Hey since this is my first post here, I might as well introduce myself. I have a 1987 Turbo II with 104k miles on it. I picked it up a few weeks ago, and am kind of new to rotaries, so hopefully you guys can steer me in the right direction.

Now as for my problem:

The car will start up fine right away. I start it up and the rpm's jump up to 3 grand right away, but drop down to 1,200 after about 3 seconds. It runs fine, never dies and doesn't give me any problems. It drives great and feels like all the power is there. The car smokes until it is warm. Now when I shut it off is where the problem starts. I try to start it after that, and the engine just turns over and it seems like it isn't getting spark. I would think it's the plugs if it didn't start up so perfectly the first try. This leads me to believe that the engine is flooding. I have tried revving it up to about 5k and shutting it off there, but it still won't start after. The car will start up fine a few hours later. Now what do you all think would cause my engine to flood like this? Is there any simple things I can do to prevent or fix this? What are my options and what should I start replacing?

Thanks for any and all help in advance!

 

Sounds like you have a hot start problem.

Are we dealing with a 87-88 or a 89-91 car?

 

So I just read about the automatic transmission trick. Should I try this on an engine as old as mine? To do this I would do this, correct:

1. Remove leading spark plugs
2. Use funnel and hose to pour in ATF
3. Put spark plugs back in
4. Start up engine

That's all you have to do right? How much ATF should I put in each hole?

 

It is an 87

 

ATF is a bit premature. Especially if you dont know for sure its flooding. If you start it up and drive around for a bit then shut it down and take out a plug from each rotor, if you don't see wet plugs and the lovely smell of a lot of gas its probably not flooding.

 

K, I'll check it out tonight and get back to you guys. If it is flooded though do you think I should try the ATF trick and if so, is the way I asked above the proper way? And how much fluid would I use?

 

I've never done the ATF trick because I've never had a flooded rotary. I'll let someone who's done it field that question.

 

its an S4 get use to it ... you can always install a switch to disable the fuel while priming it

 

I've had my S4 turbo since 2002, and its never flooded.

 

When it floods, just get under the hood, pull the EGI fuse, crank it over about 10-15 times, put fuse back in, and it should start. That's what I do with mine when it floods.

 

no, don't do the ATF trick. It can **** your car up. I think Aaron Cake has something written on it if I remember...

And while it may be flooding, it's probably due to low compression. DO a compression check and see where that leaves you. I should know, that's why I can't drive my car right now. Same symptoms as you, and a few weeks after owning it and dd'ing it now won't start.

Edit:yes, the EGI fuse will work, but it get's old. And depending on how bad the engine really is, pulling the fuse might not even work.

 

my 88 has the same problem and I put a switch on the fuel pump relay. Whenever I have to restart the car hot I just flip the pump off, crank till it fires and then flick the pump back on. Works every time. I plan to do more to the motor later but to temp solve the problem its pretty easy to do.

Up under the dash to beside the steering collumn is the relay. Tap a switch into the white wire with the black stripe (there are actually 2 wires with the same color code, so ya might want to make sure you get the right wire).

In my opinion this is so easy to do its actually an easy way to see if flooding is the issue. If it ends up not helping, consider the mod a "theft prevention measure", lol

EDIT: hey Demon ^^ I grew up in Corvallis and spent a bunch of time in Eugene. All I can say is...GO BEAVS!

 

Yeah pulling the fuse gets it started right up. I guess I'll have to intall that switch. Is there a write up anywhere?

And is there any easy fix to this like what the ATF trick is supposed to do? And isn't that what automatic transmission fluid was orignally created to do (clean up engines)? Why would it be so hard on the engine, especially if I only used a little bit.

 

I dont know about a write up but like I said, look up under the dash and next to the steering column (just above it and towards the passenger side a little) you will see a plug with like 8? wires going into a relay looking box. There are 2 white wires with a black stripe. I cut one and it didnt kill the pump so I spliced that back together and cut the other and the pump died. I put a simple switch on that wire and mounted it up under the dash. Problem solved...sorta.

 

When I'm pouring the atf or 2 stroke oil and put the plugs back in, do I pull the fuel injector fuse when I try to turn it over or leave it in? And should I let it sit or start it right away?

 

cant help with that process Ive never done it.

 

Also the car was sitting for awhile before I bought it, which is my guess why it's flooding like it is. Anything I should do for a car that's sat for awhile besides the tune up stuff (belts, plugs, fluids, etc.)?

 

My car kind of does the same thing. Let me know if the atf/oil trick works.

 

Also the car only revs up to 6k, is this the stock cat that's holding it back?

 

1. dont put 2 stork oil in unless its for premix. it wont do a whole lot of good in my opinion.
2. the ATF trick will 1)( foul out your plugs 2) clog you cat and 3) you need to let the ATF sit in the engine for at LEAST 24 hours if you want it to work properly. Using MMOO (Marvles Mystery OIl) is much better on you engine with the same affect as ATF. you will need to pull the egi fuse and crank the engine a few times to spread out the mmo or atf, whichever you opt to use.

my friend was having the same issue with his NA and a new battery fixed it. always worth a shot.

and out of curiosity, how much did you pay for the car? with 104K miles on a turbo engine, it probably wont last a whole lot longer. maybe 20k miles if it was taken car of.

 

Ho ho ho! Look up Hot Start and search for posts with HAILERS. He's got a little resistor trick to help with hot start issues, which may help.

 

Ok, all this hot start stuff but this isn't just when it's hot. I could start it once, shut it off so the engine's still cold and it still won't start.

 

ok, i am dean23's friend, my 87 NA had this SAME problem, seriously, just bought a new batt and alternator and then it was gone, dunno if i needed the alternator, but hey, it worked. my car starts(started, i blew the engine) everytime, look into this, it will help, even if they say you have a good batt, they said i did to, but it fixed it

 

Also forgot to mention that the tach needle bounces when I turn it over. Not sure if that's any help.

 

I've got a new battery in there. And I have already tried a different new battery in there.