The girlfriend got her her oiled changed a couple of weeks ago and right after she mentioned that the car was a little slow to start. I asked a mechanic friend and he mentioned sometimes new oil can be thicker and cause that. We decided to see if it continued and didn't take any immediate action.

It's now a couple weeks later and it's getting worse. It used to just be a 3-4 second increase in start time. Now it can take a good 10 seconds before the engine starts. Starter doesn't sound like it's struggling or slow...battery is fairly new and shouldn't be an issue.

We have also noticed that now the engine tends to shake a bit during startup...not violently but definitely more so then it used to during startup. It is smooth during idle or acceleration, it's just during startup.

One day last week it just didn't want to start after trying it 3-4 times for about 10 seconds. I was about to give up but gave it one more try and thankfully it turned over.

This morning, it did the same thing. I can hear the engine cracking but it never seems to catch. This morning when it finally did, it felt very rough for a few seconds, and then went into a normal smooth idle.

This also seems to happen more when the engine is cold. I ran errands last night and the longer the car sits parked, the worse the restart seems to be.

I'm looking for suggestions on things to check because I'm trying to avoid playing the replacing parts game with a mechanic...money is tight atm.

I did remove the air filter one morning and tried to start it, to see if it was not getting enough air, but the same problem occurred with no air filter. I thought maybe the fuel pump but wouldn't I expect to see the slow start all the time, not just when cold?

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

When is the last time you done a tune up on it? Check all your spark plug wires, spark plugs, distributor cap and rotor button.

If you do a tune up go with all ACDelco brand.

I had the same similar issue with mine but found what was at fault...I had an Accel distributor cap with brass terminals and a Accel rotor button that was completely shot. The brass terminals were corrodide so bad that there was not enough fire to crank. But when it would crank it would run fine until it got too bad to even go down the road. Felt like I had a huge cam. So I went with all ACDelco with aluminum terminal and havent had a problem since.

 

Thanks for the info. The girlfriend took it to a shop this morning and they confirmed it's the fuel pump. It's losing pressure when the car is off, which is why when warm, it starts up quick as the pressure hasn't all leaked out yet. Not sure about the shaking but maybe that's just the engine struggling to start without fuel pressure.

Unfortunately they gave her a $900 quote to replace it. I'm pondering taking this on myself. I watched a YouTube video on the process of replacing the pump and it honestly doesn't look that hard. I'm not a car expert but I've changed out the starter on my Jeep Cherokee and this doesn't much more complicated. I think the hardest part will be dropping the fuel tank and even that doesn't seem too difficult. Changing out the pump itself looks quite simple and wiring in the new connector I can handle.

Will end up saving me around $700 as I've found the pump for $200.

 

That would be a wise choice on your end if you have the time to do it. When you purchase a fuel pump get either an ACDelco or Delphi pump. Don't get the cheap ones from the closest auto part store. I've been through 2 Airtex pumps trying to save money and ended up costing in the long run.

It shouldn't take long to change it out, took me a good hour to do mine. While your at it with your fuel pump go ahead and change out the fuel filter. It's located behind the frame rail under the driver door.

Also, on the fuel tank there is a ground strap connected to the fuel neck and cross member. You might want to unbolt that from the cross member before you drop the tank so you want snap it.

 

Thanks for the tips. I was planning on going with the AC Delco pump, I did see others complain about the cheap ones.

Hopefully it won't be too hard. I've got a friend who's a car guy who's going to lend a hand. Keep me from doing something stupid like changing out the blinker fluid or breaking the flux capacitor. (I'm a PC geek, not a car geek.)

 

Go to RockAuto.com or Amazon for good deals on parts. I like Rock Auto best.

 

Amazon had it cheapest, even after I paid $9 for delivery tomorrow. Wish me luck and thanks again for your tips and help. =)

 

I ended up doing the work on Sunday, late day. Took just under 3 hours and the car started up instantly once in.

Dropping the tank was easy, all the bolts were clean and didn't give me any issues. Removing the old pump was simple and the lock ring was in perfect shape so I didn't replace it.

Putting the tank back in was a little tricky. Getting the straps connected and then putting the tank in was just awkward but we eventually got it.

The only issue we had, when disconnecting one of the quick release connectors from the old pump, it broke. It's the hose that runs from the pump to a small black box located just behind the rear bumper.

The hose as the same connector at both ends, so I took the good one off and used that to reconnect the hose on the tank. For now I've used a hose clamp on the other end. Once I find a replacement part, I'll do that. Shouldn't take but 5 mins since it's easy access now.

Unfortunately, during the process I noticed a nail in the sidewall of one of the rear tires...so I'll have to deal with that.

Thanks again for your tips and suggestions. I'm thrilled me and my brother got this done ourselves and saved me close to $700.

 

Glad to hear you go it back together. The black box is your vapor canister.

 

Great, now I have to lookup what a vapor canister is. LOL