I put my car in storage in december and I had to work today, so my dad went out to get the car. He tried starting it regularly, then put in a can of heet, but it still wouldnt start. He tried spraying starting fluid in the throttle body while my mom tried to start. all that accomplished was backfire and my dads burnt facial hair. The car is an 87 Gta with an 88 l98 in it. What can I do so it will start?

 

the car would turn and sound like it was going to start but then it wouldnt, it had a broken/leaking fuel pressure regulator on it before putting it in storage, could this be the culprit of it not starting?

 

Yes. You should pull the plugs and see if they're soaked with fuel.

 

yeah, im pretty sure its that now, went to start it again, wouldnt start, looked at the regulator and shrader valve, no pressure, at least i know what it is now

 

87GTA/88L98 means you have a MAF system. Cranking the engine with the intake bellows removed and spraying ether into the plenum means that MAF was not sending an airflow signal to the ECM.

Establish fuel rail pressure first. Check the pump relay, pump fuse, and connections.

 

so are you saying that it wouldn't be the regulator then? i took it in to have it checked out last year because it stalled and wouldn't start and the mechanic said it was fpr but i never got around to changing it before i put it away for the winter, hmmm....

 

Can you hear the fuel pump running when the key is turned to the "run" position?
It should come on for a few seconds, then shut off.

 

i tried to but i couldnt hear it over the fan in the engine bay so im not real sure

 

Listen for the fuel pump with the eng not running, but key in "run" position. As soon as key is turned from "off" to "run" the fuel pump should come on for a few seconds.

If the fan cxomes on as soon as the key is turned on, disconnect the fan temporarily.

 

alright, i will see about that next time i go out there, and if i can here it then what?

 

If the pump is running (it's inside the fuel tank, BTW), squeeze the return fuel line at the rubber part of the line, and see if the fuel rail pressure comes up. The return line is the one that comes from the FPR.
If it does, then the FPR is bad.

A friend of mine was able to start his Vette (TPI eng) by clamping (using smooth jawed vice-grips) the return line when his FPR went out.

 

alright, thanks a lot for the help, im kinda new at this though so does anyone have a diagram of a tuned port unit with all the lines and hoses and stuff? thanks in advance