Chevy & GMC Vans

Hey guys, my 95 Safari has just recently decided to be a pain in the butt to start.

It is hard to start either warm or cold... doesn't seem to matter.

The odd part is that once it's running it idles perfectly and accelerates perfectly.

My first thought was fuel filter but that should hinder performance not just startup.
Second thought was the "spider" as it has CPI injection but again the performance should be affected.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Fuel Pump.

Just replaced that last month with an AC delco OEM replacement (i work at a dealership so i get them cheap).

I took it to work today and had them test the fuel pressure... its right where it should be for CPI.

Poor sparkage. Check the output from the coil.

Wouldn't poor spark make for crappy acceleration though?

When I have had hard start problems it has been cap/rotor issues.

Leaking fuel pressure regulator will cause exactly those conditions. Here's a test for it. Start the van, run it up to operating temperature, shut it off. Restart it immediately. It should start without any delay. Now let it sit until it cools to ambient temp. Try restarting it. If it is hard to start the fuel pressure regulator has leaked enough fuel to flood the engine. If you open the air filter box there should be a very strong gas odor.

You can run this van for hours then shut it off for 30 seconds and it's still hard to restart.

The odd part is once it's running it idles perfectly and still spanks 5.0 mustangs with ease.

Someone suggested to me the coolant temp sensor possibly???

Gordon wrote:Wouldn't poor spark make for crappy acceleration though?

Not necessarily. Mine would be a bear starting, but would accelerate nicely, up until the coil finally died. What's it going to hurt to check?

How do you check the coil for output though?

Check for a spark while starting. Disconnect the coil wire at the DC and either use a spark tester or a screwdriver.