2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992) 1986-1992 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections.
Sponsored by:

rebuilt engine, not starting

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 01-08-05, 04:26 PM
  #1  
Full Member

Thread Starter
 
veryblacksquare's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: sunnyvale, CA (bay area)
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
rebuilt engine, not starting

Hey guys i just rebuilt my 87 TII, and for some reason the car just wont run. it'll start and make some sound and a lil smoke out the back but it wont stay running. and i just checked the spark plugs today and they work fine. theres gas going into the engine cause i hot wired the fuel pump and made it pump gas, but it wont run. i just tried to start it again today, this time theres no smoke just the starting sound without the sputter indicating that theres getting in. ive tried to do the step provided by rotaryressurection but it doesnt seem to work for me. i just cant figure out wat seems to be wrong wit it. if anyone could make and suggestions on how to fix this problem, itd be greatly appreciated.
Old 01-08-05, 04:30 PM
  #2  
Engine, Not Motor

iTrader: (1)
 
Aaron Cake's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: London, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 29,789
Likes: 0
Received 110 Likes on 93 Posts
Check the timing. Common mistake to put the CAS in backwards.

That said, rebuilds with used housings have very low compression on their initial start. You may need to push start the car.
Old 01-08-05, 04:36 PM
  #3  
Full Member

Thread Starter
 
veryblacksquare's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: sunnyvale, CA (bay area)
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
ok, i think i will go check the timing on it. but push start? is that really nescessary? cause ive got a brand new battery in it and a charger to charge it up also.
Old 01-08-05, 04:37 PM
  #4  
#1 Certified Cone Killer

 
PureSephiroth's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Battle Creek, MI
Posts: 936
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
yup. fresh rebuilds usually have poor poor compression and then build the compression over the course of a couple thousand miles.
Old 01-08-05, 04:39 PM
  #5  
Full Member

Thread Starter
 
veryblacksquare's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: sunnyvale, CA (bay area)
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
so what exactly do i do about the poor compression? because i tried pooring motor oil into the housings like they tell you to on rotaryressurection. but it didnt really seem to help.
Old 01-08-05, 06:32 PM
  #6  
#1 Certified Cone Killer

 
PureSephiroth's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Battle Creek, MI
Posts: 936
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
push start it and drive it. Every mile you put on a fresh rebuild will help to build compression. Fill up the tank and drive for a couple hundred miles if you can. But don't stall it!
Old 01-08-05, 06:36 PM
  #7  
Full Member

Thread Starter
 
veryblacksquare's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: sunnyvale, CA (bay area)
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
so a push start will really work?
Old 01-08-05, 06:36 PM
  #8  
I'm your huckleberry..

 
Steel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Tucson, AZ
Posts: 736
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Yeah, a push start will spin the engine faster than the starter could ever dream of. That's why its generally accepted practice to push start a fresh rebuild until the starter can start the ar itself.
Old 01-08-05, 07:11 PM
  #9  
Full Member

Thread Starter
 
veryblacksquare's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: sunnyvale, CA (bay area)
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
i just tried to push start my car, and since i live on a slight uphill street. it kinda suck pushing it back to my house. and my starter works fine and everything, i mean it cranks over but it jsut wont run, even after push starting it.

Last edited by veryblacksquare; 01-08-05 at 07:13 PM.
Old 01-08-05, 11:57 PM
  #10  
Senior Member

 
Corbit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Fidalgo Island,Wa
Posts: 366
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
did you cross your fuel lines up ? do you have your injector wires were they need to be? is it timed? Is your afm hooked up ? how is your tps? recheck every thing.
Old 01-09-05, 12:05 AM
  #11  
Full Member

Thread Starter
 
veryblacksquare's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: sunnyvale, CA (bay area)
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
im sure my fuel lines are not crossed and i guess i can recheck the injector wires. and timing i havent done that yet. i didnt think it would affect wether the car would start or not. and my afm and tps? what is that exactly.
Old 01-09-05, 01:38 AM
  #12  
Banned. I got OWNED!!!
 
gonzz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Posts: 4,236
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I had to push start mine the first time after a rebuild
Old 01-09-05, 01:50 AM
  #13  
Full Member

Thread Starter
 
veryblacksquare's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: sunnyvale, CA (bay area)
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
did it not work otherwise? because right now, im trying everything but nothing seems to work for me. i think im gonna try the push start again tomorrow and go a lil faster to see if i get any results.
Old 01-09-05, 01:53 AM
  #14  
Senior Member

 
Corbit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Fidalgo Island,Wa
Posts: 366
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
you should not have to push start your car , try atf
Old 01-09-05, 01:54 AM
  #15  
Rotary Enthusiast

 
rs_1101's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: OC
Posts: 1,088
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
got hill? check the CAS before you do that one tho.
Old 01-09-05, 01:57 AM
  #16  
Full Member

Thread Starter
 
veryblacksquare's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: sunnyvale, CA (bay area)
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
i used motor oil instead of atf because i just happened to have that on hand. i read on rotary ressurection that motor oil would work fine. but i tired it and no response from engine.
Old 01-09-05, 01:57 AM
  #17  
I live in an igloo

 
BlaCkPlaGUE's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: calgary alberta
Posts: 2,546
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
don't use atf, try a little motor oil instead. I have no idea how you rebuilt your engine if your not sure what the tps and afm are..

What is your compression exactly, as in, use a compression gauge and get back to us. Lets just eliminate possible problems one by one.
Old 01-09-05, 02:02 AM
  #18  
Senior Member

 
Corbit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Fidalgo Island,Wa
Posts: 366
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
atf works every time . your compression is going to be low. did you restab your cas?
Old 01-09-05, 02:05 AM
  #19  
Full Member

Thread Starter
 
veryblacksquare's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: sunnyvale, CA (bay area)
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
alrite ill go out and get some atf tomorrow. and about my cas i never messed wit it. when i took apart the engine i left the cas completely intake. so maybe ill check that out tomorrow too.
Old 01-09-05, 03:12 AM
  #20  
Rotary Enthusiast

 
Bob_The_Normal's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SoCal
Posts: 1,325
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Hey man..

Here's a few things to check...

No vaccum leaks.. if you missed ONE hose it will start, rev up to 3k (warmup procedure) and then just fall to 0.

If you're getting no start AT ALL, check your CAS as everyone is saying... check the belts, make sure they're all installed properly and turning (checked most easily by either having someone crank the car while you watch the belts or by using a wrench to turn the engine over and make all the PULLEYS turn).

If you're getting a kind of start but it seems like it's not "catching" then make sure all the sensors are plugged in too, and double check them.

EDIT: BTW I'm almost positive it's physically impossible to remove the front cover without pulling the CAS, so you didn't leave it intact. The CAS is the torch shaped thing with a gear on one end, and on the other end it widens out. You put the gear into the front cover. It has to be set correctly and when it's put in the engine has to be lined with the yellow mark on the main pulley to the little metal hook on the front cover. There are two lines, the yellow one, or one on the right side (looking at the engine from the front of the car) is the one that should line up with the metal hook on the front cover. If it doesn't line up, turn the engine with a socket until it does match up perfectly as you can. Then take the CAS out, turn the gear so that the dimple matches the mark (if you look at it you can tell what you're supposed to do.. make the dimple be in the same position as the mark) then carefully (so the gear doesn't turn at all while you're putting it down the shaft) put the CAS back in and put the nut on to hold it in place.

--Gary

Last edited by Bob_The_Normal; 01-09-05 at 03:18 AM.
Old 01-09-05, 03:38 AM
  #21  
More Than Meets the Eye

 
MasteRX's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Lynnwood, WA
Posts: 259
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Mine flooded when I first put my rebuild in, and I couldnt get it started for nothing. I had to take it to the dealership and have them get it started for me. It turned out though that one of my injectors was bad, so bad in fact that when it got running, it wouldn't rev past 3500 rpms. It would choke and bog. Problem was gone once I put a full set of new injectors in there (expensive). You might want to take your injectors to a shop and have them test and clean them for you.
Old 01-09-05, 03:52 AM
  #22  
Full Member

Thread Starter
 
veryblacksquare's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: sunnyvale, CA (bay area)
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
thats interesting because i replaced one of my injectors wit a n/a one cause one of mine broke. i guess thats another thing ill have to get checked out. thanks for the insight.
Old 01-09-05, 05:36 AM
  #23  
Pistons... Bah!

 
NorCal90's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Redding, CA
Posts: 272
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I've heard very bad things about putting ATF in your engine and would not reccomend it from what i have read on this forum. Basically, it likes to eat the seals inside your engine which would mean another rebuild if it did.
Old 01-09-05, 10:10 AM
  #24  
#1 Certified Cone Killer

 
PureSephiroth's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Battle Creek, MI
Posts: 936
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by veryblacksquare
alrite ill go out and get some atf tomorrow. and about my cas i never messed wit it. when i took apart the engine i left the cas completely intake. so maybe ill check that out tomorrow too.
atf is bad for seals. push start it.
Old 01-09-05, 10:20 AM
  #25  
Engine, Not Motor

iTrader: (1)
 
Aaron Cake's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: London, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 29,789
Likes: 0
Received 110 Likes on 93 Posts
Don't use ATF, just use motor oil. Oil is thicker and will seal better anyway.

Push start it if you have confirmed if everything else is OK. Don't wast time (and your starter) trying to get it to go. A push start will start ANY rotary, even one with nearly zero compression.


Quick Reply: rebuilt engine, not starting



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:50 PM.