1999 GMC Suburban has trouble cold starting and wet starting

[DethVenture]

Hey guys. I was going to post this in the "Stupid Engine Questions" thread, but I thought my Q might get lost in the sea lol.


Anyway. The Suburban has not been starting easily in the past 6 months. It's the stock 5.7L Vortec. It has a recent battery, fuel filter, starter, flywheel, and fuel pump. It will not start easy on the first start of the day or when it's been raining. Really bad when it's both. Sometimes it will puff dark grey smoke when it finally starts. Sometimes it smells real rich when it first starts. The funny thing is, when you do get it started, it will not give you trouble for the rest of the day. It will crank strong first start until the next day. Starter fluid does not help when starting it. The mechanic that replaced the flywheel and starter says he thinks its the valve seals, but the distributor or the cap may also be at fault because my dad can "tweak" the distributor cap and sometimes get it to start easier.

It's not an urgent problem, but something that is annoying and may become something worse. I don't know much about engines, so just a heads up.

Thanks.

BTW, let me know if you need additional info.

 

[BHBurban]

Delco distributor cap or aftermarket?

 

[DethVenture]

Delco distributor cap or aftermarket?

I'm pretty sure it's a Delco. Dad said it was a generic brand.

Why?

 

[BHBurban]

I had the same problem with an MSD cap. changed it to a AC delco cap and the problem never came back.

 

[DethVenture]

May try a new cap. Thanks for the info man.

 

[BHBurban]

You may want to clean up the connections at the ignition module with some contact cleaner, and apply a coating of dielectric grease at this point too.


Sent from a rotary payphone

 

[Tony_SS]

Wonder why it's like that when it's raining??

I get low voltage when I run an accessory......... only when raining... wtf?

 

[oohunter04oo]

moisture getting in the distributor cap. pull your cap off and check for corrosion. if so change the cap & rotor & you'll be fine!

 

[ChrisAU]

I've noticed my 98 was hard to start when raining yesterday and the day before, hopefully my new cap and rotor thats on the way will fix that!

 

[BHBurban]

Wonder why it's like that when it's raining??

I get low voltage when I run an accessory......... only when raining... wtf?

I would start looking at all the ground points, clean, tighten, and possibly upgrade.


Sent from a rotary payphone