Hard Starts

[kg03]

Hey guys,

Its been a long time since I have had the need to seek guidance and advice on an issue.......(meaning I have had a great time enjoying the Q) I am now having problems with starting. The starting issue comes in the summer and leaves in the late fall and winter. The summer and spring heat tends to affect the starting issue. The starter works just fine and fuel seems to not be an issue. These starting problems are intermittent and when the car starts "normally" there is no identifiable reason for the good start. Has anyone had any issues similar to this and if so, where should I start?

[maxnix]

Maintenance history please. Fuel pump and fuel filter replacement interval? Top tier Premium?

[kg03]

I have 202,000, have about 50,000 on the plugs, 50,000 on the coil packs, never replaced the fuel pump, always use good premium gas, and about 15,000 on the fuel filter.

[maxnix]

Change your fuel (and intake and cabin?) filter. Report back. If you are in CA, AZ, NV, you might have to change it more frequently than annually.

[Q451990]

I would check for a pattern of a hot soak causing the hard start. With a hot soak issue, you'd have a hard start, for example, after driving the car for a while and then letting the car sit in a parking lot for 15 or 20 minutes. If you were to start it 5 minutes after turning the car off, or after letting it sit overnight then it would start fine.

In my case this was caused by a lower o-ring on a fuel injector leaking and causing the engine to flood. If the car sat overnight, the excess fuel would seep past the piston rings and into the crankcase. Starting it up a few minutes after shutdown was fine because the fuel handn't had enough time to get through the small leak and cause the flooding.

Heath

[kg03]

That sounds alot like my issue Heath. What is the fix for this? I have done most of the minor/moderate repairs; Is this something I can tackle? Is there any way to confirm this diagnosis or hypothesis?

[maxnix]

You pressurize the fuel rail and monitor for 24 hrs.

Also, once the fuel filter is changed (and it needs it), you can measure fuel pressure at idle and WOT, preferably under way.

[kg03]

Forgive me, expand "WOT." How do I pressurize the fuel rail for an extended amount of time? Also, how is it monitored?

[Q451990]

WOT is an abreviation for wide-open-throttle (e.g. pedal to the metal)

You would check the fuel pressure using a fuel pressure gauge. I bought one at Harbor Freight fairly cheap years ago. You would tee into the fuel line.

Annother test would be to pull the fuel rails, but leave them connected. Prime the fuel pump by turning the key on, and then look for drips. An alternative would be to pull the rails and send them to someone who specializes in fuel injector testing and cleaning (like our sponsor Deatschwerks). www.deatschwerks.com

Most of our members have had good experiences with them.

Heath