1990 GTU Sitting now not starting
 

Ok here is the story. And before I begin I just want to make it clear that I have spend every waking day of my last week on this this website searching over and over trying to find out what my problem is.

Ok so I bought my car from a guy on craigslist. I met the guy and we talked for a very long time and he seemed to be very honest. I understand however that not all people are trustworthy, but this guy just didnt have anything to gain by lying to me so Im tending to lean towards believeing him.

He said that his friend owns a body shop. Some how or another his friend ended up owning this as payment for a job. His friend never had any intrest in the car and since he knew that the guy I bought it from was a big car junkie he just gave him the car.

Supposedly the car had a relatively new motor in it and ran great. The guy I bought the car from said he already had to many cars and he wasnt ever able to drive this car. So he parked it in his side yard and left it. One year later he decides to sell it and it wont crank.

So heres where I come in. I noticed the car on craigslist and since I have always wanted one of these cars I decided to get it. I picked it up for $500. I just didnt know what I was getting into.

First I pulled the car home. He had already changed all the regular stuff like plugs, wires, and checked the the fuel pump. Now I dont know if he checked the fuel pressure but i do know that the pump is fully operational. I popped a battery in it and turned the motor over a bit. Nothing. So I popped the plugs out and checked for spark and its getting a nice strong spark on all 4. They were also covered in fuel from me trying to start it so I know its getting fuel. I then checked the compression and it is hitting 75 PSI on both with tranny fluid in it. So as you guessed I also tried the ATF trick. No go. Not even the slightest bit of a pop.

So now Im thinking flooded. So I pop the fuse out and turn the motor over and over. Popped fuse back in and no go. Also tried taking plugs and fuse out and turning motor. No go. So then as a last result I tried push starting the car. This is the only thing that gave me the slightest bit of anything. As it was pushed it would occasionally fire and pop. Some times it would back fire. But this was all it did.

So as of right now Im at a stand still. I will be searching some more and any help that the rotary experts as yourselves might can give me would be greatly appricated.

P.S. I am located right outside of Atlanta and would love to meet with some RX-7 guys so any info on this would also be great!

My GXL came from a similar hibernation. Push/Pull starting it fired her right up.

75 psi means low compression but then again it sat for a year try pulling it around while in gear

I thought below 80 on both rotors means that it's going to go soon. Anyway, the push start will start any rx7, no matter how flooded it is.

How did you check the compression? If you used a conventional compression tester and didn't remove the shrader valve or hold in the button on the side of the gauge, the readings are meaningless. You could have a bad apex seal and still get an overall reading like that from one good rotor face.

Do the test again. Remove the EGI fuse. Remove both leading (lower) plugs. Screw in the hose and either hold down the little button or unscrew and remove the shrader valve at the end of the hose. Then as someone cranks the engine with the gas pedal pressed to the floor, watch the gauge needle. You should see relatively even bounces of the needle. For example, something like 75, 80, 75. You don't want to see something like 75, 10, 10. Get the idea?

For a very simple test, remove the EGI fuse and leading plugs one at a time, crank the engine with the gas pedal depressed and listen for nice even chugs from the plug hole. Like chug, chug, chug--not chug, chug, chug, chug, chug, chug. If it sounds like the latter, chances are that you have a failed apex seal, probably requiring an engine rebuild or replacement. Figure on at least $2-3K for a rebuild depending on who does it.

If the engine does, in fact, have 75 PSI on all faces of all rotors, the engine should start and run. Assuming good fuel, good spark and timing set correctly, of course.

I suspect that he is stating an overall compression reading based on an incorrectly done compression test. My guess is that he actually has low compression on some rotor faces which would not necessarily show up when incorrectly using a conventional compression tester on a rotary engine. See my other post for more info.

Has anyone addressed the issue of bad gas?
 

I had a 91 BMW 325i that was found sitting in weeds taller than the car behind an auto shop. Car had sat for more than a year. Quite simply put. The gas was a bit older than 14mo. and had already begun to break down and gel. Perhaps our lad needs to add 5-10 gal (If that much will fit) of the highest grade gasoline *non ethanol if possible* to the tank. Also try replacing your fuel filter and go ahead and try to drag it around a while in 1st gear. Then try the trusty ol push start routine... should sputter gag backfire etc for a while.. Then it should fire up and run like hammerd ducks for a bit then settle down. If that does not help I am sorry to say I would be stumped!

Good LuCK!

I am sorry that I did not explain a little better. I did do a compression test like you explained and it did have good compression on all 3 sides on both rotors. Atleast I thought between 75-80 psi was good. And I have tried pulling/pushing this car prob a total of a mile so I dont see that begining to work anytime soon. But thanks for all your help and quick responses. Maybe now we can futher narrow the problem!

Opps I didn't read the whole post earlier so let's try this instead.

If you have been getting some popping and sputtering then you may have burned away the tranny fluid that you put in earlier. I wouldn't use tranny fluid if I were you, but drop a few more ounces of you favorite oil into the rotor housing and try cranking it or push starting it again. If your doing the push start method, try to get it up to a decient speed, maybe 10-15mph, and pop the clutch in 1st. Try to get the engine to spin as quick as possible which will increase your chance of getting it going. When it does get going, hold it at about 3000-4000RPM for at least a minute, and if possible, drive it around at fairly high RPM for a little while.

So, do a quick de-flood (fuse out) and then drop in your oil, and then giv'er on the starter.

Thank you I am going to try to pour oil in it and then pull start it in a minute. I didnt do that earlier. I Poured the tranny fluid in it and the left the plugs out and turned the motor til it all has sprayed out. So Now Im going to pour it in and put the plugs in and then immediatly pull it. Thanks

may have an anwser
 

my name is josh,i own 4 rx7s two 1st gens and two 2nd gens.I have good knowledge of these cars,but the guy i build with is a complete expert.I will ask him about the problem,but for now if you have not already tried it,on the top of the motor where it says 13b,directly in front there are thee hoses.the top hose is the widest,disconect and pour some oil into it.It may take a few minutes for the oil to get in there.Doing this lubes the inside of the seals and ups the oil preasure.Its a quick thing to do,and costs nothing,I had to do the same thing a month ago,enyway ill talk to him and get back to you.good luck. p.s.dont give up if the apex seals and rotors are good you will find the problem.