I've put in a new battery, changed the spark plugs, put in new fuel filter and cleaned the air filter. The car just turns over but doesn't catch. It doesn't seem to be flooded. Any suggestions for what is wrong or what to do next.
Thanks.

 

Did you put new gas in? Gas deteriorates.

 

Tow it behind a truck at 20mph in second gear. Seriously, Ive done it. It may take 15 seconds of turing over a 3,000 rpms, but it will work.

 

i agree. tow/push or roll it down a long hill. after even a month of sitting i had to roll on the engine in my 83 for quite a while to get it to fire... of course... its got a pathetically modded carb that doesnt help any...

try liberal application of oil in the spark plugs. i was amazed when i tried starting up my rebuild over just how much oil i had to get in there for it to fire up all the way. i know you arent talking about a rebuild, but after sitting for 4 years you are gonna want to be sure its got plenty of lube anyhow.

im sure the other guys on here would have better suggestions. thats about all i can think of right now.

good luck and keep us posted!

 

I am sure that Vash meant the spark plug holes not the plugs themselves. After 4 years, its a good bet you have little or no compression. The seals must be coated with oil/MMO/ATF to develop a proper seal. Follow the same procedure for flooding. Find threads doing a search on flooding.

I second the stale gas probability. On top of that, if there was not very much gas in the tank, it is likely the fuel pump sock is varnushed over. Drain the gas tank and clean out the crap while you are at it. Remove and clean or better yet replace the pump sock. They are cheap even at Mazda standards.

You may also consider a new set of spark plug wires. 4 years lends itself to dry rot and cracking. Others here are likely to suggest you complete a 30K tune up before trying to start and it is very sound philosophy. Not too expensive and well worth the time.

BTW, the "search" function is on the upper right of the page. I'd also suggest you use the "stickies" on FAQs. A wealth of new owner info. Good luck.

 

my fc sat for 4-6 years before i bought it.... i found it in the back of a bowling alley rusted to ****. with new plugs, wires, filter, gas tank, afm, fuel pump, and a lil cleaning it cranked after a while.... make sure u have fuel spark and compression for the most part....

 

Before you try a tow start, use oil (not ATF - it eats seals) in the spark plug holes to build compression. ... Duh ... Why didn't we tell him to compression test it yet?

 

I want to thank everybody for all the great suggestions. I don't have much experience so I may not be doing this all by myself but but you've given me an excellent start.

 

LOL! yeah i meant in the plug holes, not on the plugs. hehehe

+1 to the compression test too.

 

Here is what I have done on 3 cars that all sat for at least 3 years. First I get some 2 cycle oil and put plenty in the engine, I usualy take off the UIM and put it in there, along with replacing vac lines. After getting plenty of oil in it on all faces, I let it sit over night. The next day I pull the plugs and clean or replace them. I put new fuel In the tank, check everything over and I Pull start the car. I usualy pull it for about 1/2 mile to a mile in 2nd or 3rd gear at about 40-60 MPH, but varies from car to car.

After they start I let them run for about 15-30 min at various RPMs before I shut them off and start them on their own power. This has worked well for me. I just did this on the 3rd car 4 days ago. I had fire damage and had sat for about 5 years. After driving it for a day I checked the comperssion and it was about 85-90 PSI on all faces. The car has over 145000 MI on it.

 

It turned out that the fuel pump was bad. I had it replaced and after cranking it a while it started. Thanks.

 

Before I baught mine it sat for atleats one year. I did a compression check first and it was low, added a little oil to see if that helped the compression any and it didn't but I figure it needed a little oil anyways after sitting so long. The tank was practically empty so I poured in about 2 oz of two stroke oil first then added 5 fresh gallons. We couldn't get the car to fire so even though the battery had a full charge we added a charger in start mode. Sprayed two squirts of starter fluid in the air filter. It started then and we had to give it one more squirt of starter fluid because it wanted to stall. We then let it warm up and drove it around the block a couple times. Turned it off and let it sit a little while and the second time it fired up un-aided. Drove it 30 miles home without a problem, did a compression check and it came up a lot. Havn't had any problems out of it since.

Just saying what personally worked for me.