ok, so yesterday, my neighbors father in law calls me up asking if I could help him out by getting a friends Iroc in running condition before the kid gets back from Europe, so we went and checked it out and its an 85 with the original 305 TPI, auto, so we get there and since the car had been sitting for a while the battery was dead, so we jumped it and all the electronics turned on, so after about 20mins I try to crank it, and the starter makes like it wants to turn the motor over but cant, the kid had taken the car over to a shop back in March and the report says the MAF was bad, and that there was a weird noise when it started, possible starter/flexplate damage? My dad said its most likely the starter, also the report said the engine was surging(MAF?) and that the water pump had a leak, I was wondering can you hear the fuel pump priming? because when I turned the ign switch to the on position I couldn't hear anything under the car, any help is appreciated guys

 

so would it be a safe bet to start with the starter?

 

You should be able to hear the pump priming.

 

You can check the pressure at the fuel rails to see if the pump is running or not. You say the starter makes like it want to turn the motor... do you mean it is cranking but not starting, or do you just hear the solenoid clicking?

 

you just hear the solenoid click the starter gears out and the gears engage the flexplate, but it doesn't turn the motor over, no clicking like when your battery is low, nothing

 

I'd say start with a battery and a starter, and go from there. You should be able to hear the pump prime for a few seconds when you first key on they ignition.

 

Also check battery cables and check for any loose connections.

 

ok thats what I planning on doin, but I dont think its the wires because all electronics in the car turn on when we jumped the battery, and the solenoid was working, but I might as well check them just to be sure

 

Good luck to you. Don't neglect checking the battery cables though. A loose or corroded connection can let enough power through to power a radio or turn on a light and at the same time not allow the power needed to turn the starter through. I have seen it happen before.

 

thanks, and yea I will check those once I start working on the car, right now my neighbors father in law is tryin to find a shop we can use, because the kid had the camaro sitting in his parents restaurant parking lot, not the ideal place to work on a car, lol

 

ok, well today we got the car running(only needed a battery) so we did an oil change, changed out the fuel filter, changed the water pump, calibrated the spark plugs(owner hadn't set the gap on the plugs when he replaced them) and refilled with coolant, but the vehicle is still surging and I was wondering if it would be the injectors who could cause something like this, what else could possibly make it surge any ideas?

 

ok well I figured out the surging is being caused by the torque converter locking and unlocking, where is the TCC connector on the tranny so I can hit it up with some contact cleaner to see if that works