Hello all, this is my first request! HELP!!
I am usually good at diagnosing, but I am in need of your assistance.
New battery, new starter, new crank sensor. Power to the coils. Plugs look normal.
Pulled the fuel line off the filter and it pumped gas for maybe 2 seconds and stopped. Cranked the motor and it punped a bit more. (I would think if there was no pressure, it would pump continuously.
Here is the issue...
She cranks, I will do a little and wait, do a little more and wait, not to over heat the starter. The engine will seem like it has a backfire, almost like it wants to start but burps. Then a little more crank and she starts. Overall about a 10 minute ordeal. Once started, purrs like a kitten. Drive it around and all is normal. Back to the driveway and hard starts. Then we are back to the crank and no start situation.
Normal it takes two rotations of the starter to fire up.
Any ideas?
Thanks

 

You need a fuel gauge and to look at running fuel pressure spec and bleeddown spec after the vehicle sits parked warm for XX hours and compare, pulling the line isn't accurate. I had a vehicle that did similar, ran fine and started fine if it sat for less than a hour warm but after sitting overnight or for more than a few hours it was 5-10 minutes of cranking with popping, catching, etc until it would finally go. Checked the bleeddown spec PSI and after 45 minutes parked warm it was half of what it should be, fuel pump was bleeding down and new one fix it instantly.

Most parts places will do loaner for a fuel gauge and fuel pressure specs/bleeddown specs should be somewhere here or online. You'll need the gauge as a starting point to diagnose accurately and not throw parts darts

 

Have you ever had transmission work? The way you described it reminds me of Ptatohed's ordeal. Turned out to be a grounding issue (or lack thereof) from the bell housing.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, and the service manual download. Never had any trans work, just fluid change but will check the ground. Fuel supply had been on my short list to check and redo.

After 118K miles and 30 years, has to be something! Thanks again.

 

My only other suggestion is that perhaps you have an injector issue. If the pintle caps are shot, you could be unintentionally flooding the engine causing the hard starting/backfiring/burping that you described. It's my understanding that pintle caps are important for ensuring that the right amount of fuel is delivered to the engine. Conversely, if the cap gets clogged, it could hinder the proper fuel delivery.

Checking the injectors on cylinders 2, 4 & 6 are easy. The others, not so much.

https://maxima.org/forums/4th-genera...nt-normal.html