Hello, Im new here... go easy on me. I've been in a few forums before. I tried searching, but couldnt find what I was looking for.

I was given this 1989 Black GXL with 115,000 miles. It has been sitting since 2001. I have a friend that has 2-3rd gens and 1-2nd gen. He suggested removing the plugs and turning the key over for a little bit in case it is flooded. That didnt work. It sounds like its wanting to start, just doesnt fire up. We added octane booster, still no results. I know there are some geniuses on this forum, so please let me know what to try next. The battery is new. All connections appear fine. The car is in excellent condition. My friend is ASE certified, so its not just some random guy...lol

I do plan on replacing the engine/transmission soon, I just want to get it running and drive it a little bit before I do the swap.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

check your MAF

 

How do you check it?
just to clarify.. MAF= Mass Air Flow

 

well if the car has been sitting since '01 i'm willing to bet that you have more than a few seals that are stuck and aren't getting enough compression. Do a compression test.

 

That was what my friend said... he suggested putting a capful of ATF fluid in each spark plug hole. How do I check it.... or maybe I should search for that huh?

 

check the FAQ get a Hayes manual or FSM .

 

thanks guys, engines aren't my thing, that's why I got this car...to learn. electronics and audio are a breeze, but engines drive me nuts! luckily this is just a project car.

thanks again.

 

the only FAQ I can find is the vbulletin one at the top of the screen. Is there one for RX-7 FAQs? Link it, if its not too much trouble.

thanks

 

the atf trick will more than likely not work on a motor that has sat this long. To do a compression test with a conventional tester screw in the tester into the leading plug disconnect the CAS plug and pull the EGI fuse, have someone hold the car at WOT and crank it over, now while holding the check valve in watch the needle sweep. If its over 85psi (which is prob. a long shot) it should start.

 

Thanks, I will check it tomorrow and get back to you. I just need to get a tester. Im assuming they have them at Auto Zone/Advanced?

 

Found as a sticky thread at the top of this section.

You always want to read the FAQ for FC sticky thread before posting. It covers many of the commonly asked questions:

https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-specific-1986-1992-17/frequently-asked-questions-2nd-generation-rx-7-faq-fc-494667/

 

Just tow start it. BEst way to get a motor started.

 

+1.

Id say check the compression first tho

 

dang I feel stupid. I bet I looked over that at least 20 times. I must have spelt it wrong in the search too. thanks for your patience, looks like I have a lot of work to do!

 

Flatlander is right. I have torn apart several rotary engines that had sat for more than a few months. All of them had stuck side seals on the rotors....and I mean stuck as in hammer-and-gasket-scraper kind of stuck. Rotaries don't like sitting for long periods of time without proper storage methods. Condensation and coolant seal seepage is not their friend. A compression test is your best first place to start.

 

I want to switch it over to a turbo anyways, so I may just have to go ahead with that. I am hoping this thing will start so I can do the motor swap in my DD. I only need it to run for about a month. I'm down in myrtle beach right now, so I will let u guys know what happened when I get back home.

Does it make a different sound whenu try to start it with the seals stuck vs. unstuck?

 

Seals stuck= no crank

Seals unstuck= crank

 

I knew that..lol, I meant if it was something else, would it sound different when u turned the key stuck vs unstuck. For ex.. in a piston vehicle, when the timing chain goes and u turn the key, the cranking speed is usually much faster than normal. I don't think "cranking" is the correct term, but I'm sure u know what I meant.

 

Theres a huge difference between a seized motor and a broken timing chain. IE: broken timing chain the motor will still turn over. Seized motor means its stuck, will not turn over.

If you try to start the car and it turns over, congrats, you might have a fighting chance on saving the motor! If not, get another one. I wouldnt imagine it being salvagable sitting with water for that long

 

try putting some new gas in it, i have found out first hand these things do not want to run on old bad gas, not even for a minute. My friend had one sitting for a long time and had the same problem, he put some new in and it fired up...good luck

 

it turns over great, just won't fire up... thanks for the clarification. I will find out more tomorrow.

 

Ok, you stand a chance. Check the necessities.... Compression, fuel, spark

 

Just put in 5.3 gallons of 93 octane. It should be fine now considering we put in some octane boooster before I posted this. It still didnt start though... So Im opening the compression tester now, 24.95 at Advanced Auto. Will update in a few.

 

It it has lost compression or is flooded it will crank over faster.

Try tow starting it, crank the idle way up before you do it so it doesn't die again though, if the gas that was in there while it sat was still in the bottom of the tank that could do it too, my 87 i used to have sat that long and there was alot of rust in the tank check that as well as the fuel filter.

 

ok heres the webiste instructions

1) note battery strength. A weak battery will yield low compression results.

2) Remove both lower plugs and wires.

3) remove EGI fuse from engine fusebox.

4) have a friend floor the accelerator pedal, opening the throttle for more airflow

5) insert your tester into the leading hole

6) hold the valve on the side of the tester open

7) have your friend crank the car over for 5+ seconds.

8) observe the needle bounces. You should see 3 in succession without skips, even bounces, in roughly the 30-35psi range.

9) let out on the valve now, and let the tester reach an overall compression value for all 3 faces(highest of 3 will be displayed). 115+ is like new, 100-115 is healthy, 90-100 is getting weak(1 year or less in most cases) below 90 could blow at any moment.

10) repeat for opposite rotor. Note difference in overall compression between rotors, which should be no more than 20psi max.


On the HOLD IN test, mine was even bounces at about 60PSI, it said it should be about 35??? is that bad?. But the Over all was 105PSI. The CH-CH-CH's were very even and smooth. I bought some new plugs anyways, so Im gonna do that next. I will post again when finished.