My 97 Z71 (350 vortec) truck takes about 5 seconds to start. I was told this could be the fuel pressure regulator. It is a silver cannister a little over an inch round and tall. Am I on the right track and where is this located?
Before you tear anything apart, try this. Turn on the ignition, wait about 3 seconds and turn it off, do it again. Now try to start it and see what happens. And report back.
Al
Greetings,
I suggest that you change your fuel filter first. If that doesn't help, then check your fuel pump for proper pressure. I would be thinking either restricted flow or weak/bad pump before a regulator.
Cheers - Jonathan
Yes, when I turn the key on and off twice before starting it, it seems to start right away. What's up with that?
Greetings,
This is telling you that it is building up to the proper pressure but it's taking its sweet time to get there and you need two prestart cycles of the fuel pump (which is what you are doing when you key it on and off twice). This could either be from a clogged fuel filter or the fuel pump going south. The filter is easy and cheap so try that one first. The possibility is that you could also have a kinked fuel line somewhere that is also impeding flow and pressure so a visual inspection of the lines when your replace your filter is also called for.
If your truck was still hard to start after two or three key-on cycles then you would have to look at the fuel pressure regulator because even after several cycles of the fuel pump it still wasn't getting up to pressure. However, this is apparently not the case so I wouldn't bother with the regulator.
I don't know if a severely clogged charcoal filter could also cause this problem. Maybe someone else here could answer that one.
Cheers - Jonathan
Are there any more suggestions?
Yes, act on the advice already given.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.