Important questions for new TII owner
 

Hello,

So I got an 88 Turbo the other day. It has 107 on the clock and was supposedly rebuilt at 100. Heres my problem...

The guy who sold it to me said that it drives great and everything. Then one day(this is all before I bought it) it didn't start for him. What the car does is, when it does start, is it idles somewhat irratic and when you try and give it gas it just dies. He said that it could be a leak in a vacuum hose or the injectors need to be replaced. Oh and he said it could be the starter, but that is completely wrong, it's not the starter for sure.

Then I bought it. It starts, but it still dies when given gas. After attempting to get it to go, there is a lot of gas around so I think its flooding. My other N/A does it all the time. So I looked a little and read that it could be a few problems. I need some advice as to what it could really be instead of guessing my way about problems that it may not even have. So far I have read that this could be a bad fuel pump, there could be a vacuum leak, leaky/ bad fuel injectors, or bad fuel pressure at idle. I think its not a vacuum leak but maybe something with the fuel. I mean if it idles then dies whe I try to give it gas then there is either no fuel or air going to the engine. Well, if it's flooding then I think its getting plenty of fuel... maybe the problem is that its getting too much. I'm not really sure where to start, and thought it would benefit me if I asked some questions before I start tearing away at my engine and not being able to put it back together or something.

Maybe it wasn't the smartest thing to buy a car from someone that doesn't start even after being told its not that big of a deal. But the thing is, I am very into cars and want to get good with working on them and such. That's the reason I bought it. Everyone starts somewhere so I would really appreciate it if anyone could help me.

Thanks,
Jordan

Did you check the compression yet? That should be the first step. Post the results and we can go from there...

adjust the TPS http://fc3spro.com/TECH/HOWTO/TPS/tps.html
i doubt its all thats wrong, but its something to check.

I think the compression is good, but I'll have to chec kit out.




I'll give that a try. What else do you think coulld be wrong if you think there is more?

At the top of my list would be a blown engine or a vacuum leak.

After that, it depends. Could be something as simple as a bad spark plug or ignition wire.

If there is lots of black smoke, then it's flooding out. Injectors can stick open but that's pretty rare. They do leak but generally this is not a sudden occurance.

Hmmm, I really hope it's not a blown engine, especially since it was rebuilt not too long ago. The smoke isn't black though. Would the AFM, MAF, BAC and ACV possibly cause this problem as well. If they could, I'll look at those things then check for vacuum leaks. Thanks to those who have helped so far.

If you have compression, then i recommend just buying all new gaskets and hoses, and tearing it down the the block and building it up new...I had idle problems, but they all went away when I just redid EVERYTHING...its not that hard, and can easily be done in a weekend. Get you injectors cleaned while your at it.


-Matt

How much you pay for it?

LIM to block gasket = 6
LIM to UIM gasket = 3
Manifold to block= 30?
Manifold to turbo= 30?
Turbo to DP = 50
Vac hose = 20 (for PLENTY)
Fuel lines = 5
Injector O-Rings/Grommits = 20?
Coolant hose = 10

anyone wanna add more..feel free...

http://www.mazdatrix.com

-Matt

Alright, I did a compression check today and my results are about 90 for the first rotor and 80 for the rear rotor. So the compression is low, but it's not blown, right? Please let me know.

Sounds fine. Vacuum leak or ignition problem is the next step.

Alright thanks Aaron. I have read that finding the leak is kind of hard. Are there any specific vacuum hoses that I should check first, like any major ones, because there are soo many hoses its hard to just start rippen them out not knowing if they are the culprit.

Isn't anything below 90 for each rotor bad though, meaning that its due for a rebuild soon? That's what I read on Rotary Ressurection.

Someone please let me know, I think I'm going to have to sell it.

Anything below 90 on a rotor is "might blow any day" territory.

If you have another car, you could just drive the car (GINGERLY) until it goes. Might last you a year :)

Please consider a do-it-yourself rebuild, cheaper than you might expect!

Ok, thanks man.

Sorry for bringing this thread back but it looks like I'm going to have to rebuild it myself. The apex seals are what is causing its low compression. Called the dealer they said they wouldn't even rebuild it. Ballpark figure for a whole new engine and labor.... $4000. Shit. There is no way that's going to happen. So if I rebuild it myself... could I do so with about $1500-2000? Might have to buy a few tools though like and enige crane and a torgue wrench, I pretty much have many other tools though. I can weld and do other things. This would be my first attempt at a rebuik, probably going to get one of those videos. Im kind of scared, there is so much going on in those engines! All those hoses and stuff. Im guessing I'd have to replace all the hoses and gaskets too. So how long do you think this will take me?

If the engine was only recently rebuilt and has been sitting, then the low compression might be a temporary condition. All it might need is a little driving time.

As for a rebuild, you can do it yourself if you can follow instructions. :) I have a rebuild topic in the Archives, and there are instructional videos available. If you don't need any hard parts, the price could be under $1000.

Yeah, I might as well rebuild it though. Get everything striaghtened out, because getting it running right now might be harder to figure out than what it will take to rebuild. I'd like to rebuild it to so there aren't any problems in the future. I still got to save for college. But I'm glad there is a forum here like this where people can help me through this when I really need it. Thanks