Help Starting
 

I have a 86 FC GXL that has been in storage for about 5 years..... Tried to get it started with no luck...
First, before the car was put in storage it was driven for about 1hr and was running extremely hot TEMP gauge all the way to the top. Radiator fluid was bubbling and boiling in the over flow bottle and spewing from it. Car would not start after it was left and had to be pushed in storage that same day. The battery was removed and the car was covered.

Now five years later the car needs some attention. The gas tank was drained to see and identify if there was rust in the tank. Tank was about 1/4 full before it was drained and the fuel was light orange in color... Crap not good.

Added some new fuel in the tank. New spark plugs and brand new battery. I have tried cranking with the EGI fuse out and throttle pressed multiple times to de-flood. Auto Trans fluid to lower spark plug holes. Cranks and Cranks. Have tried this so many times and nothing. Car does not even think about starting. It will crank long enough to get smoke out the back but no luck on starting. Whats next replace the fuel injectors? The fuel filter was replaced before car went in storage and has about 5K miles through it. Car has 119K... Anything helps guys whats next to try and get it running?

New radiator was put in the car but still unknown why it over heated so bad and got pushed off to storage for five years.

Hey Jeff,

The car sitting for a while it can live with, as long as it's not waterlocked or otherwise seized, which it isn't as you're able to crank it. Good job on the gas swap and oiling of the plug holes too.

If I were you i'd run down the list of basics to get a combustion engine working;

- Check for compression; either w/ a compression tester or by hearing (less accurate)

- Check for fuel; is the pump running? are the lines crummy or blocked? Are the injectors clean?

- Check for spark; you already replaced some parts, that's good, but are you actually getting spark?

- Check for timing; hook up a timing light to the L1 plug lead and see if the timing mark on the main pulley lines up with the pin on the front cover.

What I'm worried about is the overheating you mentioned; this could have warped the housings/plates, causing gas/water seal failures down the line..

Keep us updated!

Thanks for the reply,
I know its getting spark I checked each plug before installing the new ones. Also replaced the plugs with new NGK plug wires before storage.
Going to pull the fuel pump this week end like you suggested and touch it to the battery to see if the pump works. If the pump is working I will probably replace the fuel filter and add new injectors.
Also, with the compression what numbers am I looking for 120PSI? Hope the APEX seals are not toast....
Last "if" or more so "when" I get the car started would replacing the water pump help with the overheating problem?

Hey man,

Compression probably isn't the issue, the car will show some signs of life unless comp's abysmal.

Anything around 100psi passes, heck there's rebuilds being done using 90-ish even. Watch for bigger deviations between rotor faces, easy to spot on a regular dial-style comp. tester, cuz these show if there's busted side-, corner- or apex seals.

My money is on a busted fuel pump or a related wiring fault, if you've got spark then it should at least splutter a bit even on low compression. For good measure you could try cranking for a while w/ EFI fuse, w/o ignition fuse, then check if your plugs are damp.

Edit: If the waterpump isn't leaking along the shaft seals, I wouldn't touch it. You could drain the coolant on your next flush and open the pump up, check the impeller, but they're usually fine.

Did you happen to change the fuel pump and strainer inside the tank?

I agree with Mazdarain that the bubbling coolant is a very concerning problem. The only time I have experienced bubbling coolant coming out of the reservoir was when I snapped my alternator belt which is connected to the water pump. I would consider looking into that first. Then work towards the water pump and thermostat. If you're not running a smog pump anymore I would highly recommend a dual alternator pulley to make sure the water pump doesn't slip.

Thanks,
Fuel pump is not turning on when being touched to power, now ordering a new fuel pump and fuel filter. Thanks for the pulley tip, I have not run the smog pump for years and only have the alternator, AC and power steering pulleys used. I'll look into adding a duel pulley if it starts after replacing fuel pump and filter.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...1b1fbe9104.jpg
Drain fuel.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...2dca2260df.jpg
Fuel color, more full left less full right.

That's some stale fuel if anything. Glad you got the thing running man, any word on your cooling issues?

The pulleys are trashed maybe new belts will help the cooling issue.

Alright...... Now that I got back to it, Car had some life when putting in some carb/cleaner into the engine intake, it actually started to fire and ran for a few seconds. Compression test was bouncing between 90PSI and 100PSI......


I know the fuel pump is trashed obvious with the pictures. Pictured pump was tested and does not kick on. I now have the new fuel pump and looked inside the tank...... WOW.... what can a few years in storage do.... SO, is there anyway to save the tank before adding the new pump? I'm thinking adding a new pump would be a horrible idea with the state of the old rusty tank?

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...63eb42dd90.jpg
Old Fuel Pump
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...e7e38f5cfd.jpg
Inside Tank 1
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...ffa8930421.jpg
Inside Tank 2
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...d572e8757b.jpg
86 GXL

Tank is dropped and going to a local radiator shop for a de-rusting/cleaning, etch and reline.