Hard Start in 96 454. Please Help, this is a doozy

[brycebba]

Yeah I was just thinking that same thing about canned air. Do you think this is a valid test?

- Bryce -

 

[skylark]

The rest of the engine would still be hot and all of the sensors including the maf would still be connected. Seems like a valid test to me.

 

[orphan40]

Man, you sure are going to a lot of trouble to avoid pulling the distributor. lol

 

[brycebba]

Haha, I just wont have time till the weekend to pull the plenum and do that so I figure I can do these quick little things here and there and if one of them fixes it, great. If none of these little easy to check things are bad then I know I need to plan for that over the weekend.

 

[woody31]

i still have my money on timing chain,,carry on,,,

 

[skylark]

I have a hard time believing worn dizzy or timing chain with only 65k miles.

 

[brycebba]

I'm not trying to be disrespectful because I really am appreciating all the help I get from everyone but I kind of agree with skylark. It's certainly possible but I just want to verify the easy stuff before I go that deep. If it comes to that I will definitely need to have a shop do it because that's way more than I can do which means more cost.

I did try spraying the intake with a duster and got pretty much the same result of a hard start but this time it was very rich and blew some black smoke when it started. The sensor was reading 16 degrees and the engine temp was 160 degrees.

I pulled a plug and it is not white! Its a little less than tan. I didn't have my phone so I couldn't take a picture. There is some black on the white part on the spark side of the plug like it has been scorched some. Not sure if that is bad or ok.


- Bryce -

 

[98_k1500]

You can check for timing chain slack by removing the distributor cap and turning the engine backwards until the rotor moves, then note how far you move the crankshaft forward until the distributor moves again. Use your timing marks on your balancer to gauge how many degrees of play you have. This bein said, i have no idea what is normal, there is going to be some play. Idk how much it would take to cause hard start issues. You can do a preliminary check on the distributor gear by wiggling the rotor button too.

 

[orphan40]

This guy does a really good job of explaining removal and installation of the distributor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOR-9JZUUI0 He actually over-explains a lot of stuff. It's not as hard as he makes it out to be.

 

[VorTecxas]

I still say that trying the 350 FPR may be your best bet. Mine required a little throttle to start until I swapped it out. I'm really not sure why they list a 3 bar regulator for the 454 (GP Sorensen #800-329), when the spec is 4 bar, but they do (at AutoZone, at least). The 350 reg is 4 bar (GP Sorensen #800-315). O'Reillys website doesn't specify pressures, so I'm not sure if they're the same. The dizzy is another possibility, but from my experience, doubtful at that mileage. They're a bit loose in the big blocks for some reason, when you loosen the hold down clamp they wobble around in the mounting hole. Every big block I've done one in is the same way, even on the Mercruiser engines.