Questions and Answers
Astro Hard Start
Q. Vince, I have a 1995 Astro Van with 4.3 liter V6 engine with 86,000 miles on it. If the van sits for more than 15 minutes it is very hard to start. After letting it crank for about 30 seconds it will start and then smells like the engine is flooded. After that it runs and idles fine. Do you think a new fuel pump and filter will fix the problem?
A. It sounds to me like the fuel pump check valve is bad. What this check valve does is maintain fuel pressure when the engine is shut off. If the valve is not holding the pressure, the pump has to run for a few seconds to build up enough fuel pressure to start the car.
To confirm this, you need to do a fuel pressure test. Install the tester and let the engine run for a while. Then shut the engine off and watch the gauge. If it drops to zero immediately or slowly bleeds down, then the check valve is bad.
The check valve is built into the fuel pump so you need to replace the whole pump.
