crcleofdst

Got on the gas a little hard this afternoon, and hit the warning buzzer on the boost controller (warning is set at 11 psi). I let off the gas as soon as I heard the buzzer, but it felt like someone threw out the anchor. I did not see how high the boost went, and using the replay function on the boost controller showed nothing either. Revs dropped to around 200, and as soon as I let off the gas completely it stalled. So far I have not been able to restart it. When I first tried, it was reeking of gas and blowing smoke out of the tailpipe. Now it does nothing but turn over (still smells like gas).


Now that I have had the car home for a few hours, here is what I have done:

Checked for fuel - Definitely there, it seems to be flooding

Checked for spark - I have spark at all 4 plugs when cranking

Cleaned and dried the plugs. (I will do this again tomorrow, and add some atf fluid to the housings).

I get consecutive equal sounding chugs (very strong sounding) on both front and rear rotors. I tried for 20 minutes to screw the compression tester hose into the spark plug hole from the top, but gave up. I will try from underneath the car tomorrow.



The engine was just rebuilt 600 miles ago by yours truly. Housings and side plates were re-used (80k on them), and I did a med. streetport using pineapple templates. I replaced all hard and soft seals with a standard atkins kit, replaced all vacuum and water hoses, and I sent the primary injectors off to be cleaned. I also installed a pfc w/datalogit (base map), 1300cc secondary injectors (from rx7store), efini y pipe, act street/strip clutch, and an act prolite flywheel. I am still running seq. twins, but the boost pattern hasn't been right since just before the rebuild (not getting full boost on the primary). I had left things alone in that department because I did not want to boost that much anyway. I had intended on putting at least 1k on it before I brought it up to pfs for tuning.

Some other things to note: I did experience a hot start problem right after the rebuild. I attributed this to low compression, and I just floored the gas pedal on startup when it would not start as normal. This only happened a few times (once last night), and never left me stranded. Otherwise, the car ran well, idled well, and did not act any different than before I rebuilt the motor. The most recent thing I did (today) was reinstall the stock o2 sensor (I had briefly installed a wideband), and turn o2 feedback on. I actually have a log of this I can post if it helps.

Monsterbox

iTrader: (6)

if your getting equal chugs its probably not blown...maybe because you are not tuned for the 1300cc the cars been dumping fuel and this is why the car is hard to start?

crcleofdst

Well its definitely not tuned for the 1300's, except for making the change from 850 to 1300 in the settings menu. The thing is that it's been running great for a few months now, so if that was the problem wouldn't it have manifested itself long ago?

Monsterbox

iTrader: (6)

ur correct, no idea then...get that compression tester on from underneith...man i always do plugs underneith

crcleofdst

Compression test results are in. Rear rotor has even pulses around 30-35 (needle bounces damn quick), and overall 100psi. Front is the same, although the battery was getting weak and I only managed 90psi overall on the front rotor. I may charge the battery and re-do the test on the front rotor, but I don't think that it is the issue at this point.

Some observations: My compression tester has a button on the side to release pressure. This was spewing a mist of fuel when I tested the rear rotor. It did not do this on the front. I also see fuel dripping out of the connection between the downpipe and cat, and it seems to be dripping from the manifold as well.

MyRedFD

iTrader: (1)

Maybe the injector went bad and is just drowning it.

Monsterbox

iTrader: (6)

i had a leaking injector o-ring in my front rotor. Everytime the car sat for more than 2 hours it would pour huge cloud of smoke out of the back and run on one rotor.

When I took off the turbos to port the w/g. Gas literally poured out of the manifold for a long time.

crcleofdst

That seems logical to me. I had the primaries cleaned only a few days before they went back in and the engine fired, but the secondaries were an exchange through rx7store. I have no way of knowing how long they sat on the shelf wherever they were. I suppose that one or both of them could have been developing issues since I installed them, and that could also have been the source of my hot start issues.

crcleofdst

Bump for more opinions.

crcleofdst

I just tried to crank it over again, and I noticed one more thing: Fuel pressure is about 30psi while cranking, but drops almost instantly to just above zero after I stop cranking the engine. I seem to remember having fuel pressure shown on the gauge either before I started the engine, or after I shut it off lasting as long as I left the key in the on position. I am assuming this is further indication of a stuck injector, but I am wondering why it wont start and run on 1 rotor.

IRPerformance

iTrader: (41)

Are you pulling the egi fuse and holding the gas pedal to the floor when performing the compression test? The injectors should not be firing.

crcleofdst

That is correct. I double checked that I removed the right fuse after the fuel came spewing out, and the wife had the pedal to the floor during the test.

windom

iTrader: (1)

I just blew my motor and it still ran fine. It just idled low and rough.

crcleofdst

Bump.

crcleofdst

Ok, based on the symptoms, it's a lock that I have an injector stuck wide open. The car does not hold fuel pressure longer than a second. It goes to zero almost instantly.

Here is the new problem: Gas is STILL dripping from the downpipe and manifold at a fairly fast rate (for at least a few days now ) . My driveway reeks of gas like you would not believe. I pulled the gas cap off to release pressure as soon as I realized it was still leaking, but I'm not sure if that is enough.

I guess I will remove the fuel line tomorrow if it doesn't stop, but I just don't have time to deal with it right now. The real question is, what is the safest way to re-start and idle the car once the problem is fixed? I have no idea how long it will take for the gas to evaporate from the exhaust, and I would hate to have a toasty 7.

Monsterbox

iTrader: (6)

ok you need to release the fuel pressure by pulling a line off....it should already be somewhat gone as your injector is leaking horrible (mine was like this) gas poured out of my manifold when i took the turbos off

it will not take too long for the gas to evaportate...maybe put a fun under the car and get it up on stands?

pull the uim and check out the injectors...i think there is some kind of test where you can tap them with a mallet to unstick them?

crcleofdst

I guess I will have to get out there tomorrow afternoon and pull the line off. I just have not had time to mess with it over the past couple of days.

Thanks for the reply.