Don't know how my car is flooded ... but I just drove it around and came home for like 10 minutes, (properly warmed up) and let it sit for a while before shutting it down and it flooded >< , anyone know what I should do ?

 

tried doing that 10 second thing .... 8/

 

call roadside assisstance

 

is that all I should do ? and when should I get back my car ? I gotta get it ready for a car show in a few days .... 8/

 

Try depressing the gas pedal all the way and trying to start it- that stops any more gas from getting to the engine. Then if it starts take it out and drive it hard to clean off your plugs.

This link has some more info about flooding -
http://www.finishlineperformance.com...1-04-1273d.pdf

My car flooded and I had it back the same day it was towed in. Mazda dealerships should know how to handle the problem pretty well by now as quite a few of us flooded this winter-

Good luck!

 

tried that already , thanks for the help tho , hopefully I can get it back same day 8/ , you think they'd reflash me without questions asked ? cause I got the old *** L flash ... 8/

 

I got reflashed last week without hassle -before that I had "the old *** L flash" also : )

You could always print out the service bullitin found in the link below and take it with you just in case.

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...01-022-04.html

 

Drive your other one for now, hopefully it will get fixed soon. The faster you get it to the dealership, the faster it will get fixed. Sorry to hear your story.

 

change ur spark plugs too

 

Get a friend or 2 to help you push it then pop the clutch. If that doesn't work, pull it behind another car at a slow pace and pop the clutch that way. This assumes you have a standard of course. This will start EVERY flooded rotary engine. There's no need to sit around and change spark plugs or wait several days to get your car towed and returned. There's more risk for damage that way. You have a tow hook that screws into the bumpers. It is in your tire repair kit or whatever that damn thing is. I just call it the unflood tool. Just add another car and pull away. Trust me, it WILL start this way.

 

rotarygod,

i seem to remember reading either here or rx-7 forum that jump starting was bad for rotary. ne truth to that?

 

Should be no problem.

I took my car in to get the new A/C amplifier installed, and the M-flash campaign code for the latest TSB mandating M-flash appeared on the work order automatically - even though I already had M-flash done on the first weakly worded M-flash TSB.

rx8cited

 

If the full throttle method doesn't work the next thing you should try is removing and cleaning the spark plugs, and cranking the engine over with the plugs out to expell the gas in the engine. The Mazda way of sucking oil into the manifold is a little bit long winded, I would be tempted to squirt a little ATF into the plug holes while the plugs are out. Then put the plugs back in, do the full throttle thing again to distribute the oil and get your compression up, then try starting it. If that doesn't work then tow it.

I do not recommend towing first though, because all the fuel in the engine will be pumped into the catalytic converter. However, if you are in a hurry then it is the quickest.

Also, I DO NOT recommend going out for a hard drive after flooding, the fuel in the cat will cause overheating and you will melt your cat, leading to emission/performance problems. Going for a long, steady drive at constant speed would be safer.

RotaryGod - Have you ever towed a vehicle the way you describe above? "Popping the clutch" seems like a sure-fire way of breaking a tow rope to me. From what I have heard (from other Rotary 'Gods') the objective is to get that RE motor spinning as much as possible, as long as possible, to pump out that excess fuel. Gently slipping the clutch out in 2nd gear and towing for a 1/2 mile would probably be more prudent.

Sorry for the long response, I was trying to be politically correct...

 

Where have you been? There's a special service program that instructs Mazda dealerships to M flash EVERY RX-8 that comes in for service. Getting the new flash is not an issue anymore. M has been out for 2.5 months now...

Regards,
Gordon

 

From the many flooded rotaries I have worked on, I have found the ONLY reliable method for starting a flooded rotary is to pull or push start it. I have broken "tow ropes" before but they weren't true tow ropes. The ones that broke were nothing more than old misc. rope lying around. I'm not talking about taking the car up to 50 mph behind another car in neutral and then just popping the clutch. That would break a rope for sure. Just get the car moving 5 or 10 mph or so and gently let the clutch out with the car in 2nd gear. You always want tension on the rope so it isn't stressed hard. A true store bought tow rope is made for much harder stress than this. The car usually starts up after only a few feet. The only time I have had one take a long time was when a flooded 3rd gen RX-7 was literally flooded. It drove through high flood waters and filled up the engine. The wonder that is the rotary engine allowed us to drain off all of the water from the intake, turbos, intercooler, etc, change the fluids and pull the car to start it. It started and ran perfectly. Try that with a piston engine!

There isn't as much of an issue as you think there is about fuel in the cat. We aren't talking about gallons of it just sitting there burning. We are talking about a couple of ounces (maybe!) as it takes practiacally nothing to flodd a rotary. This small amount instantly burns off once the engine starts. This may seem really hot but it is nothing compared to the hot gasses that pass through the cat when the car is under load or at high rpms. The cars can backfire out of the muffler. A flame that strong is much hotter than the small amount that gets lit from starting a flodded rotary. The gasses are still at 1000+ degrees at the cat under full throttle and that heat may stay there for a long time. A quick little flame is nothing. It's the difference between running your hand quickly over a lit candle flame and holding it in a blowtorch. No comparison.

The last thing to consider is that when you are cranking a flooded rotary over without spark to dry out the chamber, the fuel still goes somewhere. There are 2 options. One, it goes through the cat but some residual still remains to be lit later when the engine does start. The other is that you are cranking it over with no spark plugs installed so the fuel blows directly out of the engine. The easy way to do it but it makes a mess. It is so much faster to just push or pull start the car. It takes less time than any alternative and always works. This is only as hard on the vehicle as the driver makes it.

 

It isn't bad for a rotary per se. It is bad for any vehicle. The only good way to jump start a car is with only one car running at a time. Most people hook up the jumper wires then start the donor car. While this car is running they proceed to start the dead car. The logic is that the extra current from the running cars alternator is going to make it easier to start the dead car. Good logic. The issue is that when the other car does start, a surge of power is sent back to the donor car. It is not uncommon for people who used their cars to jump start other cars to end up having battery/charging issues in the near future. I saw it all the time in the stereo industry. I even had it happen myself. Any time I jumpstart anyones car now, the donor car is run for a short time then shut off. Then the other car is cranked over. If it doesn't start yet, repeat until it does. This will keep any problems from happening later.

 

Rotary God, regarding towing, that's what I though you meant.

Regarding fuel in the cat, if it is a new car customer I will always recommend they take it easy after flooding. There IS excess heat there, and there IS a possibility of the cat melting, so to save that customer the inconvenience of going to a dealer to have their cat replaced I recommend they stay on the safe side. They will also protect themselves from accusations of misuse like in the other cat thread on this forum at the moment.

Know where I'm coming from?

(P.S. I PM'd you)