Possible to flood MX-3 on start?

[mdavis]

Hi y'all.

Yesterday I tried to start my car for the long ride from Santa Cruz to the Sierra Foothills for thanksgiving. No go. Although I can't remember ever having done so before, when I tried to start the car this time I had the gas to the floor. I was in kind of a hurry and I guess I figured it would be cool to start the car with a VROOM. Anyway upon trying to start the car it turned over just fine, but didn't sound like it tried to fire. After killing the battery (relatively quickly) I rolled the car backwards through two rows in the parking lot trying to bump start it. Halfway through I got out, popped the hood, and aimlessly tinkered with wiring harnesses, plug wires, and checked the fuses. Then, rolled another row backward through the parking lot trying to pump it -- at the very last second (before hitting the divider at the bottom) it started. I drove the car up to where I wanted to load my things, left it running to charge the battery, got my stuff and brought it back, then turned the car off and tried to restart it -- 100% normal start. A few minutes later at the gas station after topping fluids off it started completely normally again.

Now, when I initially got the car to start by bumping it a lot of smoke came out the tail pipe, and I distinctly smelled fuel. The car had only been sitting for about 5 days. Sometimes after the car sits for a while I'll get some smoke out of the back, but not much. I saw no oil in the coolant, but haven't checked the oil yet. The car also seemed to run just fine on the road for the 188 mile trip. Could I have flooded the engine by holding the gas to the floor when trying to start the car?

[solo_ryder]

Possible yea..

Check your o-rings for the injectors. Its possible that you have a crack and its flooding the motor.

Also, you could be getting a weak spark and that is not letting it fire right.. what ignition are you running? Stock disty?

[mdavis]

Hey solo.

The car got great gas milage on the drive, so I doubt it's the injectors leaking.

Using the HEI + coil mod for years with no problems.

So, is it technically possible to flood an EFI car in the way I described? IE. If the motor is cranking from the starter, but not at operational speed (idle +) is the ECU smart enough to not inject fuel every rotation?

[hgallegos915]

It is posible.. I flooded my mx3 alot of times when I first had it. It would only do it when it was cold.

My problem wa the distributor was not putting enough spark when cold.


To Un flood it, I just removed the ENG fuse in the driver side. Started then as the car started to start, reinert it and it would start everytime. It would smell alot like gas.

[mdavis]

very helpful and informative as usual, thanks.

[mitmaks]

possible that your valve cover gasket is leaking some oil and it burns off when you start it after letting it sit for a while. if your car is flooded all you have to do is press throttle all the way down when starting it.

[mdavis]

where exactly are you suggesting oil may be leaking? externally from the cover? I don't think that's it, I know what oil burning off the manifold smells like.

what exactly does it do when you do WOT when starting the car that relieves the flooding? it seemed to me that that's what flooded my car in the first place (if it indeed flooded)

[SuperK]

I flooded my ZE when I broke down.

There was a LOT of white smoke out of the tailpipe, and it smelled like gas.

If you flooded it good enough, then it will take prolly a couple days (depending on how much you drive it) before it clears the exhaust system.

I also had a injector o-ring rip and dumped so much fuel in the cylinder, it poured out of the tailpipe. It took a couple weeks for it to finally burn off ALL of the fuel in the exhaust system.

Completely possible. I say definitely you're just burning off excess fuel.

[mitmaks]

where exactly are you suggesting oil may be leaking? externally from the cover? I don't think that's it, I know what oil burning off the manifold smells like.

what exactly does it do when you do WOT when starting the car that relieves the flooding? it seemed to me that that's what flooded my car in the first place (if it indeed flooded)

k8's are prone to leaking oil at the valve cover gasket INTERNALLY, so usually it will fill up your spark plug wells with oil and also on old k8's oil seeps through exhaust valves when they sit for a while. That's how you get smoke at start up.

[mdavis]

hmmm well i recently found out that it's a DE.

the problem hasn't reoccurred though. thanks for the info.