dodgethis Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 I know this is probably one of the most constant questions being asked. I have used the search command, but cant really find anything that is close to relating to my problem. Every now and then the Lumina is hard to start. I can get out of the car after turning it off, and walk in somewhere fast, and come back and she will fire right off usually, but there are times at say 2 to 3 hours that if I don't hold the pedal slightly that it will take two tries to get it to crank over. Do any of ya'll's w-body's start right up on the first try? I always let the fuel pump prime before i turn it over (habit). She has 107,000 miles on her, she had a tune up about 15,000 miles ago (wires, plugs, fuel filter, pcv, air filter). I checked the FPR and it's not leaking, what is the next step check the fuel pressure? She doesn't hesitate or miss during WOT, its just weird that its a P.I.T.A to start sometimes. 98 Lumina, 3100 SFI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado_735 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Perhaps the idle air control valve is getting sticky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow96SE Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Mine has always pretty much fired as soon as I turned the key (even after sitting a year before I bought it), never had to hold pedal or let fuel pump prime. It has around 180k on the clock, and who knows how many on the plugs. Not changed anything aside from air filter since I bought it at 160k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 i've never had a 3100 that wasn't a fast-starting engine.... LH0 is another situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 (edited) Mine has always pretty much fired as soon as I turned the key (even after sitting a year before I bought it), never had to hold pedal or let fuel pump prime. It has around 180k on the clock, and who knows how many on the plugs. Not changed anything aside from air filter since I bought it at 160k. cool story bro. To the OP, I might take heed of the suggestion to check/clean the IAC. While i am not having as hard a time starting as you, I have all around slight drivability issues and it does take longer to start than before. Let us know what you find. Failing coils wouldnt do this, right? Edited March 3, 2011 by mra32 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado_735 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Failing coils wouldnt do this, right? I thought about this myself, but coils usually get weak when they're hot. According to the OP, it will usually start right after being shut off, but after sitting for a couple of hours, it'll be hard to start. OP, how does it start in the morning/after sitting more than a couple hours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgethis Posted March 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 I thought about this myself, but coils usually get weak when they're hot. According to the OP, it will usually start right after being shut off, but after sitting for a couple of hours, it'll be hard to start. OP, how does it start in the morning/after sitting more than a couple hours? It usually isn't a problem starting in cold weather. If anything it actually start better usually, in the freezing cold . Like I said it doesn't miss fire during WOT, or anytime. I have no codes, but this coming weekend I will definetly check out the IAC, and report back any difference or what i find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carkhz316 Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Fuel Pump. Regardless of the pump being bad or not, the check valve often goes bad and bleeds off pressure back in to the tank. Pump could also be bad too. Check your pressure and update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgethis Posted March 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Fuel Pump. Regardless of the pump being bad or not, the check valve often goes bad and bleeds off pressure back in to the tank. Pump could also be bad too. Check your pressure and update. Are you talking about the schrader valve? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carkhz316 Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Yessir. Have to get a tester for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 If I remember correctly, MCC had this same problem and it ended up being the fuel pump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threepointone Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 if perhaps you need to replace the IAC ive had bad luck with most aftermarket units....... BWD ,napa, delco worked best for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgethis Posted March 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 If I remember correctly, MCC had this same problem and it ended up being the fuel pump You had to swap out your fuel pump, despite it didn't give you any hesitation, but because it was hard to start? Its going to be hard to accept a failing fuel pump, if all I see is a hard starting issue. I guess i will have to rule it out with a Fuel Pressure test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteCarloChick Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 The symptoms for my fuel pump issue were slightly different. I could start the car fine, it was the idle when it started that was wonky. It would surge and fall and just run really rough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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