rotarygreg

more compression? you clearly dont fully understand how this stuff all works man. i dont mean any offense by that. im just saying that isnt something someone with a good grasp on how this works would say. if anything, first would be best as the motor would be turning over much faster, however, first gear is a very big shock to the entire drivetrain when you are bumping it so thats why second is best. you still get decent engine speed through the gearbox, and its much nicer on the car and the driver. what you need is engine speed. you need the engine turning over very quickly to pump out all the gas causing the no start, then you just flip the ignition on and it starts sparking and away she goes (this is when you will feel the motor running under its own power, you put the clutch in and use the throttle to make sure it stays running for the first bit). the starter usually isnt adequit to spin the motor up enough to pump out all the crap and get things turning fast enough to get a good seal. thats why the bump starting works so well and why auto rx8s can be so misserable to get started once heavily flooded. removing the plugs and pumping the gas/oil out that way works often enough, but it it doesnt work the first time, you are in for a long day of repeating the miserable process until it does work. this is why bumping is nice. it works very well and isnt so tedious as removing the plugs time and time again. of course you should replace the plugs after a serious flooding anyways.

greg

Thumper3322

I know with pistons you are suppose to start in first, the lowest gear is supposed to make it easier to start. Yes very hard on the engine, and trans, but what cha gonna do. I'm use to my old car. If I have to ever do it again (hope not) I will try second. It's mainly about quick clutch in and out with gas on at the right time. Hate doing it to any car, it feels so hard on it.

PeteInLongBeach

Greg, the reason I asked is because I've read accounts of flooding where it was assumed the apex seals (and compression) were ruined because of excess fuel diluting the oil film. And, I have read where there was a recommendation of adding extra oil to a flooded engine to avoid seal damage upon start-up.

Is this all erroneous? Should flooded engines be re-started without any precautions, as you seem to imply?

Silver06

Pete.

You are technically right, but there is a progression in attempting to repair a flooded engine before adding oil.

The oil is not so much to lubricate, but to help seal the rotor seals on an engine that is probably marginal for replacement due to carbon deposits.

First procedure for starting a flooded engine should be the one that's in the Owner's Manual: Gas pedal to the floor: Crank for 10 secs. Wait for 10 secs, Crank for another 10.

After that, if the car doesn't start, then the procedure to follow is given in this Mazda TSB: http://www.finishlineperformance.com...5-08-1883f.pdf

What the TSB says is to pull the spark plugs, pull the e-shaft sensor, and crank to remove fuel from the rotors. If that fails, then add some oil to improve compression.

01Racing

Most of the flooded 8's we get in our shop are because of 2 reasons: Battery is worn and the cold makes the car crank slowly, slow cranking is a sure way to flood. 2. Plugs were not in good shape prior and they were carboned/oil fouled and again makes it hard for them to fire when cold. I have been with Mazda going on 21 years, I have yet to see a blown up rotary from natural causes.

Thumper3322

Ya weak battery on this car is no good, hence hoping Santa brings me one for xmas. Good to hear...what about FI?

Teedat

Shoot eh, alot of flooded cars. Haven't had any problems with my 8 yet (except the time it takes to start the car in the cold). My Mazda dealership told me to turn on the power for about 1 min before you start the car, and also after you turn it off. Ive been doing it, seems to help with the starting. Anyone else do this? And does it help ?

Silver06

^ Maybe if our engines were Diesel's with glow-plugs....

I honestly would like to hear the rationale for using / wasting one min of battery power before starting the engine.

Teedat

Yea I was wondering that too, then again the battery recharges when you drive so its not really wasting it lol.

But it's been helping for cold weather, especially that my car is parked in my garage for 2-3 days before I use it.

herbert

What year is your car? And how many seconds is it taking for it to start? Is it just taking a couple of seconds or are we talking 7-10 secs? If it's the latter, I had that issue and new starter resolved it.

Teedat

It's an '04 GT. Ive only driven it in the cold, Ive had the car since end october so I dunno yet if its the starter or not. It takes about 2-3 seconds, depending the the temperature outside.

herbert

Mine's an '04 as well. With the new starter, it fires up right away but it's not as cold in T.O. and my car is in my garage - it's not a heated garage but it's generally not quite as cold as outside. The starter might be something you want to look into. Starter's not cheap though so you might was to look at the battery first to see if that helps. I'd take it to the dealer, tell them the symptoms and let them suggest which route to go. If it's the starter, I'd consider ordering from the States (though the exchange sucks now).