1998 Chevy will not start
 

My 1998 Chevy, K2500 has been hard to start for the past year. I do not drive it much so it has not been too much of an issue. Now it will not start. After it started for the first time at the start of the day, it would start easy the rest of the day. It turns over good but will not start. I do not like throwing parts but a coil was only 31.00 so I thought I would give that a try. I will try that after Church. Friday when I was trying to get it to start I could smell gas like it was flooded so that is when I stopped trying to start it.

Forgot to add, it is a 350 vortec. 174k miles.

Check fuel pressure. Those engines will not start with less than 55psi. Fuel pump would be the most likely fix. Possible fuel pressure regulator leaking as well.

If you are smelling fuel, you could have a rusted fuel line, they are known for that problem, as well as brake lines as they run together side by side along the frame in the nylon holders.

It's a Vortec motor. Not Vortex. :bash2:

Ha,LOL yer right:biggrin2:
kind of like a klub kadet with a Kroller injin'
but the "X" is next to the "C" on the keyboard, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.:beerchug:

This is kind of like a thread stating a Cub won't start with no other information. Nothing to go on.

A list of possibilities looks like this:

Low fuel pressure
-Bad fuel pump
-Faulty fuel pressure regulator
-Plugged fuel filter
-Hole in fuel hose under intake manifold
-Faulty fuel injection "spider"
-Leak if fuel line from tank to motor

Vacuum leak
-Upper intake gasket leaking/ or warped plastic intake. Could also be a leak at the grommet/o-ring on around the fuel injection "spider". Or a cracked/broken fitting on the PCV system.
-Plugged or failed EGR valve.

Timing issue
-Bad/ worn distributor or drive gear
-Worn camshaft gear
-Worn timing chain

Sensor failure
-Crank sensor
-TPS
-MAP

I have seen all these.

Could even be a bad ignition switch. Or a power failure on the ignition circuit to the PCM. Lots and lots of possibilities..... you're going to have to narrow it down. I'd start with a fuel pressure check, as was already suggested. But, at 175K...... it could be a lot of things.

Yes, but I see this all the time. Especially on C-list. It's a pretty common misspelling. Kind of like the people who have a Cummings motor. Sorry boys, there is no "g" in Cummins.

I fixed it. I think my iPad did the auto correct.

It happens, LOL. :beerchug:

I have a fuel pressure gauge so I will test it this afternoon. I can hear the pump run but that does not mean it is enough.

I've seen it numerous times. We used to give them a hit of carb cleaner to help get them started. Those suburbans were too heavy to push uphill into the shop!:beerchug:

This is no joke. I would replace the pump if it doesn't make 56 psi. They will not start, or start hard with 54 psi. I like to see it up near 60. I always thought the fuel pressure spec was wrong because of how they won't start.

Did you pull a plug to see if you have spark?

I checked the spark at the plug, good. Checked spark at the coil, good. Plugged everything back up. Checked the fuel pressure 60 psi. Then I tried to crank it, started right up. Fuel pressure running was right on 55 psi, at idle. So either the coil wire was loose or I still have a gremlin.

Like Jon stated, they are picky about fuel pressure so I will put that on my to do list. Probably change the filter first and see what pressure I get. Then to the pump if it does not go up.

When was the last time the pump was changed?
They usually die between 100--130 thousand Mi. has been my experience.
I like to change them before you have to smack the gas tank with a ball bat on a rainy day or a blizzard to get them running, ---not fun.:angry:

My 1998 K1500 (260,000 miles) did the same thing once I stopped driving it everyday. Which it sounds like you don't drive yours everyday either. When I drove it everyday, it would fire up immediately every time I got in it. Once I switched to driving a car for better efficiency, it would crank and crank before it would start. I think the problem lies in the Sequential Central Port Injection (SCPI) that they had on those engines. Borg Warner makes a kit to upgrade it to Multi-Port Fuel Injection (MFI) and I imagine it'll help with your issue. I never did the upgrade because I ended up getting rid of the truck. But I think those spider tubes get dry when it's been sitting and it takes extra time for the fuel to get where it needs to be. Mine always smelled like gas too, just like yours is doing. Here is a link to the MFI upgrade.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...2521&ppt=C0024

I have owned it since 2011 and it had about 152k miles when I got it. I have never had to put one on it. It had a flat bed when I got and I put the regular bed back on. I wish I had pu a new pump in it then.

If you change the fuel filter regularly, the pump will last forever. Well over 200k. I usually change that easy to get to, cheap filter at least once a year. Used to do it every other oil change, but decided that was a little too often. Every 3rd change is about right.

I know this applies to a FORD and not a GM, but my old 91 f-150 truck would be hard to start sometimes. If it did it would immediately die. The temp fix is to cycle the key switch 3-4 times, as the pump cuts off after about 3 seconds of the ignition on. Don't know if yours is set up that way, but if it is you can tell quickly if this would help. Once mine cranked all was well, until it sat overnight.

Did that to my 97 K1500. Always smelled like gas and hard starting when cold. Worked wonders. I got a Delco unit from Rock Auto.

John, that sounds like a bad check valve in the pump. I was going to suggest the OP try that as well.

Another thing that shortens fuel pump life is a low fuel level. The fuel is the heat sink for the pump.

Thanks for the info. I did not know there was injectors under the intake. I did the same thing, I bought a car to save miles on my truck. I will upgrade it when the budget allows.

Fixed
 

Last weekend the truck would not start. So today just because I did know the condition of the rotor cap and button, I decided to replace them. She starts right up. I am glad to get it going.