Started the rex up on the third crank. Its been idling now for 43 minutes. Water temp is below halfway. Oil pressure is about 55 Psi. The idle is set up to about 1800. I could get it a little lower but I am letting it sit there for now.

There was a lot of smoke at first but nothing like when the Coolant seal was cracked.
There is a little bit of smoke (now subsiding) from near the or above the starter. I can't see what it is but I think it is just oil from my hands in places that get hot. ATF got all over when I pulled my drive shaft.

The usual misses every now and again. I have the timing a little off, the first mark is about 1/2" away from the pin. If I move it to where the mark is on the pin the idle is rough. I am afraid to let it die becuase I hear so many stories about how they won't start again and Kevin L. Says to leave it running in the driveway for four hours.

That's it!!! The smoking has almost stopped after 57 minutes. Theres a few clicking noises not sure where its coming from

 

congrats!

 

Awesome man, glad to hear its running and driving! Dont worry too much about letting it die(it is better to not turn it off if you dont have to though). Ive got about 3 hours of runtime on my rebuild and with a fuel pump switch(which is almosta necessity as Ive found out), it will start right up every time. Havent had it flood again since I got it running.

 

2 hours and 57 minutes after it started.......No more smoke of any kind.

The Idle has dropped to 1400.

The clicking has stoped.

I put about 11 miles on it driving around.

Forgot to refill the power steering fluid until I tried to drive it and of course not power steering at all. I put one of those small 12 oz bottles in in and hafl of another. It works again but it Chatters when I turn it real sharp and fast. Will this go away??

 

OBTW I love the smell of a fresh rebuild!! Paint being heated and new rubber outgassing.

 

Congrats! Mine fired up after like 2 or 3 cranks too, it was pretty awesome. I was worried because of all the horror stories I read about rebuilds not starting, flooding issues, rebuilds not idling, etc. But I never had a problem, sounds like yours is off to a good start too

 

the churning noise should go away in time, the fluid is aerated from pumping air for a while.

 

I Ran the motor now for 5 hours and 15 minutes straight. I traveled 67 miles in traffic. When I came back I reset the timing and lowered the Idle to 975 RPMs (rough) The motor performed flawlessly. As scared as I was I went ahead and shut it off. Went in a gave the babies a bath......had to start it again. just make sure it wasn't a fluke. It started. I am shocked.

Thanks to you guys......all of you guys (even those that post crummy thread questions) I was able to do this. There is a 1000 years of experience on this board. You guys make it happen. Please sprain your elbow patting yourself on the back for me.

 

Why? You are getting zero airflow over the oil coolers and radiator. You should let it idle for 15 to 20 minutes, check for leaks and drive it around without boosting it. Don't boost for 500 miles and then have at it.

 

not all of us FC owners have turbos so boost isn't an issue.

 

My rule of thumb is to let it idle for 30-45 minutes (at least) while checking for leaks, watching temps, and watching for any other problems. After that you can turn it off or take it for a drive or do whatever you want.

On Kevin's site he says that sometimes letting a car idle all day in the driveway can help. The more you let the engine run the more it breaks in. Obviously driving under load is better and will break it in better, but there isn't anything really wrong in letting the car idle for long periods of time for the first couple days of break-in. Plus, if your cooling system is working properly it wont matter if you theres no air flow into the radiator or oil cooler.

 

When the car sits without airflow over the oil coolers the oil temp will rise. It is better to have air flow over the coolers.

 

there is always airflow over the radiator and cooler, the fan isn't spinning because it is happy.

 

The oil cooler has a thermostat that opens at certain temps. Once the oil reaches this temp the colder oil in the cooler flows in, hot oil goes into the cooler, stat eventually closes and the oil in the cooler cools off again. I have never had any oil temp problems no matter how long I've let the car idle. I don't see how it could be a problem at all.

Plus, for the break-in your idle is higher, especially the first long idle in the driveway while checking for leaks. Example, jhammons had his idle intially set during the first idle at 1800 rpms with 55psi oil pressure, what exactly is wrong with that?

 

Haha, another good point

 

You read it a little wrong but that's ok. Yes KLs website said leave it in the driveway all day long. I kinda interpreded that to by about 4 hours......my call. Anyway, yes just letting it sit would be a waste. I let it idle for about 45 minutes which afte I made my first post. It took this long to go around and inspect everything for leaks etc. Plus it was still up on the jack stands so that took some time.

No I don't have a booster thingymajig.

The temps were monitered at all times. if the temp guage was on the low side of halfway then I felt it was just fine to sit for a while.

After I made my first post I went to get gas and show the guys at Kragen. They know my name by now. If I don't show up one day they demand a Dr. excuse when I came back!!!!!

 

1) When the car sits the oil cooler therm stays open, the temps rise and eventually stabilize but it's an elevated temp. I watched this on my car and a friends last summer. 180 is ideal BTW.
2) Most individuals don't jack up their idle for a break in. I have been building and porting rotaries for over 20 years and your the first person who has ever said anything about it.
3) Letting it idle in the driveway isn't doing any damage but why do it? Take the car out on the road and drive it, break it in with variable engine RPM's and loads and thermal changes. Does Mazda tell you to break the engine in all day long by idling it in the driveway on a new car?

 

Not the case on early first gens or third gens. The oil coolers need airflow.

 

^^listen to him


btw calebs car is a spawn of satan.

 

All third gens are that way...

 

1) I've sat and watched my oil temps enough times to see it rise up to 180º and then start to fall fast to lower temps, then eventually rise back to 180º and drop again (while idling only).
2) Maybe we're in 2 different worlds then, but tons, and I mean tons, of people I've read about and talked to raise their idle for the break-in. Various engine builders in this section suggest it too for initial break-in/idle for the first startup.
3) I never said that idling it is going to do anything better or break it in better or anything, if that's what you're assuming. Any running time helps, but driving miles are still needed for proper break-in, I know this.

In case you didn't notice this is a 2nd gen section and we're discussing a 2nd gen vehicle, so why should we worry ourselves with what a 1st or 3rd gen needs?

 

Never heard of it before, but I'll take your word.



It was a generalization when braeking in an engine, but thanks for the tip.

 

Yah, I've heard it a lot, but I guess it also depends on type of rebuild. Like with new housings I wouldn't suspect it'd be as necessary. Tidbit from Kevin Landers's site for initial startup/break-in procedures, in case you care:

4) Make preparations to idle the engine up before startup. A rebuild will not even consider idling normally for the first few hours. Use the hard idle set screw(on throttle body by linkages, 8mm locknut with flathead setscrew inside, covered by factory jb weld) to adjust the throttle somewhat open at idle, a few turns are necessary. You want the rebuild to idle at around 1500rpm for the first day or more. IF you don't do this ahead of time, and you're by yourself, youll be stuck inside the car holding the gas instead of outside checking for leaks and such, and if you stop the engine it'll be hard to get started again.




Yah I realize that, I didn't mean to make it come off as if I was trying to be an ***, just wanted to clear that up.

 

I didn't take it that way. Thanks though.

 

Doing that with P/S is like running an engine w/o oil you more than likely burned up the pump.