I have a 5.7 TPI setup in my 89 GTA , what could be wrong that I had to spray starter fluid into the throttle body butterfly flaps to get the car to start ?
The car seems to start just fine when cold and I hear the fuel pump turn on everytime ? A friend told me of a fuel regulator (if that's what it's called) that keeps the gas from going back to the tank , does that sound right ?? could that be it ??
If so where is it located and is it difficult to fix or could this be a totally different problem ?

On a side note the car sounds like it is missing and running rough not sure if they are related ?

Thanks and really need ideas on this

 

The fuel press regulator keeps gas from going back to tank until ~45 psi of fuel press builds up then allows gas to go back to tank while holding the fuel rail press at ~45 psi. The regulator is abt 2 inches from the dist going towards the pass side headlight. You need to verify the fuel press. There's a schrader valve on the fuel rail close to the regulator where you check the fuel press. Gotta be on the pass side to see it.

 

Thank you , that's the info I was looking for , I'll look into that , along with other info I was given

 

its possible that the fuel regulator could be causing all of you problems.

was it running bad before the starting issue or is that how it runs after you get it started with the starterfluid?

one thing i would check on the hard starting issue, turn the key on and wait untill you hear the fuel pump finish its pre-start cycle, then turn the key off and wait 10 seconds. repeat this anout 3 times then try to start the car,
if it dose then you definitely have a fuel drain-back issue. this can be caused by either a fualty regulator or more commonly the fuel check valve, i believe it is in the tank with the pump, never actually done one just herd of them being common.

now if it is the regulator causing the issue it could also account for the poor running, lack of fuel causing a lean condition. i would start with checking your fuel pressure first with the vacuum line connected to the regulator and then without, if the pressure remains the same in both conditions, replace the regulator and repeat the test. if you still have low pressure then its the pump. the pump can also be tested before hand with a flow test.

 

Thanks a bunch , it does run poorly like a rough idle and poor gas mileage and running like it's missing , but the car still gets from point A to point B just a little rough and not sure if it will start when shut off unless I spray starter fluid in it , that will start it.
But more advice sure helps , thanks again and to everyone

 

crazyjc15 is on the money with the bad check valve on the pumps. Very common on cars, and no one really realizes it (cars run fine w/0 it btw, no need to change a pump cause of it)

One more thing you can do is check the vac line going to the FP regulator, make sure theres no fuel going in there or in it, You could have an internal fault in the regulator leaking fueling into the intake. Ive only seen it about 2 times on a stock FP regulator, but like 10000 times on aftermarket ones. (acting like a injector bascily) it'll cause running rough due to being overly rich.

When was the last tune up?
Does it have alot of black smoke comming out the tailpipes?

 

I'm going to look into the check valve and the regulator

I think the last tuneup was about 15-20 thousand miles ago which would be years ago and the only smoke I get is on start up sometimes which is grey in color when the car has been sitting long.

 

I would not even worry about the check valve. Its one of those repairs that are not even worth the effort of replacing a 100$ part to fix. And the aggravation of dropping a gas tank to fix it.

 

So I take it that's it not really needed ? ,I'm still going to look into the fuel pressure regulator

 

Do check the fpr. The check valve helps, but its not needed. That was designed to keep the rail pressurized for over night starts. It also aided in vapor lock for the warmer climates. Whatever the case may be its not worth the trouble. Most people can deal with a extra second of cranking time.

 

Sounds good , thanks !!