This might be a dumb question ... but I'll fall back on the old saying, "there are no dumb questions, only dumb answers".

I've seen a nice-looking '87 GX for sale. The ad says that the car has a "broken fuel pump". Meaning, I assume that the car won't start. I'll ask the owner why he thinks it is the fuel pump, but if I go see the car, is there anything I can do to better diagnose the problem? Short of taking it to a garage, or some sort of divine intervention?

Any suggestions are appreciated!

 

Don't bother asking the owner, his car is broken and he hasn't fixed it...what useful advice could he have?

 

+1, never trust the DPO (Dreaded Previous Owner). Well, if you turn it to run without starting the car, you should hear it prime or see it prime.

Always check everything and everything. You've only yourself to blame if you accepted someone else's faults

 

i usually am skeptical of the PO, but the thing they say is wrong is the first thing i look at.

so diagnose a bad fuel pump? a bad pump, no fuel, actually has a similar symptom to being flooded.

crank the car, the tach needle should bounce/twitch, the engine should have a steady pulse, but not start. tailpipe area should NOT smell like raw fuel. if it smells like fuel, its probably flooded

so if you smell no fuel, and everything else seems ok, pop a vacuum line off, and spray some brake cleaner/something flammable in there, and it should fire.

if it fires, it needs something in the fuel system. if it doesn't fire, there is something else going on

 

Who sells their car and won't spend $100 on a fuel pump? I call B.S. on this excuse. More issues guaranteed.

 

ya theres some other problem, more likely some totally unknown electrical gremlin, or the motor is blown.

do a compression test on any rotary that doesn't run, or that your spending a fair a mount on

bring a can of starting fluid? should run on that, if its just getting no fuel

 

Pull a spark plug and check for wet plugs..
One of my "bargain Fc's" wouldn't start..it was flooded!
But ya,wet plugs,deflooding,compression check..all good things to do.IF you can do it without Pissing the guy off!.
and If he does get pissed ..WALK.
....(what would really **** the guy off is if you got it Running.If you start it,the price will go up!
So IF you can diagnose it without starting it in front of him,you may be able to get it CHEAP!)

 

well doi, i've never seen an FC that didn't have issues, running or not

 

whenever an owner claims to know the fix it usually isn't the case, because i've found most people to be liars when selling things.

if someone sais "i don't know what's wrong with it" and it winds up being a bad pump, GREAT!
if someone sais "it just needs a fuel pump", you can almost bet the ****** needs an engine...


when i'm buying something and i can't do tests on site i only pay for a car what it is worth if the engine was total junk, because most often it is. sometimes you get lucky though and the engine is just flooded or needs something minor to get it going again.

 

Thanks guys, this is all good advice!

I thought it was strange that the seller would know the problem, but not have fixed it. Then again, I once saw an ad for anRX-7 that said "car has flat tire, can't be moved"

If I can make contact with the owner, I'll see how much he/she will let me do if I make a visit. I'll keep you all posted about what I find out.

 

well that's exactly it, maybe putting air in the tire doesn't make the car be able to be moved.

so just because it has a flat tire, doesn't mean it will move when that gets fixed.

 

 

I cant realy tell, is that tire even flat? looks like it may just be realy low profile...

 

exactly.

 

It probably has a blown engine. I bought one once that "just needs a fuel pump". And the car came with 2 extra junk yard fuel pumps.

 

Got more info from seller: car hasn't been started in four years, wouldn't start now. Turns over but doesn't fire. Seller says it is an "uneducated guess" that it needs a new fuel pump. Think I'll pass on this one.