First off, I have an 88 convertible, NA, manual transmission.



Well, Ive been having problems getting it to start for about 2 months now... problems being that it isnt starting. Ive been in college up until about a week ago when I finally come home and could work on it, and it seems to not have any compression, or the fuel line isnt holding pressure. I have someone try to start it (no throttle), and I can hold my thumb over the spark plug hole easily, which my local mechanic (and TII owner) says means no compression. I didnt feel the dead-apex-seal compression of one good burst, two weak ones.



Anyway, I had thought it might have to do with the fuel pump because when I first bought it, it started up and ran fine, no problems. I pulled it out of the garage one time, let it warm up, shut it off, and then worked on the radio (which wasnt working at the time), pulled out a bunch of wires that ran into the trunk for an aftermarket system that the previous owner had removed, went to start it up to get it back in the garage, and it wouldnt start. It hasnt since.



Since the guy had other wires for a fuel pump shut-off switch running next to the stereo wires i yanked, i thought I may have damaged something there, but nope, fuel pump still works, still getting current (continuous 12V at first, then it spikes to 12V and falls to 0 every second or so, the voltmeter gauge jumps around). I then did the Haynes Manual fuel system pressure test, bridging this little yellow plug in the engine bay, turning the ignition to "On", and listening for the pump. I can hear it, but it doesnt stop like the manual says it should. So my guess is that the system isnt holding pressure... leaky injectors maybe (i dont see a gas leak anywhere, altho there is an oil leak).



However, my mechanic has had his TII for a while, and Im new into the rotary scene, so Im not sure which. He also says he has a way to restore the seals without tearing the engine apart for a rebuild, involving pouring oil into the housing and blasting it with hot air (to make the seals expand)... i dont know exactly how, but have never heard of this procedure before. Possible?



Maybe you guys can give me a diagnostic. It used to start up fine, no flooding or anything. about 4 hours after I started it, warmed it up and shut it off when i was gonna fix the radio, it refused to start, and hasnt since. After it sits for a while (couple days-weeks), it will start, rev to about 1000 rpm, and then die. When trying to start after that (or if that doesnt happen), it will sound like its trying to catch every 5 seconds, like it will sputter on its own for a beat or two and then go back to just cranking. It gives off a lot of gas smell (im assuming thru the exhaust, since i havent found any gas leaks anywhere) when doing this. Ive tried to go thru all the flooding procedures, none of them have seemed to worked to date. Do you think it needs an engine rebuild, or a new engine, or what? (hopefully not, im painfully short on $)



If so, do you know of any good places around the NYC area that can do it, or am I better off just getting a diff car. (this is my only car) Thanks

 

Have you actually checked the compression? I would start there, if you've got leaky injectors you could easily be flooding or have fouled the plugs, but like I said I would start with a compression check and then go from there. If you have a bad apex seal filling it with oli and "blasting" it with hot air is only going make a nice mess for your engine builder when he breaks down the motor and you might want to consider taking it to a mechanic that builds rotary's instead of blasting them

 

Thanks for the response... the compression is good, I tested it less than an hour after I posted this (but after days of trying to figure it out), and the car started up. I had done all the flooding procedures... but forgot to unplug the fuel pump while doing them... So i was convinced it was something else... and it's been sitting for 2 months. I completely filled my neighbor's lawn with white smoke when it finally did start; i couldnt even find my car in it! Anyway, its running now, thanks for your response. I was just owned by my car

 

LOL gotta love that OEM Anti-Theft System LMAO



Congrats on getting her running