Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) 2000 H.O. long crank when cold?

[DonFitzwater]

My neighbor has a 2000 ho six speed and is having some problems starting in the mornings. Cold seems to make it worse, however, its been going on for about a year. The engine cranks like mad and slowly begins to fire until it takes off and runs on it's own. We put on a new lift pump, fuel warning light and new filter. No obvious leaks anywhere and the truck runs strong, averages 18 mpg, and has no trouble codes. What should we look at? The truck has 115,000 miles on it. Thanks

 

[Joe Mc]

Is this everytime he goes to start or just first of the day? One thing that could be happening is the fuel line to the LP is loosing prime due to a hole somewhere and there's no fuel on the suction side of the pump and the VP and injector lines get aired up causing the hard start. Hard thing to find with a pinhole as it may not leak fuel but will pull air into the line. I'd start with the two steel lines on the fuel tank module. If they are rusty (mine were) I'd dsuggest going with the Vulcan Draw Straw for $50 it beats the heck out of what the dealer want's ($2-300) for a whole module. See link in my signature for Vulcan site.

 

[Hahn007]

If the grid heaters aren't coming on I would think cold starts would be difficult. I don't know if it would crank as long as you are saying though. What about compression? Is it low?



Chris Hahn

 

[P Pacatang]

I agree with Hahn007 check the grid heater to make sure its working.

 

[DonFitzwater]

Grid heaters are working properly and have passed the ohm test. This thing can sit in a 70 degree shop all weekend and still be hard to start. Once warm or even just started, it'll fire right up. I really think this thing has a fuel leakdown issue. Think were gonna start with that draw straw kit and see where it gets us. Thanks for the input!

 

[WadePatton]

One or more leaking injector cross-over tubes can cause this condition. They have o-rings on them. Otherwise I'd keep looking in that direction--return lines and such. I had an o-ring cause a similar condition 10 or 15k miles after an injector swap.



BTW, I have a 2000 6-speed and it's SO not HO. Check the pump tag for 235 vs. 245 rating. I'll bet it's a 235 unless the pump has been replaced--which is par for VP's.

 

[Joe Mc]

The other ideas are worth looking into forsure - the grid heaters were fine so - have your neighbor check his oil level (in the same parking spot every day for at least a week) - if it's high (or creeps up) there may be an injector (or so) dripping off and pulling the fuel out of the VP. An air bound VP is not healthy and the crank time to get everything primed up (on a daily basis) is shortening the life of the mechanical aspects of the VP (once in a while after a filter change or whatever is OK but daily is - NOT). Keep us tuned in to the fix.

 

[DonFitzwater]

Were gonna do a little rip and tear this weekend and start looking at some things. He just ordered a draw straw for the hell of it so we will start there. I'm going to try and talk him into some new injectors too. I will check back in as we find stuff. Thanks!

 

[DonFitzwater]

This one boils down to bad mechanicing..... Chased our tail on fuel problems because my neighbor claimed he had looked at the intake heater and ohmed it out and everything was fine. We put in the draw straw and the problem still exists! I took the truck for the weekend and started all over with the intake heater first. Ohmed just fine but the fact that the voltmeter didn't fluctuate with power being applied to the heater made me wonder about grounds? Put a test light on the power posts on the heater and watched the light come on and go off like normal and the voltage didn't fluctuate. Figured I'd pull the heater and take a closer look and wouldn't you know it, the ground or bonding strap on the front crumbled in my hands! We went ahead and put a new intake heater on instead of just replacing the bad wire. Truck sat out at -15 F. last night and fired up without being plugged in as a test. I'd say its fixed! Thanks for everyones help. P. S..... If your neighbor is a body guy and plays with bondo all day, don't let him work on his own truck!lol