shottaboymaze

89 rx7 that I have had sitting in storage, now relocated to my new home. I have the time and money to work on it. There was no gas in the tank, i purchased brand new plugs, new gas. I just want to make sure it starts before i change out the fluids (oil coolant/hoses and whatnot)

It turns over, and the fuel pump is working. I get a **** load of smoke from the exhaust as I expected however it does start. I checked my fuses, all good. wires seem to be connected. What thread should I visit for restarting vehicles like mine?
thanks alot you guys.

shottaboymaze

granted, i know this thread has seen this forum a million times. However while researching Icemark's (r.i.p) "frequently asked questions":My car doesn't start
Remember when starting a fuel injected car you should never pump or press the accelerator pedal, but if it won't start it is probably flooded, Hold the accelerator pedal all the way down while cranking, do not pump the pedal. If it still doesn't start after a few tries, Then remove the EGI fuse and crank a couple more times, then re-install the fuse and try starting again. If then the car still fails to start it then you need to remove and clean the spark plugs, put in a teaspoon of good quality 20W50 motor oil or a teaspoon of ATF into the lower sparkplug holes, re-install the spark plugs and try again. Make sure you change your oil after you have started and run the car ASAP


it seems that the engine is cranking better however no start. Next on the list will be to make sure that the ignition wires are in the correct position.

shottaboymaze

the firing order is on point, ima let the battery recharge for a bit. Ima keep researching. (p.s. it's ok to view the thread, if you got any pointers let me know-and no b.s. posts because we're all adults in here)

thanks

HAILERS

Depending how long in storage............apex seals might be sticking and no to little compression is being made when the engine turns over.

Pull the lower plugs and put a finger over one sparkplug hole while cranking the engine over. Then compare that with the doing the same with the other lower sparkplug hole.

The compression should be trying to push your finger out of the sparkplug hole. How hard should it be doing that? Judgement call. Get a compression tester and have a go at it using that. But the finger test should tell you if one rotor is anemic compared to the other rotor housing.

shottaboymaze

thankx bro, ill do this 2morrow and post results

shottaboymaze

ok: update

I checked the coils/plugs with the plug tester tool (dont know the official name) and all 4 plugs lit up so no issues with those components. Per my Haynes manual, the next thing to check is the crank position sensor. (i'll check for compression after diagnosing electrical concern for I feel its more of an electrical concern)

HAILERS

I suggest whoever wrote that Haynes manual has S..t for brains. If you have spark the CAS is good.

Another way to check for spark and is in general fairly reliable, is to look at the tach needle when cranking the engine over. Small, very small bumps of the tach needle indicate sprak is being produced by the ECU/coils and thereby the CAS is also good.

Compression is low as in stuck apex seals etc. Enough spark to light up the mixture but not enough compression to rotate the engine. Something like that. Just a guess, nothing more.

shottaboymaze

compression test it is than

HAILERS

Just a simple finger compression test with both lower plugs out.

Finger over the sparkplug hole. Spin the starter over. Compression should try to blow the finger off the hole.

Then do the other sparkplug hole. It should feel similar as to the amount it wants to blow your finger off the hole.

If one rotor has a stuck seal........you'll be able to feel the difference when compared to the other rotor.

shottaboymaze

per rotary resurrectionon: '89s are supposed to blow more (compresson wise) from the front port than the rear. I dont about about all this b/c I have an 89 and the front turns with the ch ch sound 3 times and then the rear sounds like a damn train ch ch ch !! like really loud. *granted all i wanted to do was determined wtf was wrong with my engine. Have we confirmed a failed seal?

HAILERS

Most likely. Hard to tell from here, but both should sound the same. There is NO SUCH thing as the front rotor rotor blowing more than the rear rotor. That's bullshit in spades (unless the rear seals are bad). They both should sound the same.

Next step then is to get a compression tester and confirm it with that. Sounds like a stuck seal on one or the other. Most likely the freight train one. Hard to say again because I/we do or don't know if the engine ran good prior to storage?

Some people who suspect stuck seals pour something or other into the housings and let it sit overnight. I ain't a gonna comment on this method one way or the other.

shottaboymaze

now a regular tester should fit or do I need a specific one?

HAILERS

Just a regular one. Mabe one that has a valve on the side of it that you can depress with your hand while the engine spins. This depressed valve will cause the pressure to release after each face goes by. You do this so you can see each *face* of the rotor cause the gauge needle to bounce up when that face goes by.

You will only see the needle bounce to about 30psi but should be able to tell if one of the three isn't up to speed. Then you can NOT depress that valve on the side and see how high the gauge goes. Say up to 100psi. But remember, it could be just two of the *faces* causing the 100psi figure and the third one ain't a doing squat.

Or buy a gauge without that valve on the side, but remove the shrader valve in the end of the hose (auto store sells those valve removal stems for cheap) and then do the compression test. Still just bounces to approx 30pis for each *face* of the rotor and then reinstall the shrader valve in the end of the hose and see how high the needle goes when you spin the engine over.

I didn't explain that very clearly. Anybody wanna give a better explanation? Please do so. I don't do this very often. No need.

As the jpgs attached show, they come in all sorts of prices. I'd pick a cheap one whos hose will screw into the sparkplug hole so you don't have to hand hold it in the sparkplug hole.

shottaboymaze

aight, just bought my compression tester on my break and i got hit by a couple of old school Mazda cats telling that I need the tester that has two extensions for the high and low ports as per all data and whatnot. My logic is that as long as I keep the ports plugged and compare each one at a time, I can make my determination on which damn rotor has low compression from which Im assuming its the first rotor. (all in all my goal is to get a turbo motor but i want to learn as much as I can from the one i have)

shottaboymaze

man o man, this tester is a pain in the ***. I hooked the adapter in the plug hole no problem however to connect the hose to that adapter is impossible. You have at least a good length of hose to manevour (spelling w.e) and bending or folding it does not help. My next step is find out if there is an elbow piece that is sold that be attatched to that adapter making the job easier. Or a case of beer and some friends, either way its friday!

shottaboymaze

aight
managed to do a compression test, rear rotor has 85psi for each face which figured when I had did the hand test before. I knew that the front rotor was low however was not able to get a reading, the adapter to the tester did not seem to seat well in the port, I'm guessing at least 65 psi from the hand test. Now its time to continue to save the money and look into a tii swap.