Problem with flooding the engine
 

Has anyone experience problems with their engine flooding and not being able to start their car. It’s happened to me a couple of times now.

In my most recent case I needed to move my car to the other side of the garage. So I moved it thinking it would probably be fine the next day, well I was wrong. I’m now getting it towed to the dealing.

If your car is cold and your drive it for a short peroid and don’t let the engine warm up, then turn the car off and let it sit overnight. The next day I’m unable to start the car because it is flooded. The dealing has told me that this is within manufacturing specifications.

The last time this happen the dealer had to remove the carburetor so they could get the excess fuel out of the engine.

I’m not sure if living in Boulder Colorado and the altitude has anything to do with it or not.

Has anyone had a similar problem, if so were you able to resolve it?

Only one thing to say about this one: Use the search feature

I'm sorry I left my 10 ft pole at home.

Could you take a picture of that carburator and post it for us? I have been looking for mine and can't seem to find it. Maybe if I knew what it looked like that might help ;) .

I think I smell troll manuer somewhere... Maybe I stepped in it.

Chadushka:

Simple solution - post address - tonight leave open car on street outside your residence - signed pink slip and keys on front seat. Your problem will soon be solved.

John

PS Please be sure to warm up engine prior to shutting off.

I think these guys are giving you too much grief, chadushka. I am not a suspicious guy and I take everybody at face value. I will help you out and take the car off your hands for you so you can go get something else. E-mail me.

TM45:

There's always a softie in the group.

John

awwww come on guys...it's his first post for crying out loud. At least post the link---share the rotary love :)

post pics of the carb---thats great rofl

Yeah, I want to see that carb.

Duh... it's right there next to the cam cover.

Maybe he was talking about a different car? Meaning, the last time he flooded a car (other than the 8), the garage had to remove its carburetor to fix it.

Of course, we could also read another post about how his 8 threw a rod on the highway....in which case I'd like to see pictures of both the carburetor and the rod. :p

Hell, I want pictures either way!!

-Eric

Great, now that everyone has had a good laugh at my expense, the question still remains. My auto dealing is telling me that engine flooding is a common problem with the RX-8 and if you don’t follow some pretty ridge mode of operation, (i.e. after starting the car it has to warm up before shutting it off) there is a high probability the engine will flood.

I’m hoping this forum is a good source of information, so far I haven’t found that to be true, hopefully I’m wrong.

There are TONS of threads on "flooding". Do a search of the archives and you'll pull up a lot of information. Unfortunately, the topic has been the subject of debate among many so you won't find a consensus.

There's a wealth of information available on this forum...based on your initial post and people's responses you should understand the reason for their skepticism (which you've still done nothing to explain away).

-Eric

Sue Esponte:

Seems that the forum does go into a defensive mode with first posters - especially if they raise an issue such as flooding.

It would be better if after registering the new member was asked to post a brief intro to the forum. A voluntary act of course. It would at least be a baseline.

John

John,

I agree...and when I first asked about it a few weeks ago some people offered opinions while others pointed me to the "search" function (which proved very helpful). I think if I'd started things off by saying I had a bad experience with "an old v6 RX7" I'm not sure people would have been as 'kind'. :D

-Eric

chadushka-

This forum is a wealth of information, but these major topics have been rehashed many times over... your best bet is always to use the search function and find recent discussions- if you don't find what you're looking for, then start a new thread.

On the topic of flooding- your dealer should have told you when you purchased about the flooding potential (note that I didn't say problem). In a nutshell, you shouldn't start the car, move it around a short distance and shut if off when still cold... if you do, you might flood the engine. If you live in a colder climate, the likelyhood of flooding increases. There are a lot of threads that describe the technical side of this if you're interested.

So when you get your car back, just be sure to keep this in mind- if you want to shuffle cars in the garage/driveway, take an extra couple minutes to drive around the block instead of shutting your RX8 off when cold. If you do accidentally shut if off when cold, there's an emergency starting procedure described in your manual or the extra pamphlet your dealer should have given you that should get you running without a tow.

Personally, I also rev the engine up to 3-4k for a couple seconds and kill the ignition while revved up to expel the excess fuel (not just on short drives, but any time I drive it). I've never flooded and it always starts right up with just a one-two seconds of cranking.

Good luck, and enjoy your '8...