Hard starting problem.

[mdj21]

Hi guys,

i've got an 85 SR5 pickup with the 22RE engine and EFI.

for the past couple of months it has been giving me a hard time to get it started. when it eventually starts and runs, it runs just fine, although i do think my gas mileage is down a little from what it should be. this is not a slowly progressing problem. one day is just started giving me trouble.

anybody had this trouble before? any ideas where i should look to try to fix it? need more information?

any help is appreciated.

thanks,

Mike.

[knj27]

Replacing the starter would be the first obvious solution if you can't see any more obvious problems. My 93 was kind of similar, sort of dogged out when I tried to start it for a while, then one day wouldn't start. Couldn't get anything to work, so we took out the starter and bench tested it and it worked and tested as good but sounded really rough. Bought a new one, installed it, works perfect. I guess the old one was still working, just not connecting up with the truck very well, or something. Anyway, you may have a similar problem, or could be totally different, who knows. Have fun

[mdj21]

Originally Posted by knj27

Replacing the starter would be the first obvious solution if you can't see any more obvious problems. My 93 was kind of similar, sort of dogged out when I tried to start it for a while, then one day wouldn't start. Couldn't get anything to work, so we took out the starter and bench tested it and it worked and tested as good but sounded really rough. Bought a new one, installed it, works perfect. I guess the old one was still working, just not connecting up with the truck very well, or something. Anyway, you may have a similar problem, or could be totally different, who knows. Have fun

i don't think it's the starter. it cranks just fine. it turns the engine over plenty fast enough. i have just been having to crank it longer because the engine takes longer to finally fire off then it used to.

actually, it starts better when the engine is stone cold. if i get it going, warm it up , then shut it off for two or three hours, then is when it really takes a lot of cranking to get the moter restarted. it almost starts normal when it is stone cold. it's after it has been warmed up a bit that it really becomes a pain to start.

[marshalljc]

check the electric choke and fuel pump. also I reccomend that you run a can of sea foam in the tank being that it is a older truck. another idea is test the battery and alt after the truck sits the bat has time to stablize after you run the alt might be bad and the bat will not have enough cold cranking amps. sounds weird but that happened on my bike and I took everywhere and one day i left the light on and killed the battery so when I put a new one on it has been fine since then.

[mdj21]

Originally Posted by marshalljc

check the electric choke and fuel pump. also I reccomend that you run a can of sea foam in the tank being that it is a older truck. another idea is test the battery and alt after the truck sits the bat has time to stablize after you run the alt might be bad and the bat will not have enough cold cranking amps. sounds weird but that happened on my bike and I took everywhere and one day i left the light on and killed the battery so when I put a new one on it has been fine since then.

would a engine with EFI have an electric choke as well? i thought there was just that cold start injector. is there a choke valve in the throttle body as well?

fuel pump is only about two years old and the battery seems to be fine. the battery and starter do fine at spinning the engine up she just dosen't fire off as quickly as she should.

already put some sea foam in it a few months ago.

i did run the battery dead flat last month, but it seemed to charge back up fine. i'll keep that one in mind as a possible suspect.

[junior3382]

When did it get a tune-up last? Perhaps the Distributor, wires and plugs need replaced. Sometimes with older engines and carbod build up, the plugs need replaced more often, so I would consider that avenue as well.

[mdj21]

Originally Posted by junior3382

When did it get a tune-up last? Perhaps the Distributor, wires and plugs need replaced. Sometimes with older engines and carbod build up, the plugs need replaced more often, so I would consider that avenue as well.

plugs are only about a month old. i will pull them and have a look though.

just changed plug wires, distributer cap and rotor, PCV valve, and O2 sensor this past weekend. want to change coil, but the parts store didn't have them in stock at the moment.

no change....

i think i'm going to change the battery as well. i left my lights on all day about two months ago. i got a jump and it seemed to charge up fine, but maybe now it's starting to act funny. i don't think you can ever compleatly trust a battery that gets compleatly discharged. its not good for them.

any body have any other ideas of things to try?

[crabtruck]

You have crank but not fire when hot ?
I'd look to fuel first. I know the pump is only a couple years old,
but that doesn't mean it isn't quitting. Many times they show more when hot.
You should do pressure checks for hot and cold and see the difference.
Is the filter that old too ?
If it's cranking good, I see no reason to change the battery.

[junior3382]

Crab is right, if it is cranking there is no reason to suspect or change the battery. I suggested the other parts for spark reasons, but if it is getting spark, then it is definitely a fuel problem.

[mdj21]

Originally Posted by junior3382

Crab is right, if it is cranking there is no reason to suspect or change the battery. I suggested the other parts for spark reasons, but if it is getting spark, then it is definitely a fuel problem.

ok, i'll persue that direction and start checking fuel.

i'm not sure, but i believe the filter is original. i have a replacement that i bought a couple of years ago when i aquired the truck but i never put it on becasue i couldn't find where to put it. i know where the thing hides now and i just found the new filter which was lost in my garage. i'll change the filter and see if that does the trick.

i appreciate the suggestions and help.

thanks,

Mike.