Capacity4action

Im trying to buy this FD where the owner claimed to have a flooded engine. Ive search these boards before and understood that pressing on the throttle while starting it should fix the problem.

My main concern is when he mentioned a 'popping' noise as described on his email:

"Well one of my buddies moved the car in and turned it off drove it for like 30 feet, sure enough it flooded... after that we fixed it the next week when he moved it this time he remembered to wait for it to warm up, but he heard a burst noise from the engine bay the radiator finally give up, so now it also has a new radiator, but doesn't start after that. Some other fixes done to the car is new vacuum lines, and cleaned injectors."

I want to know if its a known problem and what could be associated with this noise. Id hate to buy it and end up having bigger problems in the future.

Thanks in advanced for the help!

farberio

iTrader: (7)

There's no way anybody will tell you exactly whats up because there is not a whole lot of information. It may require bringing to a shop to have the car thoroughly checked. (A real rotary shop...not just some shop)

hanman

Sounds like the car has issues. I wouldn't touch it without a compression test.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

Flooding is one or a combination of these things: leaky/dirty fuel injectors, poor ignition (plugs), or general hard to start where all the cranking leads to flooding.

It can be a simply annoyance that rarely reoccurs, or it could be a sign of a bad engine or fuel system problems.

I would take it to a rotary mechanic for diagnosis, unless you're getting the kind of deal where a blown engine wouldn't be upsetting. That way you can be sure the car has a good engine, so if the flooding continues you won't have huge bills to fix it.

I have found using a few tricks can really help avoiding flooding.

First, unflood it and install new plugs. Unflood by removing both lower plugs and unplugging the electrical connector to the ignitor (that metallic thing tucked tightly under the brake booster and cruise control). Then crank the engine with the throttle on the floor and observe how gasoline fog comesout of the engine. Replace plugs and ignitor connection.

If it then doesn't want to start with plain cranking after 5-10sec, let it set for a moment and crank again with the throttle held to the floor. When it begins to start, give it partial throttle and keep the revs up so it won't stall. Then continue to keep the revs up a bit for a couple of minutes until all of the excess fuel gets burned off. It will smoke a lot.

That bit about putting the throttle on the floor when the car is hesitant to start is important to avoid flooding in the future.

Some cars will flood if they are shut off before being warmed completely. I've heard but cannot confirm that it helps to blip the throttle and shut off the engine while the revs are falling. The idea is that when revs are in free-fall there is no fuel being injected.

Now this whole radiator thing and burst noise might be as simple as a cracked radiator. If the car was shut off right away without overheating, it's not a big deal.

Dave