I just replaced the engine in my FD and it wont start. I checked for spark and sprayed fuel down the throttle body. The car doesn't fire even once. I tried some of the clear flood proceedures i read about such as flooring the pedal and cranking it, but it didn't do anything. I think it might have low compression because people say that it should be at least 70psi and I am not getting that. The compression gauge reads about 40psi for the lower holes and 30 psi for the upper ones. The readings are consistant for all 3 cycles and didn't drop after I stopped cranking. I checked and it was the same reading on the other rotor as well. So I was thinking that the chances of the seals on both rotors screwing up to the same degree and produce the same numbers could be pretty low. But I'm not too sure. It could also be caused by the fact that I have a smaller battery and been cranking on it quite a few times before trying the compression test. I bought the engine used and the guy gave me a "guarantee" that it worked. *rolles eyes* So I'm just asking for a general opinion, what are the chances that this motor is bad too? Is there anything I can check/do to make sure?

 

While cranking a car that's not starting, it will put a serious drain on most batteries. If you are using a mini battery, that thing was probably pretty drained by the time you tried your compression test.

A few things I would suggest of the bat:

1. Make sure you have the 3 fuel lines hooked up properly
2. Make sure you have all ground wires connected. There are one or 2 which will not allow the car to fire up if not grounded
3. Check your spark plugs. See if they are wet or dry. Also, put some MMO or ATF into the chambers to help build compression
4. Lastly, buy or borrow a battery charger to keep in your battery while you are cranking it.

 

oh yea, I found one(could be more still) ground wire that I missed. I connected it but it still didn't work. You mentioned that there are a few that you have to get. Any specific ones that I could have missed too? I will also check about the other points you mentioned tomorrow when I goto the shop to work on the car again.

 

The two main ones which are sometimes missed:

1. If you have an older ignition harness, it will have a ground which goes on the coil side
2. There is a ground which go to the US driver's side of the engine usually near the bottom of the engine or on the A/C bracket (basically under the P/S unit).

 

thanks! My car is Japanese and so is the new motor. I'm not sure if that makes a difference but I'll take a look tomorrow as well. =)

 

Update on the problem. I got my mechanic friend to help me today and we found that the combustion chambers were indeed flooded, but not with fuel. It seems there's some sort of moisture contaminated fuel substance. we took a sample of it comming directly out of the fuel line from the pump. We burned it, and it left some moisture residue. this proves that my tank is contaminated. I think this is the most likely cause for the no-start issue, anyone have any suggestions on the best way to purge all the contaminated fuel from the rails, lines, and tank? Thanks in advance. =)

 

Sounds like bad gasoline, drain the gas tank, replace the fuel filter, purge the gas lines.

There was a post in which a guy used compressed air to blow out the gas lines?

 

I don't think its a good idea to put 120 psi behind the injectors lol. But I'm just gonna drain the tank and then crank the pump until air comes out of the line. hopefully that'll work.

 

If your system was/is really contaminated, you'll need (or REALLY should) pull the injectors and have them professionally cleaned.