sandy_RE

its my uncles car, he hasnt driven it for a couple of years its just been sitting and started a few times here and there.
he wants me to go have a look at it one day as he wants to start driving it again.

motor is a stock 13b N/A with no mods. and all the emissions gear still on it as far as i know.

i think he flooded it a few times so a fuel pump kill switch was put in and fixed the problem.
then the car suddenly stopped wanting to idle at red lights, unless you kept the revs up in neutral or park, wich is why he stopped driving it. im not sure if the car starts fine after stalling i havent asked.

i was thinking maybe a vacuum leak shows up after the rich fuel mixture for cold starts/warm up leans out and the car gets to operating temp as it only happens when the car is warmed up.
or could be a faulty/dirty air flow meter?? or maybe the fuel pump kill switch has something to do with it?


what could be some other things to check for??

satch

iTrader: (1)

TPS, BAC, variable resistor, water thermosensor and primary injectors are some of things to look at.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

i think you guys are on the right track.

i'd suspect a vacuum leak too, but you should start with the basics. get it warmed up, and set the TPS, idle speed and mixture.

if that doesn't fix it, i'd look at the normal service stuff, like spark plugs and air filters. i would be inclined to catch it up on the service schedule, as sounds like a normal car driven by a normal person.

sandy_RE

thanks. too many things to worry about with EFI thats why i like carbed rotarys lol

sandy_RE

i think the problem is something little hopefully, yea your right its driven by a normal person but my uncles not that good with cars either hes never really messed around with them especially a rotary.
car has never seen real hard days like drag racing/burnouts it was just a cruiser.

can the TPS go out of spec if it hasnt been messed with and car was running fine before?
not to sure when it last had a service, maybe s[arks plugs werent changed and are really fouled from previous flooding.

satch

iTrader: (1)

W/the car fully warmed (20 minute drive) the Green/Red wire of the TPS should read 1 volt.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

i find when i get an FC, the TPS is off, and then i'll set it when i get it, and then i'll check it again when the weather changes. after that they usually don't need anymore adjustments, but its been a while since i kept one a really long time. think of it like a guitar with new strings, it takes a couple tunes, and then it'll kind of stay in tune for a long time, until it gets hot (or cold)

i'd just bring it up to speed with the service schedule, pretend its a normal car here

sandy_RE

thanks for the advice SATCH ill check for that when i go to look at it.
if i cant get it out for a drive would it be alright to let it warm up by itself just sitting there idling or does it have to be driven?

sandy_RE

yea it could be poorly tuned i also forgot to mention the car was brought at a car dealership years ago, so who knows what was done to the car when they had it
some dealerships can be dodgy and "band-aid" fix things just to get the car sold.

thanks for the useful info J9FD3S thats a good way to put it
so a change in climate could make the TPS go funny and need adjusting?
and are they easy to adjust? i was going to read the FSM on how to do it but would be good to hear from someone whos keen on rotarys and done it first hand.

ill see if the servicing is up to scratch coz my uncle was telling me last time i spoke to him he was going to get it serviced at a friends workshop once i got it running 100%
i might even get him to go get the service first and see if that fixes things if not then ill have a look at the TPS, vacuum leaks and the bits and pieces mentioned above.

satch

iTrader: (1)

You could try, but it would take a long time to fully warm it up just by idling such that it could take at least 40 minutes or so.

sandy_RE

thats a fair while, and it might stall in that 40 minutes, or the neighbours will complain lol.
i might let it idle for a bit till the temp gauge gets to about 1/4 way then get him to take it around the block a few times to get it fully warmed up then check the TPS.

ill post back when i go to look at it with more information on what the cars doing/not doing.

satch

iTrader: (1)

You could also press fully downward on the fast idle cam linkage on the rear of the throttle body to achieve the same thing as a fully warmed engine w/o even starting the car. The linkage has an upside down screw which rests against a metal rod. The adjustment screw for the TPS (located at the front linkage near the TPS itself is about one inch in length and encapsulated inside a spring). W/key to on and the voltage read on the G/R wire it should read 1 volt, and if not, then adjust the screw until it does.

sandy_RE

so fully depress the fast idle cam linkage with engine off but key in on position?
does the fast idle linkage have to stay depressed wile checking the TPS?
thanks again for the info SATCH and sorry for all the questions, i just dont want to cause new problems as the car starts and drives.

satch

iTrader: (1)

Yes, it must be fully depressed because it causes the linkage to behave as a fully hot engine would and if you let go it returns to the previous position which is a cold engine (should make sense). Might need two people to do this but it's possible to do with just one set of hands. You could use a large rubber vacuum cap found at the local auto parts store to place on top of the upside down screw which will fully force the rear linkage downward as long as the top of the cap rest against the metal rod of the thermovalve.

sandy_RE

yea that makes sense keep it fully depressed to replicate a warm engine, thats a smart idea specially if you want to set the TPS if the car doesnt start.

thanks heaps SATCH

sandy_RE

still havent looked at it but have got some more infomation on the car...
it floods before it stalls sometimes blowing a little smoke.
and sometimes it doesnt want to start again once its stalls thats why it has not been driven.

Billcriss

Best of luck man

sandy_RE

thanks, i hope it is the TPS.
theres also a rewired wire on the AFM so ill have a look at that to.
hopefully wont be to much mucking around.

satch

iTrader: (1)

You need to check the water thermosensor.

sandy_RE

im going to have a look at the car shortly.
thanks SATCH ill definetly look through the FSM and check that out.
hopefully can get this problem sorted today.

sandy_RE

just finished having a look at the car with no luck didnt even get the car to running temperature.

started the car and seem to run fine had a little bit of a hunting idle but nothing too bad and idles at 1k from cold.
but now theres a new problem, when the temp needle started to rise, the tiniest bit of smoke started to come out the engine bay around the throttle body and i could smell coolant straight away.

we decided to go get some fuel for the car but half way there the smoke got worse.
we pulled over and the smoke was coming from under the car and making its way up the firewall into the engine bay, the smoke was real thick under the car and seemed to be coming out near the cat converter or somewhere along the exhaust making its way into the bay.
no smoke comes out the exhaust tips at all on idle or under load and it did not overheat while we drove it at all.
added some more coolant in it and drove home, the smoke got better with the coolant added but i didnt let the car get any warmer with coolant leaking/burning.
i have to bleed the system properly but what else should i be looking for?? what could be causing that leak to run down the exhaust??

the overflow bottle was full all the way to the cap, im not sure if the motor spat it all out or if thats how it was filled, as i filled it from where the thermostat is.
my uncle reckons it never did that while he was driving it around years ago.
could it be bad coolant seals?? wouldnt smoke come out the exhaust tip and not underneath the car if the coolant seals were no good?

car also seemed to hesitate under load in 'D' gear before it started to rev out and seemed pretty weak i think that might be the TPS but im not sure.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

if its a pinhole leak, it can actually spray coolant, so i'd look for that. basically any leak ends up going down and backwards, which is where the cat is....

lduley

iTrader: (1)

Or the water hoses going to the TB, or even a heater core hose, those are all possible pissing points back there

sandy_RE

so the leak must be coming from the firewall side of the throttle body somewhere i cant see from looking in the engine bay i might have to get underneath and have a look or make one of those pressure testers, as theres too many hoses and stuff in the way to see exactly where the leak is coming from.

its always the way you go to check one thing and another problem pops up, i might be going to have another look at it today.

thanks for the help J9FD3S and IDULEY

sandy_RE

just got back from having another look at the car.
i found where that leak was coming from it wasnt coolant wich is good news,
i jacked up the car and had a look it was ATF coming out the auto trans sump/oil pan and slowly dripping onto the exhaust and heat shield wich was causing the smoke to come through the engine bay.

would it be ok to just clean the surface and just use the right silicone instead of a gasket on the sump?
and is there a tightening sequence for the Auto trans?
could that be why the engine seems weak?? it struggled to pull itself up a inclined driveway,
the trans kicks down but nothing really happens.
could it be also why it was stalling?