I'm back again. Having hard start issues with the "hand me down car". My son reports that it will initially fire then stumble and stall. It takes repeated
tries to get it to fire again but when it does it runs fine. Yesterday, it wouldn't go for him & he got a ride. When I went to pick it up it did what he described but I turned the key off, waited, then started it then and held the throttle open a bit then drove it on the trailer. Took it a couple blocks over to Auto Zone to scan and gave me p1457 and p1591. Doing a search gave me threads on the EVAP system and the purge valve in particular, but doesn't necessarily give you hard starting. The other code may or may not be relevant to that year car.

What I know so far:
- timing belt & plugs changed @ 110K
- car has 180K and neither fuel pump or filter has been changed.
- he runs premium fuel for mileage. (I always thought it was a pig no matter what)
- he drives 5 min. to work for 5 hr. shift, most often happens here. 2nd job a further drive, not so much there.
- no driving issues once started
- It started it fine on the trailer this morning.

I suppose I need to buy/loan a fuel pressure gage. Any other suggestions?

 

A few comments:

• Sounds like the plugs and belt are good to go for a while yet
• There is no recommended replacement interval for either the fuel pump or fuel filter; some fail early, most go well over a quarter-million, some go a half-million.
• Do not run premium in these engines; they are designed for regular fuel. Running premium will reduce your fuel economy and lead to unwanted deposits in the combustion chamber.
• A five minute drive to work is not good for any engine.

 

Thanks for the response. I have never heard or read NOT to run premium fuel in these. At worst I've read you're pissing your money away when there's no performance gain but most premium comes with less or no ethanol which is a good thing. Maybe he needs to run some Seafoam thru it.

 

There is not p1591 code listed for this car, so does the car have a p1519 code?

Ethanol is added to increase the octane rating, so premium fuel likely has ethanol in it too. The percent ethanol will vary, but premium gasoline can have up to 10% ethanol added.

Premium gasoline is used for high compression engines to prevent knocking due to spontaneous combustion before the spark is delivered due to higher compression. I don't think fuel mileage would be significantly improved or reduced using premium gasoline in a regular engine.

 

It has been a while now so my memory may be a bit hazy, but the last time I checked, Premium gasoline had a slightly lower BTU potential compared to Regular. As I understand it, the extra additives, which are non-combustible, slightly reduce the power potential per unit of gasoline. The reason why high compression engines are able to make more with Premium fuel is due to the higher combustion chamber temperatures achieved at the Peak Pressure Point (which is typically ~20° ATDC).

 

No only the p1591.

I see some pumps are labeled up to 10% even on premium. I use it in my lawnmowers especially the 2 strokes.

 

I agree. Anything you add can effect it. Oil companies get their gasoline all from the same place and put in whatever they want and/or required per state. I don't know what each company uses to boost the octane rating but it's not just ethanol.

 

Going out on a limb here... 3 years ago my daughter had a EVAP problem (1998 Honda Accord). I thought it was a fuel line leak because I could smell fuel. It turns out it was the 2 parts in a cover right next to the EVAP canister. I replace the purge valve and another part that is connected to the valve with an o-ring. Problem solved. What was happening difficult starts, hesitations at stop lights, and hiccups when accelerating.

After replacing, all these glitches went away, PLUS an added bonus - an extra 50 miles per tank full. After the fact, I think the defective parts was allowing extra fuel into the mix and also a possible vacuum issue.

 

Ok, cars acting up again. I get it here and does the start for an instant then dies. Seems the pump charges the system then doesn't run after the start. (I can't hear it while in the trunk) Then won't restart. Shifting to neutral seems to get it going but not always.
I don't see anywhere under the hood marked fuel pump relay. Seems electrical issue except when it does start it has a weird fuel smell always. Runs normal when it does run.
I suppose I can throw a pump at it but want to check it electrically first. Anyone got a good procedure?

 

At this point it might be better/faster/cheaper to take it to a professional and have it fixed.