zk8

I tried to do a search on this, but couldn't find anything. Has anyone tried to push start a flooded RX8 yet?
I know that in the 'old' times a flooded engine could be "fixed" by getting the car rolling and popping the clutch while the tranny was in 1st or 2nd....
I read it somewhere that modern cars with catalytic converters cannot be push started because this can damage the cc. (or something to that effect)
Although the above might be a stupid question, but I thought I ask it anyways...

BTW, this is an excellent forum with lots of invaluable info. Thanks.

chickenwafer

iTrader: (9)

rotarygod said something about this once- that it's the best way to start-up a flooded rotary. It will smoke like a mother tho

zk8

as long as I don't have to see the dealership....

Detrich

if u push-start, u'll probably want to be in 2nd gear too...

rx8atlast

I too thought push-starting was a no-no...not good for the cc.

dillsrotary

you should be fine, use second gear.

edblor

How can you damage the cc from push-starting? If true, I'd like to know why/how?

Cheers,

Ed

rx8atlast

I'm no expert, nor do I play one of TV. According to the manual....

"You shouldn't push-start a vehicle that has a manual transmission. It can damage the emission control system"

ucleadguitar

iTrader: (1)

all that fuel has to go somewhere...fuel into cc...hot hot hot and eats away the honeycomb...if you continuously do it that is

elysium19

iTrader: (1)

So the summary is: you shouldn't do it frequently because it may damage the cats to some small-ish degree, but theoretically you can push start it.

Question- if mine is NOT flooded, i'm just having ongoing issues with the starter motor and need to get it to the shop, there should be no problem at all with push starting?? Someone mentioned second gear- is there a problem with using first? I've never push started a car before at all.

Thanks!

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

to Push start do this

You need 2 friends, I prefer male, cuz they're most likely stronger (nothing against female here ok?)

You sit in the car, gear in N
Tell your buddy to push your car from the back, remeber, it will be great to do it on a Flat and LONG road. nothing uphill or downhill.

Turn your key to ON position. Watch your meter, when it go up to around 10 mph (shouldnt be too hard), Floor the Clutch and put it into 2nd, dont let it go yet, then try to let the clutch out slowly AND try to give it a little gas.

it should work after a while

hope it helps

(I tried to start my car on a downhill without any car in front and no one in sight, just for fun, I can do it myself cuz it was downhill, my car did start, but please do NOT try this unless you're 100% sure that you will not hit anything or kill anyone(including yourself))

N rider89

the answer:

all hail rotarygod

mbrule6465

Anyone ever tried starter fluid ? (ether)

Razz1

Best is tpush it with another car. it. Get it to 20 mph and it starts every time.

Don't ruin your bumper.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

I pull started mine after exausting all other options on a heavily flooded engine ( stock map with big injector upgrade).....It started within about 200 feet.....I had people stopping with fire extinguishers though...cause they thought the car was on fire

I also started mine with a blown engine this way as well...and drove it 25 miles home

ken-x8

My first car was a worn-out Alfa Romeo Guilietta Spider, which was start-challenged in cold weather. Hills were my friend.

I lived in Ithaca, NY, at the time. For those of you familiar with Ithaca, one wintry day it took all of Buffalo Street to get the thing running. Every inch - finally caught for good on the last bit of momentum on the flat at the bottom. Wild ride, really squirrely as I hit patches of slush and snow along the way.

Ken

swoope

iTrader: (5)

wow,

big *****.. great story..

beers

GaMEChld

Had a flooded engine to deal with this weekend. First time it flooded since they patched the ecu when it flooded last time, probly 2 years ago or so. Dumb mistake on my part, I guess i thought itd never flood again so I shouldnt take the usual precautions. Moved car from driveway to inside garage, no warmup.

Tried to deflood using an injection of wiper fluid technique found elsewhere on the forum. Probably didn't use enough cuz it didn't work and I didnt try it again because the rubber plugs that need removing are kinda a pain for me to get to.

So I said screw it, lets try a push start. I had tried this in the past to no avail due to lack of pushing power, only had my younger bro to help and it didnt go well.

This time I had my dad slowly and carefully tow me (slow and careful because I was using the front tie down hook and some boat rope and that thing isn't meant for towing). When I neared 20 mph, popped into second, got it started , switched to neutral and gave it a lil gas to make sure the needle was moving under the cars own power and that was that. Just drove it around for a bit to make sure everything was running smooth and to recharge the battery.

zoom44

i pushed mine to start because of a dead battery . 2nd gear and quite easy

Socket7

I followed your advice but I have a problem. It was easy to get the push car up to 20mph, but when I began pushing the car there was a very loud crash and now the bumpers on both cars are pushed in, and neither car will start! Can anyone help me troubleshoot this issue

GaMEChld

ouch! accelerated too fast?

you said you got the car to 20 mph, did it not start when you engaged 2nd gear?

sounds like quite a mess.

rotarygod

I don't buy into the hype of hurting the cat. Think about it. Even if there is fuel puddled in the engine, yes it lights and goes somewhere but is a couple of seconds of burning fuel any worse than an engine at full throttle where the exhaust gasses are at their worst? Probably not. The people without cats can notice flames out the exhaust between hard shifts. What do you think happens to this flame with a cat on? It absorbs it. Besides push or pull starting it doesn't add any stress to your starter as cranking it endlessly does with the unflood procedure.

Socket7

Terrible jokes aside (my 8 is fine, really.), I agree with rotarygod, Push starting the car simply does the work of the starter motor with the drive train, and hot exhaust gasses are probably worse for the cat then a bit of gasoline puddling in it. I wouldn't make a habit of flooding my engine just so I can push start it though.

Nubo

This isn't like push-starting due to a dead battery.

There's already excess fuel - that's the whole problem. It's gotta go somewhere. Even if you spin the rotors with the plugs out, probably won't get it all. So the Cat's gonna see some fuel dumpage; no way around it.

If you read the flood-fix TSB you'll see one of the steps is to disconnect the air pump. Iirc, the reason was to "prevent light-off" of the raw fuel in the exhaust system. Whether or not that's to protect you from explosion or to protect the Cat from a huge temperature flare, I'm not sure. But anyway, you could pull the air pump before your pull-start...