I had a no-start of my RX-8 in my RV-7A
about three weeks ago. I had rebuilt the engine starter and
after re-installing it, I started the engine 3 times to make
sure the starter was performing properly. Everything was OK.
I got in the airplane 2 days later and the engine turned over
but did not start. I ran the P 680 battery down trying to
start it. I discovered I had NO compression on any of the 6
rotor faces! I checked the ignition, injectors and cleaned
the plugs. I also squirted some fuel into the spark plug
holes to try to get it to fire. I finally squirted 2 stroke
oil into each rotor face using the prop to rotate the engine.
I sprayed 2 to 3 squirts per rotor face using a hand oil
dispenser. The engine fired several times but did not start
on the first try – I let it sit 3 hours and tried again. It
started and after about 10 seconds it ran smoothly. It filled
the hanger with smoke burning the oil!
I figure I must have left some unburned
gasoline in the engine when I tested the starter and this
washed most of the oil out of the seals while sitting a
couple of days. Hence no compression. This is only a guess -
I ran it on the ground several times and
have flown it about 5 hours – everything appears back to
normal!
PS – I don’t ever measure the rotor’s
compression. I only turn the prop thur by hand – compression
is back to normal.
Dennis Haverlah
RX-8 in RV-7A
About 800 hours