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Car has a hard time starting (searched)...

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Old 12-09-08, 02:16 PM
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Car has a hard time starting (searched)...

Ok so heres what going on: I went on a mountain cruz with some friends last weekend and now the car is running like complete ****. The car is tuned and on the way up there i raced a few times and nothing out of the ordinary seemed wrong... i went into boost, thats it. Before the trip the car had no problems and ran great.

We stop to fix one of the other 7's that was having problems, i turn off the car and turbo timer counts down like usuall.. we leave about 20 minutes later, this is when i noticed something was wrong with my car. I go to start it up and it takes it extra long to start, but finally does, and wont stay at idle without me giving it some gas. If i let my foot off the gas it dies after a few seconds.

Well we get to the Waffle House, where we were meeting up with the other guys that were going on the mountain run, and the car still wouldn't stay on by itself at idle and shut off after about 3 seconds.

Then, after we eat and get ready to head to the mountains the car was even harder to start but finally did and i had to repeat the same exercise at every stop light and stop sign by revving it up to keep it from dieing. While driving the car boosted and ran normally... for then.

After going up the mountain a few times i noticed the car started to feel sluggish.... and it only got worse. Now the car wouldn't even start if i held my foot to the floor and tried to start it... nothing. So we had to bump start it to get me going. On the way home it felt like it did before it was tuned (**** slow). Would not go anywhere at all if i tried to gas it. What the hell?!

I made it home ok but i really dont have a clue as to what happened... all i did was boost. I have stock injectors and a supra pump... maybe an injector stuck open? I'm going to change out the plugs today and see if that helps. But in the mean time any and all advice and help would be greatlly appriciated.

Thanks everyone,

Zach

Last edited by 93RedDragonFD; 12-09-08 at 02:27 PM.
Old 12-09-08, 04:42 PM
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did you do any work prior to this happening?

does the car bog on higher rpm and idles rough when stopped, borderline about to die out without feeding it gas on idle? this happened to my friend after he removed a row of butterflies in the throttle body... not sure if that's what you did but it's best to back track on previous work prior to it happening.
Old 12-09-08, 04:50 PM
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I'll double check that, thanks.
Old 12-09-08, 05:29 PM
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just a thought when is the last time you replaced the fuel filter. it sounds like its starving for fuel and may be clogged.

Jeff
Old 12-09-08, 06:02 PM
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Originally Posted by jeff p
just a thought when is the last time you replaced the fuel filter. it sounds like its starving for fuel and may be clogged.

Jeff
5K miles ago... i think it feels/smells like its getting too much fuel tho People riding behind me said they smelt fuel bad..
Old 12-09-08, 06:30 PM
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check the MAP sensor line.
Old 12-09-08, 08:35 PM
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are you on the stock ecu or pfc?. if you have a pfc do a sensor check and see if anything is out of whack. it may be a stuck injector or low compression in a rotor. anyway I hope its just a sensor or injector that's a lot less than a rebuilt motor.

Jeff
Old 12-09-08, 09:09 PM
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I doubt it would be the motor it is a fresh rebuild from Kevin Landers with only about 5k miles on it. I am running the PFC, i'll check that to. But i'm thinking it may be just an injector stuck or something.. i hope.
Old 12-09-08, 11:10 PM
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the pfc commander will tell you your injector pulse when the car is running. so if an injector is stuck at idle it will show a high duty cycle indicating flooding. give it a try it might help diagnose the problem.

Jeff
Old 12-10-08, 12:23 AM
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How long were these drives?

Did you keep an eye on the fuel level to see if you were dumping more fuel than normal?

After you check all your sensors with the PFC, see if lowering the fuel setting in IG/T,FI makes any difference.

Also, you'll see if the plugs are fouled when you pull them.
Old 12-10-08, 08:52 AM
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Originally Posted by 93RedDragonFD
I doubt it would be the motor it is a fresh rebuild from Kevin Landers with only about 5k miles on it. I am running the PFC, i'll check that to. But i'm thinking it may be just an injector stuck or something.. i hope.
Mileage doesn't really have much to do with things. An engine can blow less than 100 miles if there is a problem. It wouldn't hurt to do a quick compression test just to make sure. It only takes a few minutes.
Old 12-20-08, 06:54 PM
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Ok, did a compression test and the rear rotor only has 30psi... Motor is from DJseven and is a streetport rebuild that i got not even a year ago... i sent him a message and i'm waiting to hear back.
Old 12-20-08, 07:21 PM
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I responded to your pm. Feel free to post the info here that I sent you. I offer a 1k mile warranty on any engine running a standalone to gaurantee it is a solid good engine. I cannot warranty them longer than that as I can not afford to pay for others tuning mistakes.

As with any customer in this situation I offer to do a rebuild labor free. The customer is responsible for shipping both ways, the rebuild kit and if any hard parts(rotors, housings, irons,etc) are damaged the customer is responsible for those and I will give the best deal possible on those parts if I have them in stock to the customer. If no parts are damaged the rebuild will cost you about $550.00 for the rebuild kit and plus the shipping.

I believe this to be more than fair and actually is more than what I offer in my warranty. I posted this for all future customers to be able to see. I think this is more than fair, engines dont magically fail after 3k, 5k,10k,or 15k miles.

Feel free to call me tomorrow on the number I pmed you.

Thanks
David Jerome
Old 12-20-08, 07:26 PM
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Damn sorry to hear man.

It has been cold lately so maybe the dense cold air contributed to the blown engine?

Well i hope you work it out.
Old 12-21-08, 02:08 AM
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David,

Thanks for all the help. I'll give you a call tomorrow and we can try to work this out... Just sucks this happened after all the work i've put in.. dayum.

Zach
Old 12-21-08, 02:10 AM
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Originally Posted by 1QWIK7
Damn sorry to hear man.

It has been cold lately so maybe the dense cold air contributed to the blown engine?

Well i hope you work it out.

Thanks buddy, me to..
Old 12-22-08, 08:47 AM
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Originally Posted by 93RedDragonFD
Just sucks this happened after all the work i've put in.. dayum.
I've been on this forum for quite a few years now. 95% of all "blown engine" threads start with "I was racing someone the other day and now my car won't idle when it even starts". David is really giving you a really good path as with most engine builders/sellers, you would be SOL.
Old 12-22-08, 09:43 AM
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question is who did the tuning
Old 12-22-08, 12:11 PM
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Originally Posted by Mahjik
I've been on this forum for quite a few years now. 95% of all "blown engine" threads start with "I was racing someone the other day and now my car won't idle when it even starts". David is really giving you a really good path as with most engine builders/sellers, you would be SOL.
Yes, David is being more then helpful with this whole thing.
Old 12-22-08, 12:30 PM
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I don't see how tuning would be related to a low compression problem. If the map was aggressive and he detonated there would either be a 0-0-xx or all gone. Did you do the compression check with the valve out and look for 3 even pulses or did you just do a compression buildup? I just feel that compression is a sealing problem related to the parts used so there could be a improper/defective seal somewhere...

Yes, you are very lucky David isn't giving you the SOL route. That's a hard thing to find these days and even more uncommon at a 5k mileage mark.
Old 12-22-08, 12:51 PM
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Originally Posted by mono4lamar
I don't see how tuning would be related to a low compression problem. If the map was aggressive and he detonated there would either be a 0-0-xx or all gone.
That's not entirely true. Unless the damaged seal completely exits the engine, you'll be able to build some compression on the rotor faces. In most cases, it's just a part of the seal which breaks off. I've only seen one engine which didn't generate any compression in a rotor housing. All the others would generate low numbers on two faces, something like 20-20-90.
Old 12-22-08, 05:17 PM
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Originally Posted by mono4lamar
I don't see how tuning would be related to a low compression problem. If the map was aggressive and he detonated there would either be a 0-0-xx or all gone. Did you do the compression check with the valve out and look for 3 even pulses or did you just do a compression buildup? I just feel that compression is a sealing problem related to the parts used so there could be a improper/defective seal somewhere...

Yes, you are very lucky David isn't giving you the SOL route. That's a hard thing to find these days and even more uncommon at a 5k mileage mark.
I have seen it several times where detonation will cause the rotor face to dent badly and pinch one of the apex seals causing low compression. It is more common in teh 3mm seals as they are more forgiving than 2mm seals in most situations. Sometimes when the corner piece of the long 2 piece seal breaks off the car will still make compression on all 3 faces but low on a couple faces, or it is possible to warp or flatten the apex seals. Never know until it is pulled apart.
Old 12-22-08, 07:10 PM
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I had an engine built for me by Atkin's Rotary, and i had the same problem. The car at first ran fine, but after about 1000 miles, (I was extremely careful to break the engine in), the same exact thing started to happen. What it turned out was, that my rotor housing was damaged badly. Check that out.
Old 12-22-08, 07:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Mahjik
That's not entirely true. Unless the damaged seal completely exits the engine, you'll be able to build some compression on the rotor faces. In most cases, it's just a part of the seal which breaks off. I've only seen one engine which didn't generate any compression in a rotor housing. All the others would generate low numbers on two faces, something like 20-20-90.
Yeah, I should have applied "generally." My last motor only made 60psi on build up and only blipped the needle on the gauge once. Hopefully the housings, irons, and rotors are okay. I think personally it's a sealing problem. A housing that got ripped a new one is going to have a tough time holding even a small amount of compression (hence the stalling motor).

One more thing we can ask you to do is check out the turbine wheels. That will speak volumes...
Old 12-22-08, 08:16 PM
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Originally Posted by mono4lamar
A housing that got ripped a new one is going to have a tough time holding even a small amount of compression (hence the stalling motor).
My blown motor:

http://mahjik.homestead.com/files/FD...1/MVC-004F.JPG
http://mahjik.homestead.com/files/FD...1/MVC-003F.JPG

Still made some compression on all 3 faces. Not great, but some. Drove the car 45 miles home from the track like that.


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