could still turn it by hand. where is the thermal reactor and how hard is it to pull? its not going to cause a nuclear explosion is it? i haven't started it yet so if anything is in there it came through the exhaust ports wet.

I wouldn't worry about the thermal reactor, I've ATF'ed my 80 a couple times no problems. (That was before I put the MSD on it... after that it never once flooded on cold start!)

The T.R. is basically a huge specialized exhaust manifold, and it is a severe bitch to remove even with the engine out of the car.

alright, i'll definitely skip that step then. that will wait for upgrading.

Point of reference...

Next time go down to your local Wal*Mart. They have small turkey basters for like US$2 at the most. Attach about three inches of some small hose like fuel line to the end. Bingo boingo, instant squirter device to get it in the lower spark plug holes.

The turkey baster makes sure you don't get TOO much fluid in the engine.

Put in a shot, Turn the crank one full spin (Put a spot or some tape on it to keep track.) Shot, Spin, Shot, Spin. Repeat for the other rotor.

You can pull on the belts really hard and the engine should spin.

You wanna make three full spins per rotor, with one shot between each spin. Gets the ATF or MMO on each side of the rotor.

Let her sit for a day or two. Badda bing, Badda boom. good to go. Old plugs in, fire up. let it warm up, go highway driving to clean it all out, change spark plugs.

yeh, i was going to try the funnel and hose thing but i only had the funnel. 2 quarts wasn't to bad. used the breaker bar and spun the engine with the plugs out and spewed it out like a wet fart. can't say i didn't have the seals well soaked. fill the carb, let drain, turn. over and over.

Be prepared for more smoke than you have ever seen in your life.
Do it after dark if you can, otherwise the neighbors may call the fire department.
Or you can have a friend spray water from a hose over the smoke as it's exiting the exhaust.
Oh yeah, have another friend shoot a video of the whole thing, it makes a great beer story.
Seriously though, have a fire extinquisher handy. If you have any holes in the exhaust the ATF is very likely to catch on fire under the car, especially considering the mass quantity that you put in the engine.
Don't ask me how I know this!
hanman

Wow 2 quarts.. never heard that one before. Is the car still smoking?

Yeah if you used 2 quarts total, pull all 4 plugs and crank the engine over via the starter. Get a shitload of rags cuz its gonna make a HUGE mess. Crank the starter on the car via the key in for no more than 10 seconds and wait about 30 seconds before cranking again you dont wanna ruin the starter :) Also while cranking make sure you have fresh gas in the tank, and pump the shit outta it. This will kinda purge the engine with clean gas and wash all the extra outta there... Once the liquid exiting the spark plug holes in almost pretty minimal (kinda close to a mist instead of globs of liquid) Put semi good plugs in it, and wash the bay down really good. You dont want to accidently catch the engine bay on fire. Now with that done attempt to start it, Id imagine you will have to pump the gas quite a bit to get a combustible mixture in there.... Once it starts its probally gonna smoke for a LONG TIME. Once its ran for say 10-15 minutes. Id turn the engine off, and let it cool a little. Put new plugs in it, new dist cap and misc ignition compenents (well its a 79 with points and I dunno shit about them/whatever basically is considered a tune up in a pre electronic igntion car?) Now change engine oil, coolant, trans fluid, and rear axle oil. With that done go for a test drive :)

I should have done this on my 85 four months ago. Maybe that would have helped the engine last longer. :(

LOL! Too funny! I bought that exact same turkey baster for my MMO treatment! Maybe Wal*Mart should re-label it a "rotary baster" and stick it in automotive.

Actually, I wrecked my 7 before I found that turkey baster or even had the idea of using such a thing to inject the ATF/MMO. I always used the carb.

I bought it to take brake fluid outta my Honda's resivour as the fluid was blacker than used oil.

I looked at the baster and said, "HEY! This is PERFECT!"

Later I realled that I had the baster in my trunk when I was checking a low compression GSL-SE out. Stuck some hose on, and good to go. It really was perfect.