Stored car, went out to start wont crank, smell of fuel around car
10-29-03, 06:55 PM
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Stored car, went out to start wont crank, smell of fuel around car
Hey guys, my car has been off the road for a month now. I just went out today to start it up since its a good idea to start the engine when your planning on having it sit for a while. Anyhow, I went to crank it and well its not catching. So i guess its flooded. I also noticed that I have a faint smell of fuel around the car and its fairly strong on the passenger side of the engine compartment. Now is the cause of the engine not starting be because of a flooded engine? or is it something else? and those of you that know of a quick fix to a flooded engine please share!
10-29-03, 09:22 PM
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it is common for cars with a weak battery (from sitting for extended periods) to flood instead of start.
Simply put, the weaker battery doesn't spin the engine as fast as it should and instead of igniting, the fuel just washes down the rotor housings and takes away whatever compression was there. This is particularly common on high mileage or tired engines.
I would pull the plugs (after, obviously checking for external leaks as the other guy said), turn the engine over a couple of times (disable the ignition so no sparks ignite the fuel being shot out of the plug holes)
Next, hook the car up to a strong battery (jumper cables or a portable starting device) and try the startup again.
Simply put, the weaker battery doesn't spin the engine as fast as it should and instead of igniting, the fuel just washes down the rotor housings and takes away whatever compression was there. This is particularly common on high mileage or tired engines.
I would pull the plugs (after, obviously checking for external leaks as the other guy said), turn the engine over a couple of times (disable the ignition so no sparks ignite the fuel being shot out of the plug holes)
Next, hook the car up to a strong battery (jumper cables or a portable starting device) and try the startup again.
10-30-03, 12:10 AM
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WVRx7 has it.
If the smell isn't a leaky Pulsation Dampner (which it would have been evident before) and you smell fuel heavily on the passenger side, it's probably leaking through the turbo exhaust gaskets. Mine flooded once and fuel was all the way to the tip.. When it started it was like a cannon went off...
If pulling the plugs and cranking over a few times with the ignition disabled, try a little squirt of ATF in the housings before you turn it over... That should do the trick.
If the smell isn't a leaky Pulsation Dampner (which it would have been evident before) and you smell fuel heavily on the passenger side, it's probably leaking through the turbo exhaust gaskets. Mine flooded once and fuel was all the way to the tip.. When it started it was like a cannon went off...
If pulling the plugs and cranking over a few times with the ignition disabled, try a little squirt of ATF in the housings before you turn it over... That should do the trick.
10-31-03, 02:59 PM
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This fuel smell i have been having for a long time, it hasnt started since i parked the car for winter. It smelled like fuel even everything was running perfectly. Its just flooded, the thing i dont understand is why did it flood? the car hasnt been started for a month. So i pull the plugs to see if they are wet, the part i dont understand is after you pull the plugs where do you go to disable the ignition so that it wont spark the fuel coming out of the plug holes?
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