So... I just took off the exhaust after the manifold but before the cat in order to make sure that the pre cats weren't plugged. My car is an '86 GXL it didn't run when I bought it. I've gotten it running and now I'm discovering that the exhaust is plugged. I've cleaned out the cat and, the two pre cats are hollow as well.

But, now that the pre cats are both off, I can't seem to get my car to start. It started the first time I tried it. (But, like always... I had to floor it in order to do anything with it.) Now though, the car won't start AGAIN. Could it be something with the O2 sensor?

Also, I've always had to floor it in order to get the car to start even after it's been running for a while and I turn it off. It needs to be floored for it to start. No matter what. Could the engine be flooding that fast? Or, is it something that would need a rebuild? My engine is in the upper end of the 177k mile range.

The air pump I discovered was sitting in the trunk. Do I need to reinstall it? If not, what needs to be done in order to get the engine running as it would with the air pump?

One last other thing. I know that the RX is the poor mans corvette. Mine only tops out at 77mph, and has one hell of a slow acceleration. Would a plugged exhaust be the cause of that or would it relate more to the starting issue?

 

A plugged exhaust would really limit the power. You may have low compression and/or a stuck injector as to your flooding problems. You may also want to check for vacuum leaks with the airpump gone.

Another think to check for is correct operation of your 5/6 aux ports.

 

I've checked the compression. And, it's around 95 psi all three sides on both rotors.

Now what was that last thing you said? 5/6 aux ports? Where are they and what do they do?

Sorry, I'm new to the rotory beast.

 

Lookup deflooding techniques. Basically, you pull the green fuse under the hood, crank the motor a bit, replace it, then start.

A reason all your cats could have clogged up is due to running extrememly rich. It wouldn't be uncommon to have a bunch of leaky injectors causing it. This will give you hot start problems too.

The air pump is for smog only on S4s, lookup aux ports or check the FSM for information. They're the additional ports that open at high RPMs to give the car more top end power. If your split air pipe is gone too, then they are stuck closed.

 

What I'm trying to say is that even after I do the green fuse trick, I still have to floor it in order to start my car. This is both Cold and Hot starting. And, thanks for the info on the air pump. Any more information on the air pump would be much appreiciated.

 

Try a tune up.. As many times as it sounds like the car has been flooded, your spark plugs are probably gone.

 

I have brand new plugs, wires, air filter, oil, oil filter, fuel pump, fuel filter. I think tune up is out of the way. Also, by the way... I ran the car with nothing after the exhaust manifold, the exhaust being plugged isn't a problem. It still sputters untill the secondary injectors fire up. No difference between haveing the exhaust on and not.

Suggestions?

 

Check your primaries for a stuck injector.

 

oR a compression test.