I just rebuilt my '81 and it has about 320mi on the rebuild. it's been running better than it has while I've owned until tonight. I drove most the way home, low and high speeds and it didn't seem to have any problems. I got almost home and it just died. Don't know why, it's getting fuel, the plug wires are getting electricity, the plugs look fine enough, compression seems alright (though I haven't used a real tester yet). I'm at a loss. it just won't ignite. Any ideas?

 

when was your last tuneup? if you changed at least the fuel filter, cap and rotor when you put the rebuild in, then i would say check the compression.

 

I didn't change the any of that. There's a charge getting passed the cap and rotor so I think they're fine. The fuel filter might be a problem. Would it really make it quit like that? I can't get a tester until tomorrow, if I can't figure it out before then I will test it.

 

regarding the cap and rotor, i find they are fickle things. my brother spent a lot of time trying to teach me to read them, and i admit that not only was it not easy for me to "get it", but to this day, i would never commit 100% to any conclusion i draw from "reading" them.

back in the 90s i had an engine quit on me. i condemned the engine, built one, put it in and it didn't start for two weeks while i tried to suss out what was wrong. cap and rotor "looked" fine and even sparked. my brother eventually came by, told me to change them and guess what? in the grand scheme of things, they are cheap, but i don't know your financial situation, so i'll leave it there.

yes. a fuel filter can cause the engine to quit just like that, even if fuel is still getting to the carbie. they are even cheaper than a cap or rotor. i would say start there.

 

OK. I'll start there. Haha, I'll be back if it doesn't work.

 

So I decided to check if I could get it to fire before I put the filter in and it started but very rough... Bout shook the car apart. I'm gonna replace the filter but does it still sound like a bad filter?

 

Replaced the filter. I let it run and it seemed to clean itself out and started idling properly but it seemed to smoke a bit. Then after a bit of running it started to run funny again and there appears to be oil leaking from the front of my carb, which sounds insane to me, and the secondaries are filling with gas when I just have the key in the ignition.

 

1. had you previously been playing with the mixture?

2. what fuel pump are you running?

 

Besides the cables for hooking it to the engine I don't think I've touched the mixture. I believe the fuel pump is stock. I've never changed it at least.

 

Its just the front barrels. Primary and secondaries.

 

how long have you had the car?

with fuel filling the throttles, it may be too much pressure. the "oil" you mentioned leaking is likely fuel as well. just so we're on the same page, what are you calling the "front" of the carburetor?

you'll want to check the pressure. my first suspect is usually an unregulated "performance" pump. try to locate the pump and see what you have in there. however, a maladjusted or sticking/stuck float can basically do the same thing. has the carburetor been rebuilt recently?

well, for now, don't worry about the mixture. you'll want to get to the bottom of why fuel is overflowing first. nothing should be done with the carbie until you fix that. of course, be extra careful with anything that can potentially provide a spark while working.


EDIT: okay you posted again while i was writing. so the side facing the driver's side is what you're calling front? yes. we're on the same page. those are the primaries, which makes sense since you said it's happening with pump on, but not the engine.

 

Its almost definitely oil. Its not evaporating in the sun and its rather viscous. By front I mean towards the radiator. I haven't rebuilt the carb but it looks rather clean looking down the barrels, might have been rebuilt before me. I'll try to find the pump. It makes a clicking sound until the car starts, then it quits.

 

Its almost definitely oil. Its not evaporating in the sun and its rather viscous. By front I mean towards the radiator. I haven't rebuilt the carb but it looks rather clean looking down the barrels, might have been rebuilt before me. I'll try to find the pump. It makes a clicking sound until the car starts, then it quits. It always has. But wouldnt the fact that its only coming out of two rule out the regulator.

 

toward the radiator, okay ... fair enough. "front" because it feeds the front rotor? i guess NOW we're on the same page. is it coming from the bowl area (sight window) or from a little port next to that large solenoid?

you may need to just rebuild it.

clicking sound? not sure what that is. S2 cars don't have the pump solenoid (at least it shouldn't). the pump should make more of a humming noise, the volume will vary according which pump, but it should be more of a hum nonetheless.

i don't know what the question about "coming out of two" means. i'll put it this way: if your system is stock, i believe the return check valve is what helps to regulate the pressure in the system, so there won't be regulator per se. so there will be no regulator to rule out.

 

check these out:

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...-fine-1068476/

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...illing-674917/

 

That second one had the answer in it. It's not about just hitting the bowl area, it's about hitting it in the right place... On the bolt where the inlet runs in.