I had a slow to start issue on my 99 max ( 118,000 miles) last july. Starter worked fine, but sometimes it did not start quickly- turned over oK but took 2 or 3 seconds to light up- or a second starter attempt was needed - ran fine otherwise- idleled ok, no skipping etc.
I took it to my private mechanic/garage and they cleaned the throttle body and it started instantly for a year. once it started, you could turn it off and it would restart instantly.

a few weeks ago it started doing the same thing it did a year ago with the slow starts, did not have any pattern (hot or cold etc) same symptoms as the problem last july, took it to the garage, they cleaned it again yesterday.
no codes they said.
any idea what going on and why problem would reappear again in about 8000 miles.
if I ignore it when it happens again will it throw a code?

 

I would check your FPR and maybe replace it. Also, I woul;d clean your CKPS REF and POS sensors and check resistance to make sure they are within FSM specs.

 

I think as our rings start to wear, we get a little more oil and **** up in there.

 

what do these terms mean?

 

i dont think its FPR. But def check CKPS POS and REF.

Cleaning you TB is really easy. U shdnt be payin ppl to do this. See the how tos for the cleaning.

 

FPR (Fuel Pressure Regulator)
CKPS POS (Crankshaft Position Sensor) under harmonic balancer
CKPS REF (Crankshaft Position Sensor) on transmission housing

 

what problem did the cleaning remove ? that caused delayed starting- is it crud buildup on the edge of the big throttle valve itself?

Some problem in the MAF (whatever that is) or does cleaning the throttle body help the idle valve work better?