Okay heres the deal. Recently my car has become very difficult to start. At first it would start and then die immediately imtermittantly. Now the problem is worse and happens
just about every time I try to start it unless the car hasn't been driven in 8+ hours. It takes about 8 or 9 tries of it starting and dieing before it will start and stay started. When its started it idles like a dream. Better then it has ever idled before. Even that has gotten worse however and just today the engine is hesitating or I get a massive drop in rpms very very briefly at least once for the first mile or so and then it goes back to running
very well.

The car seems to start on the first try after it has been sitting a while. The longer it sits the easier the start. The last 3 or 4 starts have been accompanied by a strong fuel odor. I think the engine may be flooding with gasoline and thus causing my hard start so
I've concentrated most of my troubleshooting on the fuel system. However when I checked my fuel pressure the other day it was reading fine and dandy at 45PSI. I just replaced my fuel injectors a few days ago since a couople of them read low in resistance and that gave my engine noticable power improvements but did not cure the start problem. While the throttle body was off I noticed there was no gasket there so I put one in and also a bolt was loose that holds several grounds to the air intake manifold. I figured I had found my problem but I was wrong again, although these definately needed to be fixed. I am
stumped guys and not quite sure what to do next. Not quite sure whether its a fuel problem or an electrical problem. The gas smells says fuel but they way the engine just cuts out makes me think electrical. All this and I'm getting no codes from the ECM.

Any ideas?

I have a few things to check on the fuel system still but not quite sure. How do i check the fuel pump relay? The fuel pump does prime when i turn the ignition on and I'm getting good pressure(although id like to catch my car in the act and see what the pressure is like then) What about the fuel pressure regulator?Wouldn't my pressure change if it were? Why would I smell gasoline when I start my car? Fuel return possibly clogged? No spark on a cylinder? I'm no mechanic I have my dad do most of this stuff but as he gets older he gets less helpful and doesn't seem to interested in my plight heh.

 

Did you put the correct gasket on the throttle body? There are 2 different ones that come in most TPI gasket kits. If you use the wrong one it will block off your idle passages and starting the car will be difficult and it won't idle right either.
Also check your TPS setting.

 

is it a tpi looks like a v6 in you user info.

have you changed your fuel filter, good pressure is not always good flow. how is your plugs and wires cap rotor ect. when last changed my not be a fuel problem.

jeff

 

Sorry should of clarified. 91 firebird 3.1L v6 MPFI

The starting problem was there before and after the gasket and the MPFI only comes with one and I'm positive its correct.

Pulled the plugs today and checked them out. They are vey clean ash gray with hints of light brown. Checked the gaps and they were fine also. They did smell of fuel but I dont know if thats abnormal.

Fuel filter is only a couple months old, which I know doesn't mean jack, but I'm sure my engine is getting plenty of fuel. Maybe too much fuel even

Also checked my coil last night and its within specs. Bat has good voltage. All fluids check out at the proper levels. Everything looks good at a glance but I dont know what the hell it is. I'm not getting any codes at all but I think something is telling my engine is not getting enough gas so its flooding the engine thus making it hard to start. The gas smell when it starts isn't always there though. Only sometimes. I dont know....

 

Update:

Got in my car to drive home from work and it started up really well. I figured out if I let my car sit without starting it for at least 5 hours it will start up with no problems. However tonight as soon as it started I got out and shut the door to let it warm up. As soon as I shut my door it died and it would not start again just cranks and cranks. I tried 3 times in 30 minutes to no avail. It finally stranded me... It was just a matter of time I suppose. Oh well. I guess I'll get it towed home tomorrow and junk it in the garage until I have enough money to take it in to a shop.

 

Update:

I sat over the weekend to think about this one. Been going out and starting my car and letting it idle just to listen to it and see what I could do if anything to get it to stall.

Previously when this first started happening I had checked my spark to make sure it was getting good spark. Problem is I checked it when the problem wasn't as frequent. However I finally got my car to start acting up when i had all my test equipment around.

Checked for spark when it wasn't starting and what do you know? No spark! Its intermittent sparks sometime and not at all at other times. Not sure if its my cap/rotor or my ignition module. Coil checked out but at least I have something to test and something definitive to work on. Car isn't fixed yet haven't been to the parts store but its such a good feeling to finally have found a culprit to this several month ordeal.

Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions and tips

 

My car did that to me, tabs on distributor 2-pin connect had broken off and engine vibration cause the connector to back out.

 

FINAL UPDATE:

It was the ignition module. Took it to the part store and had them test it. 2 of the tests failed. Replaced it with a new one, retimed my engine and its running like she was always meant to run!