Larry
True Classic
We got the car started, but it was a bitch to start - lots and lots of cranking- as it had been before. Spraying starter fluid into the intake didn't make much of a difference.
Here's what the car has been doing
To get it to start, I start to crank the engine, but it doesn't catch. I've found if I give it a little bit of gas - not a lot and never with a wide open throttle - it will eventually start after 10-15 seconds of cranking. It's literally like a carb'd car where it won't start so you feather the gas pedal a bit to give it some gas and you crank it.
So I really don't think it's flooded engine issue, although it's easy to go there. I can see the cold start injector or any injector bleeding fuel off because of a leak, but all the injectors and the cold start injector have been replaced with NOS parts. And the problem didn't go away. And then there's the engine is stone cold and hasn't been started for a few days, few weeks or months thing.
Bear with me here... below are what starting my car has been like for the past 3+ years (2020 doesn't count because no work was done on the car then).
First, the timing has been checked and all is good. Here's how the car has been the past 3+ years (2020 doesn't count
When I'm able to get the car started:
o I put it in neutral and let it roll backwards out of the garage and down the driveway. When the back wheels get to the street, I put it in reverse and back into the street - I never let the clutch fully out - but have to keep the revs up, or it will stall.
o I then put the car into 1st and have to give it more gas than it would normally need so it doesn't stall when I start moving. I drive about 500' down the street to the stop sign. I put it in neutral and have to keep the revs up so it doesn't stall.
o I put it back into 1st, ease off on the clutch and the car stumbles a little - as if I'm coming off the clutch too fast - but I'm not. Sometimes, it will stall even though I've got the revs up a bit.
o I move away from the stop sign. 0.1 miles later, is a traffic light but by the time the car gets there, it's idling okay and won't stall there or when the light turns green.
o Sometimes, not every time, when I get about 0.6 miles down the road (part of my daily commute when I had one), I come to a traffic light that is almost always red so the car is idling normally for 30 seconds to several minutes (depending on where in the traffic light cycle when I arrive). The light turns green, I put the car into 1st and go to take off, but *sometimes* - not every time, the car stumbles - as if I've let off on the clutch too quickly, but that's not the case. When it does that, I push the clutch back in again, kick the revs up higher than I should have to go back to 1st and start off again and keep the revs up for the next 2 or 3 shifts. After I get 2 more lights down the road, things are fine and I can drive normally.
o Also, the car has an odd miss.... it seems to happen when the engine temperature is between the midway point to 190 and 190 and it seems to be the absolute worst a tick below 190. Below the midway point and the car is perfect.
o It only happens between 3000-4000 rpm and can happen in any gear. The most common RPMs are 3200 and 3800 - which are usually the rev ranges when I'm driving in 3rd or 4th gear. I can make it happen anytime at those 2 RPM's. To make it happen, I slow down a bit so the revs fall to say 2800 RPM and then get on the gas to take it slowly to 4000 RPM. At about 3200 RPM and 3800 RPM it stumbles.
The car feels like the stumble off the line I described above. I don't think it's misfiring as there's no backfire or noise I can easily discern when it happens. I used to say the car feels like I've hit a large bump in the road that only the rear wheels catch although there's no bump and the ride is fine otherwise. It only does it under a load, so just revving the car in my driveway doesn't help or count.
o Or sometimes, it starts right up and acts just like normal and everything is fine. Till I park the car for 30 - 90 minutes and then it doesn't want to start.... see "Here's what the car has been doing"
It's because of these issues we're looking at the FPR or the pump.
I've lived with the issues for awhile, but would really like not to have the issues....
Thanks for this explanation.
That Pep Boys is a service shop only so I could walk there, but I'd be waiting a while.
But the no-start happens even when the engine is stone cold and hasn't been started for a few months, overnight or a few days.
Here's what the car has been doing
To get it to start, I start to crank the engine, but it doesn't catch. I've found if I give it a little bit of gas - not a lot and never with a wide open throttle - it will eventually start after 10-15 seconds of cranking. It's literally like a carb'd car where it won't start so you feather the gas pedal a bit to give it some gas and you crank it.
So I really don't think it's flooded engine issue, although it's easy to go there. I can see the cold start injector or any injector bleeding fuel off because of a leak, but all the injectors and the cold start injector have been replaced with NOS parts. And the problem didn't go away. And then there's the engine is stone cold and hasn't been started for a few days, few weeks or months thing.
Bear with me here... below are what starting my car has been like for the past 3+ years (2020 doesn't count because no work was done on the car then).
First, the timing has been checked and all is good. Here's how the car has been the past 3+ years (2020 doesn't count
When I'm able to get the car started:
o I put it in neutral and let it roll backwards out of the garage and down the driveway. When the back wheels get to the street, I put it in reverse and back into the street - I never let the clutch fully out - but have to keep the revs up, or it will stall.
o I then put the car into 1st and have to give it more gas than it would normally need so it doesn't stall when I start moving. I drive about 500' down the street to the stop sign. I put it in neutral and have to keep the revs up so it doesn't stall.
o I put it back into 1st, ease off on the clutch and the car stumbles a little - as if I'm coming off the clutch too fast - but I'm not. Sometimes, it will stall even though I've got the revs up a bit.
o I move away from the stop sign. 0.1 miles later, is a traffic light but by the time the car gets there, it's idling okay and won't stall there or when the light turns green.
o Sometimes, not every time, when I get about 0.6 miles down the road (part of my daily commute when I had one), I come to a traffic light that is almost always red so the car is idling normally for 30 seconds to several minutes (depending on where in the traffic light cycle when I arrive). The light turns green, I put the car into 1st and go to take off, but *sometimes* - not every time, the car stumbles - as if I've let off on the clutch too quickly, but that's not the case. When it does that, I push the clutch back in again, kick the revs up higher than I should have to go back to 1st and start off again and keep the revs up for the next 2 or 3 shifts. After I get 2 more lights down the road, things are fine and I can drive normally.
o Also, the car has an odd miss.... it seems to happen when the engine temperature is between the midway point to 190 and 190 and it seems to be the absolute worst a tick below 190. Below the midway point and the car is perfect.
o It only happens between 3000-4000 rpm and can happen in any gear. The most common RPMs are 3200 and 3800 - which are usually the rev ranges when I'm driving in 3rd or 4th gear. I can make it happen anytime at those 2 RPM's. To make it happen, I slow down a bit so the revs fall to say 2800 RPM and then get on the gas to take it slowly to 4000 RPM. At about 3200 RPM and 3800 RPM it stumbles.
The car feels like the stumble off the line I described above. I don't think it's misfiring as there's no backfire or noise I can easily discern when it happens. I used to say the car feels like I've hit a large bump in the road that only the rear wheels catch although there's no bump and the ride is fine otherwise. It only does it under a load, so just revving the car in my driveway doesn't help or count.
o Or sometimes, it starts right up and acts just like normal and everything is fine. Till I park the car for 30 - 90 minutes and then it doesn't want to start.... see "Here's what the car has been doing"
It's because of these issues we're looking at the FPR or the pump.
I've lived with the issues for awhile, but would really like not to have the issues....
