New FC owner with a problem & some questions

[turbo-tastic]

Hello all.
 
Dispite my user-name, I picked up an NA FC today.
 
Faily chuffed overall, 10months MOT, 4 months tax, good compression (just under 6bar when cold), but I\'m having trouble starting it
 
It floods, and wont start. So far I\'ve just popped the 40A injector fuse out and cranked it over a few times, then popped the fuse back in and away it goes.
 
I\'ve probably had to do this 3 or 4 times (about 50% start rate). It has had the "air pump" removed/disbaled??? Would this affect it, or am I doing something wrong?
 

 

 

 
Also, what sort of MPG can I expect, bearing in mind its non turbo?? Or how many miles to a tank?
 
And what fuel should I run it on? And for the oil I\'ve read that mineral 10w40 is best, is this right?
 
Sorry if this is in the wrong section.
 
Cheers,
Ed

[m4drx]

hi ed.

mineral 10w40, v power

and sorry to say less than 6 bar is not good at all. the closer to rebuild the more it floods im afraid

mine had 8 bar compression and is an fd and i have tried many time to flood it and i just cant.

not sure what to say as its just the compression thats the issue really if its that low.

[turbo-tastic]

Really??!?!?!
 
According to the buyers guide, thats ok?
 
http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9140
 
85psi?

[m4drx]

7 bar yes but just under 6 isnt so good. i would change the plugs at the least or give them a good clean as this will aid but as i said when compression gets low the car will be harder to start and will flood.

[turbo-tastic]

6bar is 87psi. Dont mean to be rude, but by your calculations 1 bar is 12.1psi?? Not 14.5?
 
Now you mention it, the seller did mention the plugs will need doing, completely slipped my mind :rolleyes:

[m4drx]

not making any calculations mate, you first post says less than 6 bar compression to me that automatically points to a car that wont start easily and floods and that is what you have described.

8 bar - very good - rebuilt
7 bar - good - long life left
6 average.
low 6\'s - definate rebuild territory
below 6 - suprised to start it.

piston testers are not advised with these cars as they can vary etc but a rotary will display and measure accuratly.

[turbo-tastic]

Great, looks like the buyers guide could do with updating then
 

Good compression is a 7 or higher on the Mazda tester, and higher than 85 PSI on a standard gauge

So is 87psi on a standard guage good or bad?

[turbo-tastic]

Also, ignoring the compression, can anyone answer my other questions?
 
MPG and what to do with this air pump thing?
 
Cheers
Ed

[elford_tim]

The air pump isn\'t going to have anything to do with your starting/flooding problems, simply because it injects air into the exhaust as an emission control measure.

Oh, and get a compression test on a Mazda tester. MPG is pretty pointless if you can\'t start the car...

[SiH]

I was with Ed when we looked at this car - obviously with no history we took a gamble - however, all the buying guides we\'ve looked at say 85psi is a reasonable figure to look for.
We were getting a 3 good bounces of a tad below 6 bar on both rotors - According to every guide i\'ve seen that is rated as \'ok\'.

The thing is - when the car floods, upon removing the EGI fuse, cranking for 5s, then trying again, the engine starts first turn of the key - surely it wouldn\'t start this easily with excessive wear?
IIRC it\'s on about 120k and had an undocumented rebuild at about 90.

However, the plugs look pretty old- I\'m thinking this is worth a try befoer panicking the new owner

[elford_tim]

New plugs are certainly a good idea - I vaguely seem to remember that my TII (unmodified) eats a set in less than 6k...

[turbo-tastic]

Well, after reading this thread
 
http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28564
 
I\'m slighlty optimistic that is a leaky injector, so perhaps get some new ones fitted, as that would obviously improve MPG? Or should I go down the route of fitting a switch/relay to turn off the fuel pump to aid starting?
 
But this post on that thread has me worried
 

to be honest there is no real way of telling - apart from the hot and cold test
 
its easy to check the compression with a normal tester
 
1 - remove EGI fuse ( turns off the ignition and fuel )
2 - remove the top plug on the rotor
3 - on the tester - there will be a rellease valve - hold this in so that it wont hold pressure
4 - get someone to crank the car and dont touch anything
5 - you should get 3 even bounces on the reader - make a note of what they are - 85 psi is low compression - anything above that is good
6 - if you get 2 nice bounces and then 1 at ZERO its probably a stuck seal
 
i had an egi with 117K on the clock - drunk oil like it was going out of fashion ( oil seal shot ) but it ran like a dream
 
i did have probs with flooding - so i used to clamp the fuel line with locking pliers and then start it
 
with your fuel pump off - i would just start the car and dont touch anything
 
i have a imobilser on mine that cuts the fuel - so when im stopping - i let the car tick over - remove the imobliser and just as the idle starts to fluctuate ( no fuel left to run ) - i shut her off
 
she starts first time when you next come to start it this way
 
Stu

Anything over 85psi is good. So what about 2psi over??

[elford_tim]

If it is a leaky injector, then I\'d replace that ASAP as it\'ll bugger up the fuelling somewhat fierce. Or at least have the injectors professionally cleaned and tested if you think that this may be the problem.

[turbo-tastic]

The air pump isn\'t going to have anything to do with your starting/flooding problems, simply because it injects air into the exhaust as an emission control measure.

Nice one, cheers I just wanted to check

Oh, and get a compression test on a Mazda tester. MPG is pretty pointless if you can\'t start the car...

Do people have these knocking about, or do you mean go to the Mazda main dealer?
 
MPG isn\'t pointless, as the car always starts, it just a case of what I have to do to get it to start.

[SiH]

Ed:
http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=446005&postcount=22
Could prove useful