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1993 Chevy K1500 pickup having trouble starting
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kjhenry87
New User
Jun 26, 2012, 3:47 PM
Post #1 of 2
(3585 views)
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1993 Chevy K1500 pickup having trouble starting
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1993 Chevy K1500 Pickup, 5.7L V8, manual transmission, 342K miles (yes, 342,000 miles).
I was driving my beat up old truck the other day, slowed to turn, and as I turned, the engine shut off. I immediately restarted the truck, and the engine started up immediately. The truck didn’t even have time to stop as I applied the brake. I kind of shrugged this episode off, thinking maybe I had let off the clutch strangely or something (I dunno why I shrugged it off, but I did, don’t judge me). No other problems were encountered throughout the rest of my driving that day (probably another hour's worth of intermittent driving).
The next day, I again turned onto a street, and my engine stopped, but this time, there was no restarting it. I had my truck towed back to my apartment, and the best mechanic I know (Dad) drove all the way to Galveston from San Antonio, and we went to work.
When Pops got to my apartment, my truck started right up, then died about ten seconds later.
Mitigating factors:
- I was low on gas both times.
- I hadn’t changed my fuel filter in 35K miles (shame on me)
- I was suspicious of the gas station I had filled up at prior to the first stall.
HOWEVER, after thinking hard, I remember once, a few days before the first stall, my engine died while I was idling in a parking lot for about 10 minutes. I thought it was just a minor malfunction of an ancient vehicle, but this was on a relatively full tank of gas from a respectable fuel station.
Things we tried:
- New Fuel Filter
- Fresh tank of gas (unleaded plus)
- New rotator cap
- New Distributor cap
What’s happening now:
My truck will start immediately, but dies seconds later. If I start it about ten times, and continue to give it some throttle, it will die repeatedly, but eventually, will run just fine. Enough to get me to and from school anyways. That said, today while driving to school, my car died while I was going about 30mph. I turned the ignition, and she was moving again before I had slowed to 25 mph.
Differential Diagnosis:
- Bad fuel pump—But the car does not sputter when applying excessive throttle. No, I don’t have the fuel pressure readings yet, and am a little unsure of how to get them (I am a novice, Dad is the pro).
- Bad fuel injector—But we can see a steady stream of fuel coming from the injector
- Bad coil
- My car is trying to tell me she is too old for continued use
Of note, the week prior, my hydraulic fluid line burst, so I had to replace the hydraulic fluid line and the clutch slave, a job I did on my own, which has me wondering if I messed something up, or if my old truck is just hitting the wall.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated!
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jun 26, 2012, 4:11 PM
Post #2 of 2
(3567 views)
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Re: 1993 Chevy K1500 pickup having trouble starting
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All "crank, no start" conditions are approached in the same way. Every engine requires certain functions to be able to run. Some of these functions rely on specific components to work and some components are part of more than one function so it is important to see the whole picture to be able to conclude anything about what may have failed. Also, these functions can ONLY be tested during the failure. Any other time and they will simply test good because the problem isn't present at the moment.
If you approach this in any other way, you are merely guessing and that only serves to replace unnecessary parts and wastes money.
Every engine requires spark, fuel and compression to run. That's what we have to look for.
These are the basics that need to be tested and will give us the info required to isolate a cause.
1) Test for spark at the plug end of the wire using a spark tester. If none found, check for power supply on the + terminal of the coil with the key on.
2) Test for injector pulse using a small bulb called a noid light. If none found, check for power supply at one side of the injector with the key on.
3) Use a fuel pressure gauge to test for correct fuel pressure, also noticing if the pressure holds when key is shut off.
4) If all of these things check good, then you would need to do a complete compression test.
Once you have determined which of these functions has dropped out,
you will know which system is having the problem.
I know it is difficult to test fuel pressure on a TBI engine so try this trick. Spray some starting fluid or flammable carb cleaner into the intake and see if it runs until that burns off.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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