i jus got my 88 gxl donor car, it started 2days ago when i first got it, ran for about 15min then died, i put some more gas into it and tried startin it the next day and it wont start. it cranks and it turns over and tries to start but wont begin to idle. smells of gas too but i dont think im flooding it as i waited several hours inbetween some tries

did you let the tank run dry? pull a plug and check for spark or fuel fouling

flooded rotarys tend to like to stay flooded, the gas washes the oil film off the housings and apex seals and even after gas evaporates the compression is still low...

yeah if its got fuel smelling smoke coming out the exhaust its flooded

to unflood it, crank it with the EGI fuse pulled, or press the gas pedal all the way to the floor, as this will cut off the fuel pump in S4's. Also, definitely look at getting some new plugs after all this. As said above, these cars like to stay flooded, just letting it sit won't necessarily undo that. You'll have to be proactive.

maybe consider pre-mixing tcw3 two stroke oil, could maybe help.

For anyone who doesnt like getting out of their car and pulling the fuse to unflood their car, here is how i do it. You may all know this already but i thought i would mention it.



There is a black relay under the dash on the right side of the steering wheel (i believe this is the fuel pump relay), it is sort of clipped onto a little holster, slide it off the thing its clipped to and let it hang. Then unplug the relay and hold it near the plug or just barely on the plug so that its not making a connection but you can snap it back on with one hand at any time. I usually hold this in my right hand, and then reach through the steering wheel and turn the key with my left hand. When the car sounds like its about to crank, wait another second and then snap the relay onto the harness. The relay will make a clicking sound when you make a connection, and then the plastic snap will make a small noise too. If the car is really flooded you may have to turn it over a while before it will sound like its going to crank. This whole process takes some practice to get fast at it, but i like it better than getting out of the car.

What is the other (longer) unflooding procedure? Same thing is wrong with my car. I will try the spark plugs, and do a good unflooding with the EGI fuse.

To unflood my car, i generally just pop the trunk and unplug the fuel pump, then crank it til it sounds like its ready to fire. Plug the pump back in and go.



Does flooring it when starting in the S4's really disable the fuel pump? never knew that one