Still Hard Starting

[Guest]

It still is hard starting ! ! !

10/20/02 08:24 PM

I have a 1990 that when it sits a couple of days or sometimes over night the car will crank and crank and crank but not start. If I put the gas to the floor and hold it it will start to fire. After some time of doing that it will start or fire more and more and then start. I can only turn it over for 15 to 25 sec. at a time or it won't fire at all. It's a good thing I have a good battery or it would never start. Any ideas? What could be wrong?

I put in a new fuel pump relay and no help. Had fuel pressure checked and was told it was OK. Tried injector cleaner, no help. It also gets 17 to 23 mpg.

Sometimes it helps if I turn on the key and wait 30 to 45 sec before tring to start it, and sometimes not. Sometimes after it starts it will run ruff like it needs to be chocked. Let it run for 5 min and most of the time it will run OK

What else could be wrong? It's still a baby (only 105k ) This is my every day driver and I love it.

Lance

[Guest]

Lance --

I fried a head in my '89 (being stupid). Had the head planed and replaced and after that it behaved something like what you describe except it ran rough. The CRT showed everythin within normal limits (I drove the car 75 miles over two days) and the mileage indication showed your numbers which was a huge drop over what it was doing before I damaged the head. Tried everything I could think of to cure the problem short of taking it back to the mechanic but finally did. It turns out the valve guides were shot and everyone was amazed it ran as well as it did. Mine were sloppy and it was fairly easy to see the problem with the valve cover off. I opted to rebuild the whole engine although that was not absolutely necessary. NAPA had remanufactured heads to go back on at $151.00 per head plus freight (I had mine rebuilt so I didn't order them but that sounded pretty cheap for rebuilts and I've never had trouble with NAPA rebuilts -- still running a set I got from them on my Pontiac 400 TA).

Good luck

[2seater]

Holding the throttle to the floor turns the injectors off, what is called clear flood mode. I don't know what the fuel pressure reading was but did they turn the engine off and see if the fuel pressure dropped immediately? It is peculiar for a flooded condition to last for a couple of days but it sounds like an injector stuck open, or possibly a weak spark, which could have many causes.

[Guest]

You might try looking at the spark plugs. Start with the side that is easy to get to. If they are stock AC plugs and they are not worn or damaged, try closing the gap down to .040. If the engine then starts easier, it shows there is some weakness in the ignition (as opposed to fuel) side.

Bob Rich

[Guest imported_barra]

Lance,

I had an 89 that was hard starting and the problem was the ECM. The ecm thought that it was 145 degrees and gave only enough fuel to start it at that temperature. It showed as much on the gauges section but, not being a mechanic myself, it took a Buick dealer to diagnose. The cost to replace the ECM was about $400. After that, it was ok.